staff@slashgear.com (Chris Davies)
2024-04-23 07:00:00
www.slashgear.com
As we’ve seen from other Toyota trucks and SUV hybrids, the goal for the “MAX” is a performance bump rather than a marked frugality improvement. Comparing the TRD Sport 4×4 automatic, for example, the EPA estimate rates that at 19 mpg in the city, 23 mpg on the highway, and 20 mpg combined in non-hybrid form. The hybrid version is rated at 22 mpg city, 24 mpg highway, and 23 mpg combined: a little better, certainly, but nothing groundbreaking.
Where it does pay dividends is in the driving experience, and that’s more than simply because a more potent truck drives faster. Certainly, the hybrid Tacoma feels more spritely and eager: it accelerates from a standing start more rapidly, the electric motor helping add low-end torque, and readily overcomes the increase in curb weight.
It’s off-road where the advantage really shows itself, however. As with the new Land Cruiser, the injection of electric power meant I never felt like I was short on controllable torque as I inched through the tight, rock-strewn course Toyota had set up where it hosted SlashGear to test out the new pickup. The electric motor sandwiched between the gas engine and the transmission may not be the most potent out there, but its instant reactivity makes judicious application with the accelerator pedal far more straightforward.