2005 Toyota Tacoma- 4 Wheel & Off Road

We're gonna go out on a limb and say that Toyota has owned the off-road mini-truck market for years. We know other OEMs have offered great little trucks, but from our time on the trails, no other truck in that class is out wheeling on the trails like Toys.

Well, 2005 is a new year, but from what we saw on a recent preview trip to Alaska, the new Tacoma is going to be hard to beat, and just may renew Toyota's belt in the featherweight 4x4 pickup class. With more power, tight fit and finish, wicked cool styling, a new six-speed manual transmission, and the off-road capability we crave, we're already harassing the 'Yota guys for a long-term test vehicle.

The new Tacoma is available as a Standard cab, Access cab, Double cab with 5-foot bed, or Double cab with a 6-foot bed. The Standard and Access cabs are both available in four-wheel drive with the four-cylinder engine and a five-speed manual transmission, but only the Access cab and Double cabs can be ordered with the new all-aluminum 245hp V-6 and new six-speed manual or five-speed auto.

Yes, the Double cab is now available with a manual tranny, but only with the 5-foot bed. Personally we'd take the Double cab V-6, six-speed, in black, or maybe blue, with a hoodscoop.

The TRD Off Road package is a good start with 265/75R16 BFGoodrich tires, 16-inch Alloy wheels, and valuable rear selectable locking differential. We took one off road, and the locker engagement, though only available in the 2.57:1 low range, was near mandatory for the rutted hillclimbs. Speaking of gearing, did we mention the new five-speed auto comes with a 3.52:1 First gear, and the six-speed manual has a 4.17 First? Too bad the lowest optioned axle ratio for those trannies is 3.727:1 (4.10 can only be had with the four-banger).

We do have a few questions as to the big changes made by Toyota (and by big, we mean literally bigger than the old Taco), and where they might be headed, but our initial impression of this truck is a thumbs up. The truck starts with a 4-inch-wider semiboxed chassis design for increased stability, and then adds a taller and nearly 4-inch-wider cab for more interior space. If you like the small cockpit of the older Tacoma, this may be an issue, but don't worry; it's still a mini-truck, just a little bigger in every way.

There it is, the Tacoma's 4.7 L V-8--wait a second! That's actually the new 245hp 4.0L V-6 that puts out more horsepower than the old 4.7 found in the Tundra and Sequoia. Thanks, Toyota, for the power boost the Taco has been needing. Now do it again and give us a V-8 and a real off-road package with front and rear lockers in solid axles, bigger BFGoodrich mud tires, and no step bars. Yes, we do want the Power Wagon/Rubicon fighter in a mini-truck package, and our readers will back us up on it.

In addition to the cabin, the wheelbase also grows about 5 to 6 inches for every model, the Standard cab is now 110 inches, and the Access (extended) cab and Double cab (with 5-foot bed) both ride on 127.8 inches. Plus the new Double cab longbed (6-foot) version rides on a fullsize-fighting 140.6-inch wheelbase. Along with that slightly larger size come two bigger powerplants with a 164-horse 2.7L I-4 and the DOHC 4.0L V-6 producing 245 hp and 282 lb-ft of torque. Both are great engines, but being crazies we'd still like a V-8 in the Taco, thank you very much.

The reasoning behind all these boosts in size is a direct result of where the next-generation fullsize Tundra is headed. Based on our badgering of Toyota engineers, marketing folks, and people in the know, we have absolutely no hard facts to tell you about this upcoming Tundra, but we are willing to bet it will finally be a fullsize contender, possibly with a big-block and/or diesel powerplant. Of course, they may try to sneak in with just a small-block la the Nissan Titan, but let's hope they "leap frog the competition with a generation-and-a-half of evolution and refinement" and go straight to the big guns as they have done with the new Tacoma. (That last quote is straight from Don Esmond, the senior vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division, so let's hope he keeps on track with his fullsize).

So there you have it. The Taco is bigger, with more power, but still carries all the great stuff Toyotas have always had. We hope the longevity of the early Toyota pickups (which commonly run to 200,000-plus miles) was also designed in, and if that long-term tester shows up we just may get a chance to prove it. Please?!

Here is a real test for Toyota, a composite bed. Though the outer skins of the truck bed are steel, the inside is a sheet-molded compound of some sort that is 10 percent lighter than steel, yet claimed tougher and more durable. It's not a drop-in liner, but rather the actual inner bedsides. We like the idea, but we'll hold our verdict until we get to haul our 800 pounds of County Fair-winning hog around in the bed for a few hundred miles.

Our biggest problem with the new Taco is the transfer-case shifter. Hey, engineer and design guys! Knobs are for things like HVAC controls (right), not transfer cases (left). We don't want a knob or dial to shift our transmission, and a transfer case is way closer to a tranny than a climate control.

What we did like is the optional 115-volt/400-watt power outlet in the bed of the truck and the hoodscoop. Why not make them standard equipment? Because everyone should be able to use a drill, a blender, or a hog trimmer in the bed of their truck, and the Tacos without the hoodscoop look dorky. (Feel free to quote us on that.)