The Toyota Tacoma. A mainstay of the automaker’s American line-up since its 1995 debut, the Tacoma pickup truck was originally considered to be a compact in only its first generation. With the introduction of the second-generation Tacoma in 2004, it moved up to a midsize classification. Toyota designed the truck to better suit the needs of the US and Canadian market, where it recognized that it would be used more as a personal vehicle rather than commercial, agricultural, and off-road purposes.

The fourth and current generation of the Tacoma was introduced in 2024 and is built on the automaker’s TNGA-F global body-on-frame vehicle platform, which it shares with the larger Tundra pickup. The latest Tacoma was designed by teams at Toyota’s Calty Design Research facilities in California and Michigan with the intention “to be authentic to the way our customers use their trucks for rugged outdoor fun”, according to Calty president Kevin Hunter. He went on to further explain that the truck was styled with “the iconic Tacoma look, referred to as “Tacoma-ness”, including “high lift, big tires, slim body, and a powerful athletic stance” as inspired by prior Toyota Baja trophy racing trucks.