Toyota Confirms iForce Max Powertrain For New 2024 4th Gen Tacoma, Along With Other Teaser Images Of The TRD Pro Model – Let’s Break It Down
Well, guys, the wait is over! Well, kind of. Toyota USA has officially confirmed that the 4th Generation Tacoma is coming THIS YEAR!
Toyota’s official press release reads:
“MAXimum i-FORCE! The next-generation Toyota Tacoma is coming soon! The best-selling midsize pick-up in America is all-new for MY2024 with electrifying i-FORCE MAX performance. Stay tuned for updates on the Tacoma’s incredible new design and features.”
If you have been living under a rock and have not been keeping up with the 4th Gen Tacoma rumors and teasers over the past month or so, I want to recap real quick what’s been going on. I’ll also talk about what we can expect to see with this new 2024, 4th Gen Toyota Tacoma!
Brazilian Patent Leaked Photos
A few months ago, several 3D images made their way across the internet, which many assumed to be the up-and-coming 4th Gen Toyota Tacoma. These images looked very, VERY, similar to the EV Tacoma pickup that was shown to us back in late 2021.
Many jumped on the bus of this being the new 4th Gen Tacoma, while others like myself, just thought that it was a lazy quick fame attempt to copy the EV Toyota Pickup and say that it was a Brazilian Patent leak.
Well, I may stand corrected, because the recent Tacoma teasers by Toyota USA seem to really resemble the leaked 3D patent images above. The only difference that I have been able to see from the patent leaks and official Toyota teasers, is that the new 4th Gen Tacoma may be a tad bit larger than the patent leaks lead on.
This is definitely a good thing since these leaks just looked like the same small cabin size.
First Tacoma Teaser
On March 23, Toyota took to social media to post this image. The image flew under the radar of most, including myself until rumors started spreading that this may just be the 4th Gen Toyota Tacoma. The caption read “Lost in the stars…” If you look at the post now, it is clear that this was indeed the 4th Gen Tacoma.
Toyota was playing with us in the comments section too with eye emojis or question marks to a majority of comments asking or stating that this was the 4th Gen Tacoma.
Second Tacoma Teaser
The second teaser from Toyota came last week with a caption reading “Patented good looks…” I made a YouTube video on this one breaking down the clues that Toyota hid in this well-photoshopped teaser.
The first clue I noticed was the Brazilian Patent Office writing on the red brick building. I mean, come on now. Toyota is literally toying with us now at this point. That, along with the caption of this social media post helped confirm that the 2024 Toyota Tacoma will resemble some, if not all, of the leaked Brazilian patent photos.
The second clue is to the bottom right of the image. If you look closely, you can see the 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro down the street, very blurred out.
The last clue can be found on the license plate, “040423″.
Tacoma TRD Pro Teaser
This is the most recent teaser from Toyota. This image of the 2024 Tacoma TRD Pro may seem simple, but again, we have several clues that we can pull from this image.
If we take a closer look at the new tailgate of the 2024 Toyota Tacoma, we notice it resembles the new 3rd Gen Toyota Tundra in many ways.
Let’s start with the TRD Pro stamping in the tailgate. This mimics its bigger brother the Tundra 100%. Personally, I like the new placement of the TRD Pro lettering. It is safe to assume that other Tacoma models will read “Tacoma” across the tailgate.
The next item I want to point out is the tailgate handle. You can see there is a light and a camera on the handle. However, if you look closer, you will notice that there is no longer a mechanical handle to open the tailgate. It seems that this new 4th Gen Tacoma will have the same electronic opening handle as the Tundra.
This is awesome because that means that it will lock and unlock from the factory. That’s better than needing to modify your tailgate to make it lock with your key fob.
Powertrain
I also want to talk about the 2024 Tacoma tailgate’s iForce Max badge. This is Toyota’s new beyond zero badge for their new hybrid vehicles. This badge looks nothing like the iForce Max badge on the Tundra though. Rather, it looks very similar to the badge on the new 2024 Grand Highlander and 2023 Toyota Crown.
What does this mean? Well, I have been saying for a while that the Tacoma will most likely have two engine options. There is a 2.4L inline turbo 4-cylinder and also a hybrid version for additional power. Again, similar to the Tundra’s powertrains.
The new Grand Highlander with the Hybrid Max powertrain makes 362HP and 400lb-ft of torque. Even assuming the Tacoma uses a smaller 4-cylinder powertrain with slightly less power, those numbers knock the socks off the current 3.5L V6. I’m not sure what the Tacoma’s hybrid powerplant will be exactly, but I am excited to find out.
Final Thoughts
With Toyota confirming that the 4th Gen Tacoma will be arriving for the 2024 model year, we can probably expect to see a reveal come early this summer. I will bring you all the info as fast as I can both here and over on my YouTube channel.
I am super pumped though for the 4th Gen Tacoma to be revealed. The 3rd Gen Tacoma is around 7 years old now and while it has been a great and reliable truck, the powertrain is a bit lackluster and the interior cabin is a bit dated.
Still, I hope the new Tacoma brings a good balance of modern tech while keeping it just old-school enough.
We shall see!
