The 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD PreRunner has an off-road upgrade and a rear-drive system. Toyota only sells the Tacoma with two doors in the PreRunner trim. The PreRunner comes with all-terrain tires that are 17 inches wide and a rear axle that can be locked. After the 2015 model year, Toyota took the PreRunner name off of Tacoma. But in 2024, the trim will return to the company’s most recent mid-size truck. When it came out in 1998, the Tacoma PreRunner combined the rear-drive model’s engine with the look of the four-wheel-drive Taco and many of its dynamic parts designed for off-road use. This is the general idea behind the 2024 Tacoma TRD PreRunner, which has many off-road features but only sends power to the back wheels because its engine is turbocharged. The only body style choice for the TRD PreRunner from Toyota is a two-door extended cab (called an “Trace” by Toyota) with a six-foot-long bed. All 2024 extended-cab Tacomas, including the TRD PreRunner, don’t have back seats. Instead, they use the room behind the driver and passenger seats to hold more cargo. The back of the front passenger seat folds down to make a flat surface, and the back of the cab has a lot of locked storage cubbies. The back axle of the TRD PreRunner is still supported by leaf springs, just like the back axle of the four-door Tacoma is supported by coil springs. The Tacoma TRD PreRunner has standard features like a raised suspension, a locked rear differential, and 17-inch wheels with big BFGoodrich all-terrain tires. All of these features are good for a two-wheel-drive off-road car. The TRD PreRunner can also pull up to 6500 pounds behind it. The TRD PreRunner is only offered with a manual transmission, which could be better. This is a big letdown for customers who want to get the good looks of the PreRunner and the manual transmission of the Tacoma. All non-hybrid Tacomas use a version of Toyota’s turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 278 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque, except for the base Tacoma SR. Only 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque are available in Tacomas with manual engines. We don’t know how much each 2024 Tacoma will cost, but the TRD PreRunner will cost at least $35,000. Before the end of the year, the 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD PreRunner should be on sale.
