Toyota Tacoma
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The Tacoma is essentially the American version of the mythical Hilux, and is credited with replacing the U.S Hilux with its design. Built in the U.S., the Tacoma was unveiled in 1995 and quickly earned a reputation as one of the most reliable foreign pickups on the market. This compact truck was reclassified as a mid-size in its second generation run, but the same capability, reliability, and ruggedness remained. The Tacoma’s reliable powerplant was available in a 2.4L or 2.7L 4-cylinder, and a 3.4L V6. The Tacoma’s strength comes from its frame, which is fully boxed just after the rear leaf spring mount, where it transitions into a C-frame.
The Tacoma’s powertrain is credited with reliability thanks largely to the manual version’s R150F transmission and the automatic version’s A340F transmission. Called the “Toyota R” and “Toyota A” transmissions, both powertrain components have seen use in Land Cruisers, turbo diesels, Volvos, Mitsubishis, and 4Runners because of their quality and construction. The Tacoma is one of the first trucks to utilize coil-on-plugs instead of a traditional coil pack, making diagnosing electrical issues and replacing ignition components easier and more affordable.
Today, the Tacoma remains a very popular mid-size pickup thanks to its available 3.5L V6 powerplant and impressive 6,800-lb towing capacity relative to its size. Both new model and first-generation Tacoma’s can be found online with well over 150,000 to 200,000 miles on the odometer, and they still fetch a decent dollar because of their natural life expectancy and reliability at high miles. The Tacoma’s “Goldilocks” size, 4×4 capabilities, relatively high power-to-weight ratio and towing capacity make the Tacoma a qualified resident on our Toughest Trucks list.
