Tested: The Toyota Tacoma Limited Exists for a Very Specific Buyer

Toyota could open a food truck with the variety of Tacos it sells. The fourth-generation Tacoma comes in eight flavors ranging from the basic SR to the spicy TRD Pro, with the menu largely catering to utility buyers and off-roaders. The Tacoma Limited, though, offers something different for those with expensive tastes. The top road-focused Tacoma starts at $54,020 and features standard luxuries that are unique among midsize trucks. Power running boards, a head-up display, a digital rearview mirror, and a full-time four-wheel-drive transfer case make this the Taco for buyers with sophisticated palates.

You Want That With or Without Electricity?

The Limited is offered with either a 278-hp turbocharged four-cylinder or the i-Force Max hybridized version of that engine that kicks out 326 horses. At a $3,700 premium, the hybrid powertrain isn’t cheap, but it would seem to be the obvious choice for this truck. Smoother, more powerful, and 3 mpg more efficient than the pure gasser, it should make the most civilized Tacoma even more so.

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What sounds good on paper, though, is incongruently gruff from the driver’s seat. There’s a grittiness to the hybrid’s soundtrack and a noticeable shake as the auto stop/start system refires—traits that will challenge your understanding of what the words “Toyota hybrid” mean. With the electric motor contributing up to 48 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque, the power at least pours out quickly and fluidly from a stop, creating the illusion the Tacoma is quicker than it is.

The Limited rambled to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds in Motortrend testing, which makes it one of the quickest fourth-gen Tacomas in our database, but only by a slim margin. The 5,254-pound Limited weighed some 600 pounds more than a nonhybrid TRD Sport that trailed it to 60 by just two-tenths, and from 60 to 80 mph, the less powerful gas truck actually outran the luxe hybrid. Aside from the 405-hp Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota’s gas-electric Taco is the most powerful truck in the midsize class, yet comparable versions of the Ford and the Chevrolet Colorado consistently beat it to 60 by a half a second or more. In other words, the electrified Tacoma’s added power barely offsets the added weight, and there’s only a clear benefit to the driving experience at low speeds.

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Five Driving Modes Served One Way

That’s more than we can say for the electronically controlled Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) dampers. The five on-road driving modes feel so similar, you’d need an accelerometer to detect the stiffness changes. While the ride is comfortable across the board, Toyota makes no attempts to hide that you’re driving a truck. There’s a persistent secondary shake when the bed is unloaded, the steering is a sluggish 3.2 turns lock to lock, and the handling is inert. The Tacoma is a perfectly competent daily driver, but it never feels as settled or as tossable as a Ranger or Colorado.

Given the old-school dynamics, we were surprised the ride quality took a step backward when we hitched our test truck to a Big Tex utility trailer loaded with a Polaris RZR Pro R 4 at a combined weight of 4,680 pounds. The extra weight on the rear end calmed the secondary nervousness, but every road impact excited large, underdamped bouncing motions. It also overburdened the powertrain and confused the eight-speed transmission. Adding 600 pounds to the bed—pushing the Limited to within a couple of hundred pounds of its 1,526-pound max payload—did nothing to improve the truck’s composure.

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The Limited’s full-time four-wheel drive is well suited to finding traction both on road and in the dirt. Shared with the new Toyota Land Cruiser, this is the Taco’s answer to the 4Auto modes available in the Ranger, the Colorado, and the Jeep Gladiator. Those systems engage the front axle on demand based on speed, driver inputs, and wheelslip. The Tacoma Limited instead uses a lockable Torsen-style center differential that splits torque front and rear by default and jockeys it fore and aft based on the available grip at each end.

The mode selector—cryptically labeled L4L, H4L, and H4F for Low 4 Locked, High 4 Locked, High 4 Free—will stump a lot of buyers, but we take consolation knowing that leaving the knob alone is often the best move. On dry pavement or a snow-dusted mountain pass or a sandy two-track, the system will send torque to where the grip is without driver input. It’s just a shame Toyota doesn’t offer the full-time transfer case on lower trims, as well.

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The High-Dollar Value Menu

As expensive as the Limited is, it still manages to be a value of sorts in the pickup market. To get the same features in another truck would require stepping up to a full-size in a trim like Platinum, Tungsten, or Denali for another $20K or $30K over our Limited’s $57,720 asking price. That said, some of this equipment is gratuitous in a truck this small. The Tacoma isn’t tall enough to warrant running boards, and the rearward visibility isn’t bad enough to demand a digital rearview mirror. It’s easier to justify the price based on the ventilated seats, adaptive cruise control, surround-view camera system, front and rear parking sensors, and the 2,400-watt AC outlet that comes with the hybrid engine, but better-driving competitors offer many of the same luxuries.

The high-zoot Taco’s cabin looks expensive compared to the rest of the class, even if the faux leather and wood won’t fool anybody. And yet buyers are more likely to appreciate that, as nice as it is, the Limited prioritizes practicality over luxury and fashion. The interior stands out thanks to a full complement of logically placed knobs and buttons that let you pilot this truck without taking your eyes off the road. When you do resort to using the huge, high-mounted 14.0-inch touchscreen, it’s a short reach and quick glance away at the oversized icons that are impossible to miss. Of course, that’s true of every Taco with the big screen. In a similar vein, our chief criticism of the cabin is the same one we’ve levied at every new Tacoma: The rear seat is sized exclusively for kids within the narrow window between graduating out of a car seat and graduating middle school.

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That’s One Fancy Street Taco

The Tacoma Limited’s strengths, weaknesses, and unique offerings winnow the buyer pool to a very specific demographic. This is the pickup for someone who wants a luxurious truck but not a large truck. Someone who’s not afraid to spend big bucks on a midsize pickup and who measures luxury based on a list of features rather than the grain of the dashboard trim. The fact that no other automaker builds a midsize truck quite like the Toyota Tacoma Limited is both the best reason to buy it and the explanation why few people do. This fancy street taco is for buyers with niche needs and tastes.