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2006 Toyota Tacoma Compact Pickup Truck
Toyota's smallest truck isn't so small
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New Car Review of the 2006 Toyota Tacoma Compact Pickup Truck
Base MSRP Range: $13,780 - $25,615
Base Invoice Range: $12,769 - $23,217
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MSRP As Tested:
Versions: Regular cab, Access Cab, Double Cab
Vehicle Category: Compact Pickup Truck
Engine Location: Front Engine
Drive Wheels: Four-Wheel Drive, > Rear-Wheel Drive.
Standard Engine: 2.7-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 16-valves, I-4, 159 â€' horsepower at 5200 rpm and 180 lb-ft torque at 3800 rpm.
Optional Engine as Tested: 4.0-liter, Dual Overhead Cam, 24-valves, V-6, 236 -horsepower at 5200 rpm and 266 lb-ft torque at 4000 rpm.
Transmission: Four-speed automatic, Five-speed automatic, Five-speed manual, Six-speed manual.
Fuel Economy (city/hwy): Four-speed automatic 21/26, Five-speed automatic18/22, Five-speed manual 20/27, Six-speed manual 16/21.
Standard Safety Features: Dual front airbags, Antilock brakes, Brake assist, Tire-pressure monitor.
Competition:
There was a time when "compact truck" really meant "claustrophobic, micro-sized, knee-crunching truck that should only be bought by anorexic contortionists."
But today's compact trucks -- well, there's nothing compact about them.
Toyota's Tacoma is the perfect example. Once a dinky little truck with dinky little doors and a dinky little bench seat, today the Tacoma has morphed into a big, tall, four-wheel-drive, four-door, brawny pickup. It's not dinky at all.
After introducing an all-new Tacoma for 2005, Toyota's smallest hauler probably remains the best truck in its class for 2006. It's roomy, quiet, powerful and refined.
In fact, my only gripe about it has to do with the way it looks.
Instead of taking an aggressive styling stance like the Nissan Titan or Chevy Colorado, for example, Toyota kept the Tacoma's body relatively conservative. It looks slightly better than the old model, but it still shows some influence from the outgoing Camry with smooth, rounded fenders and a small grille that looks far too graceful to be on a truck.
(NOTE TO TOYOTA: Next time you design a pickup, make it look tough enough that writers won't have to resort to words like "graceful" to describe it. Give it a family resemblance to Paul Bunyan, not the Camry. Got it?)
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