2005 Toyota Tacoma X-Runner

Way Sportier, But Where’s the Off-Road Package?

The new Tacoma X-Runner is not only bigger but stronger as well. In addition to a wheelbase that’s five inches longer and a track four inches wider than the S-Runner, the chassis features an X-shape frame reinforcement. The increased dimensions translate mostly into the enlarged cabin space, in keeping with a general trend in the pickup market toward more interior accommodations.

For the initial presentation of the new Tacoma, the marketing mavens seem more concerned with performance on pavement rather than off. The chassis is an inch lower than the current model, with firmer and shorter springs at all four corners. Those ground-effects body parts reduce clearance even further. The cladding looks sporty on the street, but would no doubt be shredded in a half-second on even a mild off-road excursion. The Tacoma rides on low-profile 45-series tires wrapped around 18-inch alloy wheels, and a limited-slip differential is standard.

The standard engine is a four-liter, 240 hp V6 producing 275 lb/ft of torque, mated to a six-speed close-ratio manual transmission. An optional supercharger will be available that pumps up the output to 300 horses. Toyota claims the Tacoma X-Runner will be capable of zero-to-60 acceleration in seven seconds, with times reduced by more than an additional second with the blower option.

Toyota boasts that during testing, the X-Runner’s road-holding ability was measured by an electronic accelerometer in excess of 0.9 G’s of lateral acceleration, better than most other trucks on the market, and many sports cars as well.