Does this pickup preview what the next Toyota HiLux will look like?
Toyota USA has teased what appears to be the next-generation Tacoma pickup ahead of a potential reveal later this year.
The carmaker uploaded a single teaser image to Instagram showing the pickup’s silhouette. It’s hard to make out any details in particular, but the overall shape is quite muscular and bluff.
If this is the next-generation Tacoma, it will mark the first time the pickup has received a major update in almost a decade. The current-generation model was unveiled in 2015 and went into production in 2016.
According to US reports, the new Tacoma will be based on the TNGA-F body-on-frame architecture that currently underpins the likes of the larger Tundra and LandCruiser 300 Series.
The same architecture will reportedly be used by the next HiLux and LandCruiser Prado.
The next Tacoma will reportedly be available with two four-cylinder powertrains, with the 3.5-litre V6 engine set to be axed and hybrid power featuring for the first time.
Current Tacoma
Base versions will reportedly be powered by a longitudinally mounted version of the Kluger‘s 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine. In the Kluger this engine produces 198kW of power and 420Nm of torque and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The other powertrain will reportedly be a version of the Lexus RX500h‘s 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder hybrid setup which produces 273kW and has a “high-output” eAxle rear electric motor.
The larger Tundra has already received a hybrid powertrain in its latest generation, paving the way for a hybrid Tacoma.
There’ll likely be an electric version of the Tacoma in the future as there was an electric pickup truck concept shown in December 2021 among a large array of electric concepts from Toyota and Lexus.
BEV pickup concept
The latest Toyota HiLux has been styled to look similar to the North American Tacoma, which has never been offered in Australia, and it seems likely the next-generation model will follow suit.
The current HiLux was launched locally in 2015 and is due for a new generation within the next few years.
Toyota’s local division recently launched the tweaked HiLux Rogue variant, and plans for the range-topping HiLux GR Sport to start arriving in the second half of this year.
HiLux GR Sport
The carmaker also recently showed off a the HiLux Revo BEV concept in Thailand which points toward how an electric HiLux might look.
At this stage we’re going to have to wait and see what this new Tacoma pickup will look like. Toyota will likely post more teasers in the lead-up to the reveal.
Once the new Tacoma is launched, it will likely be followed by a new version of the 4Runner SUV which shares its body-on-frame underpinnings. Toyota offers this model in North America instead of the LandCruiser Prado.
