The Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter Comes With Intriguing Practical Features

Summary

• The 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter is a hybrid pickup truck specifically designed for outdoor adventures and tough terrains. It comes with a range of practical features and tools.
• The Trailhunter features an aggressive design, including a bronze grille and 20-inch LED light bar. It also includes off-roading enhancements like high-mount air intake snorkel and steel skid plates.
• The Trailhunter is equipped with an i-Force Max Hybrid powertrain, combining a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine with an electric motor. It has a towing capacity of 6,500 pounds and a payload capacity of 1,709 pounds. The truck also features an Old Man Emu suspension for optimized off-roading capabilities.

Toyota excels at a few things, and making hybrid vehicles is definitely at the forefront of them. Ever since introducing us to the Prius back in 1997, the Japanese manufacturer hasn’t stopped animating the industry with a vibrant line-up of partly electric vehicles. In 2023, the company introduced a new variant on its pickup trucks: The Trailhunter, a moniker that comes with a special set of practical features, as well as a hybrid powertrain in this case.

The Trailhunter, which is also found on the Toyota Tundra, is one of the many trim levels of the Toyota Tacoma, along with the entry-level SR, mid-grade SR5, refreshed TRD PreRunner, TRD Sport, TRD Off-Road, high-end Limited, and the desert off-road-oriented TRD Pro trim level. While each version has its unique attributes, the Trailhunter is built for outdoorsy escapades around the tougher roads, which tend to be more slow-paced, although still extreme. To accommodate such purposes, Toyota went to town on its new Tacoma Hybrid, supplying it with an array of tools, gadgets, and features that you would normally yourself over time.

As of now, the 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter is not yet available for purchase, and we’re still missing a few details regarding the pricing, electric range, and fuel efficiency. At the same time, we’ve already seen enough to know that the Tacoma Trailhunter is the ultimate overlanding vehicle, so we’ve decided to highlight its practical features, from the integrated MOLLE Panel to its Old Man Emu suspension.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various authoritative sources, including Toyota.

The Trailhunter Is Your Perfect Overlanding Companion

Subjectively speaking, the Tacoma Trailhunter looks way more imposing than your average mid-sized truck. The aggressive design perfectly conveys the idea that it was indeed built for action. The hood features high peaks to help give you a better view of the road, as you’re moving the hefty hybrid truck around unconventional roads.

The front fascia is nicely adorned with a bronze grille that is unique to the Trailhunter trim level, coupled with a 20-inch LED light bar. Fog lights are also present at the rendezvous, to maximize visibility in different environments. The brutish frame is mounted on 265/70R18 33-inch Goodyear bronze tires, covered by 18-inch wheels.

The Snorkel And Integrated MOLLE Panels Are The Icing On The Cake

The back is nicely protected from impact with an ARB steel bumper, which can be useful when you’re driving around treacherous, rocky areas. The high-clearance exhaust pipe is another nice touch that adds to the truck’s character. Similarly, the sides are fortified with frame sliders to limit dents and scratches.

To make overlanding trips more convenient, the Trailhunter also comes with a standard modular sports bar that was also engineered in partnership with ARB. The bar is practical for holding the cargo and gear that you might choose to take with you.

To facilitate things more, the integrated MOLLE panels can also be altered, removed, or even upgraded depending on your needs. Underneath, the chassis is nicely protected with steel skid plates that shield it from rocks, mud, and water. Now, we’ve previously talked about the fording abilities of the Tesla Cybertruck, and how it isn’t the only off-roader in the market that can submerge itself in relatively deep waters. Well, the Trailhunter has a trim-unique high-mount air intake “snorkel” mounted along the passenger-side A-pillar.

No Dearth Of Off-roading Gear And Specs Here

Under the skin, it is an i-Force Max Hybrid setup that moves the off-roader around. The powertrain combines a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with a 48-horsepower electric motor that contributes roughly 184 pound-feet of torque. This might be seen as a downgrade from the usual V-6 configuration found on other versions of the Tacoma, but then again, you can simply opt for the TRD Pro if that’s what you want.

The 0-60 mph acceleration times and top speed figures are currently unknown, but we can reasonably expect something decent in that regard as well. Similarly, the MPG has yet to be divulged, so it’s unclear how efficient the truck will turn out to be.

Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter Specs

(Figures sourced from Toyota)

The Old Man Emu Suspension Optimizes Off-Roading

Much like its closest cousin, the TRD Pro, the Trailhunter is equipped with an electronic rear-locking differential and a front stabilizer bar disconnect that gives you more wheel travel around the beaten paths. When you venture out into the rough terrain, you’re bound to come across steep hills, uneven tracks, and whatnot.

The Trailhunter comes with a high-ground clearance that further helps protect the chassis as you’re driving around treacherous paths. These figures come courtesy of a High-Clearance Trail Exhaust, which allows you to “take on tougher terrain than you thought possible,” according to Toyota.

To adapt the driving experience to the Trailhunter’s off-roading missions, Toyota developed an Old Man Emu suspension (OME) system in a joint venture with Australian-based ARB. The suspension is equipped with 2.5-inch forged monotube shocks. In a monotube design, the oil and gas chambers are separated by a floating piston, which translates into a more responsible hydraulic valving.

All in all, this helps the truck absorb impact more efficiently by distributing pressure evenly through the frame, instead of letting one particular area take the brunt of it. Aside from that, the four-wheel disc brake system also helps with heat dissipation and maneuverability and is overall more reliable as it has fewer moving parts than drum brakes.

The Trailhunter Can Tow Up To 6,500 Pounds

If you’re an old-school petrolhead, you might be disappointed to learn that this hybrid version gets an eight-speed automatic transmission instead of the manual system found on the other trim levels. Nonetheless, the truck still makes up for it with a decent hop in its step and is far from being just another lame, partly electric truck. While hybrid powertrains can negatively affect a truck’s heavy-duty aptitude, the Tacoma Trailhunter is just as capable as the other trim levels, with a 6,000-pound towing capacity and a 1,709-pound payload capacity.

Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter Towing And Payload

(Figures sourced from Toyota)

The Trailhunter’s Bed Is A Real Swiss Army Knife

People buy pickup trucks for many reasons. They either want to show off, like the driving experience or need the extra storage that the bed offers. Being built for overlanding experiences, you could say the hunter of trails has somewhat of a Swiss army knife for a bed. The plethora of practical gadgets that come as standard with the truck gives it a unique aftermarket feel and makes it clear that Toyota wanted it to stick out from the rest of the line-up.

The Bed Comes With A Tire Compressor

The Trailhunter is a four-door Double Cab pickup that comes with either a five-foot bed or a lankier six-foot bed, depending on your needs. The new tall bed offers seven-percent more volume than the previous generation. Furthermore, it is nicely equipped with a multitude of LED lights (located both inside, and on each flank), which comes in handy if you need to access it at night. Tie-downs can be found on both sides to help secure your cargo. The tailgate can be opened with the push of a button either from the driver’s side or from the back near the rear headlamps.

The inside of the bed is equipped with an air compressor so that you can inflate your tires, or adjust their pressure to better handle the different surfaces you choose to drive on. The compressor also provides a USB port, along with a 12-volt outlet. Recovery hooks can also be found beneath the bed for towing purposes. The bed also features a 2,400-watt inverter to help you turn battery voltage into energy for your tools.