Credit: Greg Migliore
Credit: Greg Migliore

Toyota redesigned the 2024 Tacoma with a logical mindset. Hybrid powertrain? Check. Better interior? Check. More technology and a modern design? Check and check. 

While the engineers were fine-tuning these much-needed improvements, some other Toyota product guys decided to have a little fun, apparently conspiring with their aftermarket friends to build something best described as a “forest-attack truck.” TRD goes Mad Max.

The result is the 2024 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter. While the vaunted TRD Pro is your desert runner, the Trailhunter’s natural habitat is woodsy and rocky terrain. This new trim that sits near the top of the Taco’s menu offers specialized off-road capabilities, hybrid power and lots of bronze. After a week of testing the Trailhunter everywhere from mud-splattered roads to downtown Detroit, I have five thoughts.

Positioned near the top of Toyota’s Tacoma lineup, the Trailhunter is built for woodsy, rocky terrain, while the TRD Pro dominates desert runs. Each offers specialized equipment for conquering their respective off-road domains. Credit: Greg Migliore
Positioned near the top of Toyota’s Tacoma lineup, the Trailhunter is built for woodsy, rocky terrain, while the TRD Pro dominates desert runs. Each offers specialized equipment for conquering their respective off-road domains. Credit: Greg Migliore

Related: Must Have Toyota Tacoma Accessories

The Trailhunter Gear is Gnarly

With knobby tires, a raised stance, and protective armor, the Trailhunter thrives in mud, rocks, and rugged terrain. Credit: Greg Migliore
With knobby tires, a raised stance, and protective armor, the Trailhunter thrives in mud, rocks, and rugged terrain. Credit: Greg Migliore

If you’re going trail-hunting, you need stuff, and the Tacoma Trailhunter packs heavy. It gives you steel skid plates, rock rails, high clearance exhaust, tow hooks, and the spectacularly named “Old Man Emu” forged monotube shocks with external reservoirs. The Australian off-roading experts at ARB worked in partnership with Toyota to develop the shocks, bed rack and sport bars.

The iconic TOYOTA grille design gets a modern twist, complete with an LED light bar and fog lamps to light the way. Credit: Greg Migliore
The iconic TOYOTA grille design gets a modern twist, complete with an LED light bar and fog lamps to light the way. Credit: Greg Migliore

The Trailhunter rides on knobby 33-inch Goodyear Wrangler Territory R/T tires and has TOYOTA spelled out old-school style across the grille, backed by an LED light bar and fog lamps. There’s a snorkel on the passenger side A-pillar if you need to ford a river. However, most of the time, it makes comically loud snorting noises during acceleration, startling anyone riding shotgun.

The Trailhunter is geared for trails, rocks and overlanding adventures. Conversely, the Tacoma’s range-topping TRD Pro model is set up for the desert, swapping the Old Man Emu shocks for FOX QS3 three-way adjustable internal bypass shocks with remote reservoirs tuned for high-speed runs and calibrated to prevent bottoming out. To be clear, both versions can conquer almost anything.

The Bronze Age Lives On

The Trailhunter stands out with its Oxide Bronze paint and 18-inch bronze wheels—bold looks to match its rugged capabilities. Credit: Greg Migliore
The Trailhunter stands out with its Oxide Bronze paint and 18-inch bronze wheels—bold looks to match its rugged capabilities. Credit: Greg Migliore

The Traillhunter will cause people to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and snap photos, and the 18-inch bronze-colored wheels and the Oxide Bronze paint are a huge part of that. Toyota ushered in a new Bronze Age in 2020 with the Land Cruiser Heritage Edition, which featured bronze wheels as part of its throwback package. Bronze rollers also showed up on the 2023 Toyota 4Runner 40th Anniversary Edition, and now Toyota is mounting them on the Tacoma’s forest-attack trim. Good move. That being said, Toyota’s record with Bronze isn’t perfect, and black or gray steelies on an off-roader have a timeless look, in my opinion.

The Interior is Not an Afterthought

A 14-inch infotainment screen and functional interior design make the Trailhunter just as comfortable on-road as it is off. Credit: Greg Migliore
A 14-inch infotainment screen and functional interior design make the Trailhunter just as comfortable on-road as it is off. Credit: Greg Migliore

It would be easy to excuse Toyota for going with a basic interior with cheap furnishings for an off-roader. Throw on a few Trailhunter badges and call it a day. That would be a missed opportunity. At this price, $65 grand, you should expect a compelling interior, and Toyota delivers. The so-called mineral color scheme looks great, with light gray/blue seats, orange stitching and rock-colored accent pieces on the dashboard. There are plenty of cubbyholes, cupholders and storage bins throughout, and textured rubber handles that fit the utilitarian theme. Naturally, there’s a colorful 14-inch infotainment screen, which is bright and easy to use.

Nor is The Bed

The Trailhunter’s bed is as versatile as it is durable, with tie-down points, a 120-volt plug, and a power trailgate for all your overlanding needs. Credit: Greg Migliore
The Trailhunter’s bed is as versatile as it is durable, with tie-down points, a 120-volt plug, and a power trailgate for all your overlanding needs. Credit: Greg Migliore

Toyota invested development time and money on the Trailhunter’s bed, which is super functional. This one is five feet, and a six-footer is available. It has a bed mat that sits on top of a liner, tie-down points and a 120-volt plug. There’s also a tarp/cover in one of the side panels and a power trailgate. There’s a lot to use, but it’s not gimmicky.

How’s It Drive? My Toyota Trailhunter Review

he ARB-developed sport bar and bed rack add utility to the Trailhunter, perfect for carrying all your adventure gear. Credit: Greg Migliore
The ARB-developed sport bar and bed rack add utility to the Trailhunter, perfect for carrying all your adventure gear. Credit: Greg Migliore

The Tacoma Trailhunter runs the i-Force Max hybrid with a 2.4-liter turbo four-cylinder powerplant hooked to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The system delivers 22 miles per gallon in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. It produces 326 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque, outgunning the old Toyota V6 and injecting this truck with legit power. It’s jacked up and wearing heavy off-road armor, but jab the throttle and this thing can move. Sometimes in a sloppy, tire grinding way, as those big Goodyears paw at the pavement, but I’m not complaining. 

From the trail to the city, the Tacoma Trailhunter’s bold looks and off-road prowess turn heads and spark envy. Credit: Greg Migliore
From the trail to the city, the Tacoma Trailhunter’s bold looks and off-road prowess turn heads and spark envy. Credit: Greg Migliore

I sought out a messy, pockmarked road worsened by the damp weather as fall lurched into “late fall” (a season unique to the upper Midwest), and enjoyed the Trailhunter’s raw capability over the rough terrain. It’s an enjoyable daily driver, and I happen to like the bouncy off-road dynamic for routine use. On the highway, it’s rather loud as the high-riding Trailhunter is buffeted by wind and the snorkel chokes on air. It’s a compromise, but not a deal breaker.

In closing, the Trailhunter is a lot of fun. It’s not cheap, and a more basic—yet still very capable—Tacoma is the more practical option for daily driving. But that’s logical thinking. Behind the wheel of the Trailhunter, maybe you’ll think a little less logically, and try to get into a little more trouble.