Autolocking hubs and a 4WD-High button let you shift on the fly at speeds less than 50 mph. The shift-on-the-fly button lets you slip into 4-High when a good road goes bad on you. (However, Toyota still offers manual hubs for drivers who want to be sure it's locked in or locked out of four-wheel drive.)
A sand patch gave us the opportunity to try the push-button locking differential. We purposely stopped in the middle of the pool of sand. Pressing the button locked the rear differential, forcing the rear wheels to turn at the same speed. This enabled the Tacoma to walk out of the ankle-deep sand with absolutely no trouble. The locking rear differential is indispensable for driving in an area prone to mud and snow. At moderate speed over desert moguls the Tacoma suspension keeps the tires on the terrain for good grip without jarring the occupant's internal organs loose.
We've also driven the 2001 S-Runner. We liked its deep-sounding (but not obnoxious) exhaust note and responsive handling. The five-speed manual transmission shifts smoothly and makes the truck more fun to drive. It makes accelerating into traffic a joy. The standard 3.4-liter V6 turns the S-Runner into a sprinter with 190 horsepower. The sport-tuned suspension setup includes Tokico gas shock absorbers, increased-rate springs, and front and rear stabilizer bars. Ride height is reduced by one inch from the standard 4x2. Though a little jouncy when empty, the ride never felt harsh, and handling was superb. As long as the weather doesn't get too slippery, the S-Runner is as entertaining as anything we've recently driven. It is so much fun that we kept searching for reasons to go for a spin. And for a tick under $18,000, it's a bargain.
We also used an S-Runner to move some furniture from Maryland to Virginia and, like all pickups, it rode better when loaded down. The lower ride height of the S-Runner is a real benefit when it's time to do some work. The bed height of the S-Runner measured 28 inches by our tape measure, a full 3.5 inches lower than a Ford Ranger 4x4 we had at the same time, and that makes a big difference when loading and unloading heavy objects.
Toyota's 3.4-liter V6 is also a good match for the optional four-speed electronically controlled transmission. This combination offers good acceleration performance for passing slow-moving semi trucks on two-lane stretches of highway.
The V6 is available for 4x2 and 4x4 models. It delivers 190 horsepower with 220 foot-pounds of torque at 3600 rpm. Even at that it's still reasonably economical with an EPA city/highway mileage rating of 18/21 on a 4x2 with a 5-speed manual.
Two four-cylinder engines are also available. The base Tacoma 4x2 uses a 142-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which compares well with competing for-cylinder models from Nissan, Ford and Mazda. The Toyota 2.4-liter is economical to run, with an EPA-estimated city/highway mileage of 22/26 mpg when matched with a 5-speed manual transmission. For 4X4 models, Toyota offers a 150-horsepower 2.7-liter four-cylinder. Next Page