Tale of Two Toyota Pickups

I recently had the opportunity to spend a week with four-door versions of the Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra. Both trucks were well optioned 4×4s representing the top-end of the current state of the mid-size and full-size pickup market. In testing the trucks, I couldn’t help but think … there should be a third choice.

Make no mistake about it, these are wonderful trucks. The brawny Tundra CrewMax can tow 10,000 pounds and carry five big guys in comfort. The Tacoma Double Cab delivers a car-like ride with plenty of room for four. But there are lots of companies that can (and need) to get by with a whole lot less.

When Toyota first started selling pickup trucks in America decades back, the company focused on small entry-level trucks. They defined the market, along with Nissan (Datsun), Mazda, Isuzu, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi. When GM entered the playing field, they did so with a rebadged Isuzu pickup, selling the Isuzu P’Up as the Chevy Luv.

These were fuel-efficient little pickups … exactly what America needs now at the bottom end of the spectrum of trucks. The Tundra and Tacoma are great trucks for what they are, but we need another (smaller) option … one that won’t cost an arm and a leg and will score 35 MPG …