The Toyota Tacoma has never had a V8 engine under the hood, but each generation has had a powerful V6 option that was more than capable on and off the road.
Toyota introduced the Tacoma in 1995, although the automaker wasn’t new to manufacturing trucks, as it launched its first pickup back at the end of the ’60s. While the truck itself has grown in size over its various generations, so have its sales, with the Tacoma reaching its highest marks in 2021, with over 252,000 units sold, per GoodCarBadCar.net. However, the mid-size truck market has become increasingly more competitive, with rivals like the Nissan Frontier, Chevrolet Colorado, and GMC Canyon. So, for those looking to get a more compact truck that still has some oomph under the hood, what are the most robust engines ever featured in a Tacoma?
Toyota has never offered a V8 engine option in the Tacoma. However, this truck has come equipped with some capable V6s under the hood of each generation (including one with a dealer-installed supercharger), and the automakers latest i-FORCE MAX hybrid powertrain, which is the most potent the mid-size truck has seen yet. We got to experience first hand the automakers most recent efforts with our 2024 Toyota Tacoma review, and walked away impressed by improvements from previous models in ride, performance, and interior quality.3.4-liter V6
The first year the Tacoma was launched, there were a few engine options, including the 3.4-liter V6 engine. The automaker pulled it out of its full-size T100 truck at the time. With dual overhead cams, multi-valve cylinders, and a peppy four-speed automatic transmission, the Tacoma SR5 V6 could produce 190 horsepower, and 220 lb-ft of torque.
The six-cylinder in the ’95 Tacoma was capable enough to offer 1,670 pounds of payload, and up to 5,000 pounds of towing capacity, which outperformed the Nissan Truck SE V6 from the same year, that could only muster 3,500 pounds of towing power.
