DRIVEN: 2005 Toyota Tacoma Sport

Story by Mark Atkinson
Photos courtesy Toyota Canada

Toyota’s small trucks are legendary for their durability and reliability in the nastiest conditions the world can throw at them. The original Tacoma was Toyota’s first step forward towards making those small trucks more livable in a more urban environment, and it was a success in that regard.

However, much like the rest of the world – and its competition – the new Tacoma has grown bigger. The compact truck market used to be flooded with offerings from a slew of different manufacturers with only the Dodge Dakota taking on the ‘mid-size’ tag. Well, now with Nissan (Frontier), Chevrolet (Colorado), GMC (Canyon) and now Toyota introducing their new generation of ‘small’ trucks in mid-size packages, only the ancient Ford Ranger and Mazda B-series can lay claim to the compact descriptor.



Like many pickups, the new Tacoma is offered in a dizzying number of combinations of cab sizes, engine and transmission choices, drivetrain options, etc. The one that probably appeals to the typical Inside Track reader the most, however, is the two-wheel-drive Tacoma Double Cab Sport V6, and the week we spent with it opened some eyes.

Motivating the bigger truck is a bigger engine, in this case a 4.0-liter V6 pushing out 236 hp @ 5200 rpm and 266 lb-ft. @ 4000 rpm. While this powerful engine is available with a six-speed manual, our tester was hooked up to a five-speed automatic transmission. There was plenty of passing urge when called upon, but the enthusiast in us still cried out for the stick shift. No matter…



The Sport package offers a host of upgrades to the regular Tacoma, including a more aggressive body-colour front facia, a hood scoop, lowered suspension with Bilstein shocks, body-hugging seats, a limited-slip differential, 17-inch aluminum wheels and grippier tires.

For a body-on-frame truck, the Tacoma was surprisingly agile, despite the high center of gravity, and the upgraded shocks provided good body control without transmitting too many nasty vibrations into the cabin from broken pavement.



The combination of sticky-ish tires and rear LSD meant you could really push the Tacoma hard, and it would respond relatively well, with the sport seats keeping you in place comfortably. The brakes were probably the only thing that could use some work; perhaps a more aggressive pad compound would help them bite better and improve response.

The four-door model provided a good amount of leg room in the rear, and passengers had few complaints about the accommodations. While the interior is done in ‘Toyota-modern’ and everything lines up correctly, there were some areas that could stand a little improvement to distance the more expensive Tacoma from the Corollas.



Pricing for our tester rang in at $35,520 and there’s an enormous array of options and packages that you can select to personalize the truck any way you want. Hopefully Toyota’s reputation for quality and high resale value will continue, making the Tacoma a good deal not only when you first buy it, but years down the road as well.