A 4000-mile test of the 2006 Toyota Tacoma: The most popular truck in motocross, supercross, arenacross...I was pulling into Los Angeles when my eyes really started to sweat. My last 12 hours in the saddle had seen three states, six gas stations and more highway patrolmen than a border crossing under terrorist alert orange (or blue or purple...whatever's bad). It was then that my most sensitive of sensory organs (my brain and my bum) became numb in chorus. As much as I wanted to pull off to the side of the road and throw rocks at the highway, I didn't. I had almost completed a Northwestern loop that left me with a worn-out credit card, an affinity for bottled Frappuccinos and a kinship with the open road. I wasn't going to quit now, not with L.A.'s skyline beckoning me to the finish line.
So instead of giving up, I used the last stretch of traffic-dense miles to recollect what I learned about the 2006 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab PreRunner 4x2 V6 Long Box through our 18 tanks of fuel. This is what I came up with.
My first thought was about how much I see these trucks. With top-level sponsor rights on all the high-profile motocross, supercross and arenacross racing series, Toyota has made its presence known inside the pits and atop the podiums over the last year. It's hard to miss the company's marketing campaigns and support inside our sport. From its commercials during opening ceremonies to the company's revolutionary privateer projects through the Toyota Motocross Athlete Program (www.toyotacross.com), Toyota is, without a doubt, the official truck of our sport.
Besides that, the Toyota's family of compact trucks also has a reputation of being simplistic, reliable and economical. My family had a Toyota truck, albeit an '85 model, that lasted through the high-school careers of three boys, including a lot of jumping, floating, sinking and rolling tests completed by each of the aforementioned youths. It wasn't the most comfortable vehicle, and it rode sort of like a tank, but what it lacked in suppleness, it more than made up for in durability and dependability. When I jumped into the new-car-smelling '06 Tacoma and took off down a California freeway two weeks prior, I knew I was the perfect guy to test this truck.
I was immediately a little surprised that the new Tacoma doesn't ride like a Cadillac, or even a full-size truck, for that matter. It keeps the little-truck feel of rigidity and, when unloaded, transmits rough-highway chop directly to the steering wheel. The PreRunner designation on our test vehicle denotes beefier suspension, wheels and tires for off-road use while retaining the fuel efficiency and weight savings of the two-wheel-drive power train. Having four-wheel-drive is somewhat silly in Southern California, where the sun shines 300 days a year. And this is a major reason why there's a PreRunner package in existence. It gives you the more aggressive stance and similar suspension of a larger 4x4 but without the added weight (or cost) of the 4x4 system. This boosts gas mileage but, in our opinion, reduces the ride quality. That is, until the truck is loaded a little.
With two bikes and a day's worth of riding gear in the back, the truck smooths out nicely on the rough sections of highway, but it's not nearly that hard to improve the ride. Just throw a buddy in the passenger seat and you'll notice an improvement. Off-road, specifically on our commutes to and from remote riding areas, the truck's ride was immaculate. The truck likes being loaded, and it'll take dirt over pavement any day. Want even more comfort? Fill all the seats.
Our test model came in Toyota's Double Cab layout, and the interior room was spacious to say the least. The rear seats are comfortable and offer foldaway capabilities to increase dry storage space. Headroom and legroom in the back are on par with most full-size trucks and put the majority of compacts to shame. The convenience of having the full-size rear seat is similar to that of running water and throwaway air filters. On my road trip, I loaded two gear bags, a suitcase, a cooler and sleeping gear (bag and pillow) in the back and could still recline the driver's seat enough to catch some z's in a rest area or two. The front seating area and cockpit is roomy and comfortable as well. The dash, door panels, center console, seats and trim throughout the interior feature a cool mix of materials, textures and patterns. Styles go from metal brushing to golf-ball dimples and everything in between. Numerous cubbyholes abound inside of the cabin, ensuring secure storage for your cell phone, notepad and bottle of chain lube. Guess how many drink holders the Tacoma has. Give up? Five! How good is that? Overall, when compared with the last body style offered by Toyota, the interior of the '06 Tacoma is plush-tastic and roomy as heck. The only complaint comes when trying to access the large, lower map pockets in the doors when you're driving down the road. You pretty much have to dislocate your elbow to reach in. Other than that, the creature comforts of the interior make for a grand on-the-road den.