2011 Toyota Tacoma

The compact-pickup class has fallen on hard times. If you are looking for a compact pickup the 2011 Toyota Tacoma is the truck for you. The Tacoma is celebrated for its toughness and off-road skill and it commands almost 40 percent of the market share. Let me start off by stating that Toyota's pedal problems never occcured in the Tacoma, nonetheless though Toyota built the 2011 Tacomas with a brake-override system.

The 2011 Toyota Tacoma features three cab styles and three wheelbases. And the 2011 Tacoma's crew cab is available with two cargo-bed lengths - most competing crew cabs have one. The 2011 Tacoma regular-cab accounts for about 15 percent of Tacoma sales. It rides a 109.4-inch wheelbase, seats up to three, and has a 6.1-foot bed. Toyota calls the extended-cab the Access Cab and it accounts for 31 percent of Tacoma sales. The 2011 Tacoma Access Cab continues with a 127.4-inch-wheelbase and a 6.1-foot bed. Access Cabs have small, rear-hinged back doors and seat four with help from two forward-facing rear jump seats. The crew-cab is dubbed the Double Cab and it's by far the most popular configuration at 54 percent of Tacoma sales. The 2011 Tacoma Double Cab continues on the 127.4-inch-wheelbase with a 5-foot bed or on a 140.6-inch-wheelbase -- longest in the class -- with the 6.1-foot bed. Tacoma Crew Cabs have four conventional doors and a rear bench seat for five-passenger capacity.

The 2011 Tacoma is available with a choice of two engines, a 2.7-liter four-cylinder or a 4.0-liter V-6. Both engines again mate with rear-wheel drive or with a part-time 4wd system for use only on slippery surfaces. Tacoma's 4wd system has low-range gearing suitable for off-road use. Off-road ability is a Tacoma selling point, starting with its pure-truck, body-on-frame construction and a suspension with coil springs in front and a rugged leaf-spring solid-axle in back.

Features: Additions to 2011 Toyota Tacoma features are highlighted by the addition of standard air conditioning for all regular-cab models. Overall, Tacoma regular-cabs are very basic trucks. They come with a tilt/telescope steering wheel, but are not available with such features as power windows and locks. The 2011 Access and Double cabs have the aforementioned amenities as standard. Double cabs also get standard power mirrors. Toyota offers a plethora of option packages for Tacoma Access and Double cabs. These include cruise control, remote keyless entry, power mirrors, sliding rear window with privacy glass, and steering-wheel audio controls.

Price: Base-price range for the 2011 Toyota Tacoma is $17,175-$28,335. The 2011 Tacoma regular-cabs come only with the four-cylinder and start at $17,175 with 2wd and $21,030 with 4wd; add $900 and $1,130, respectively, for automatic transmission. The 2011 Tacoma Access Cabs with the four-cylinder engine are priced from $20,465 with 2wd and from $24,300 with 4wd; add $900 to both for automatic transmission. Base-trim V-6 4wd Access Cabs start at $25,855 with manual transmission and $26,735 with automatic. The 2011 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 2wd models start at $22,675 for the base version. The single most popular version of the Tacoma remains the V-6 4wd Double Cab; this configuration accounts for some 20 percent of the pickup's sales. Prices for the 2011 Tacoma V-6 4wd Double Cab with the regular-length bed start at $26,995 with the six-speed manual transmission and $27,835 with the five-speed automatic. The long-bed version starts at $28,335 with the five-speed automatic.