X (-Runner) marks the (sport truck) spot
by Ron Sessions
Photo by Melissa Spiering
Sports-car aficionados may take issue, but a new breed of sport-compact truck is giving the blueblood brands a run for their money. Consider Toyota's new Tacoma X-Runner sport truck. It comes tunerized from the factory with lowered suspension (one inch front, 3/4 inch rear), the 4.0-liter V-6, six-speed manual gearbox, 18-inch wheels, 45-series Bridgestone Potenza RE050 tires, and a body kit with a hood scoop, fender flares, front and rear spoilers, and ground effects. It's sold only as an Access Cab, replacing last year's S-Runner in the lineup.
A specially braced frame is said to improve torsional rigidity, quicken steering feel, and transitional response. Front springs are 50 percent stiffer, and rear leafs are less progressive. A high-performance Big Brake system on the X-Runner has 13-inch internally vented front discs, four-pot calipers, large high-friction pads, and braided steel lines, good for linear pedal feel and reduced fade. The handling target was the Nissan 350Z with lateral acceleration numbers approaching 0.9 g. Our tests validate Toyota's claim with a recorded skidpad number of 0.89 g and a rollick through the slalom cones at an un-truck-like 65 mph.
If you can tolerate the truck's more abrupt ride quality, you can play with sports cars costing thousands of dollars more. One editor remarked, "The X-Runner is a testament to the remarkable bandwidth of the Tacoma platform. It makes a convincing argument as an appliance of sporting transport." Some editors felt the body cladding was a bit overdone and heavy-handed: "They should've consulted with BMW's M or Mercedes's AMG on how to sportify a production-based unit." But others felt the X-Runner had the potential to spark the sport-truck segment. The fact that the mods to make a Tacoma into an X-Runner are so comprehensive indicates Toyota wants to play in this game.