Future Compact Toyota Pick Up

[Dad]

I passed this on the road today, never seen one in person before. Looks about same size as Maverick.
A Rivian all elecric, starting at 67,000! Don't think it will replace the 20k Mav, but looked cool.

Yep, I've seen a couple around SoCal. Very futuristic looking. I saw $72k starting price when I looked it up a month ago. Four electric motors with 800 hp, so she'll move quickly. Too pricey for my wallet and I'm a bit wary of having to depend on one source of fuel; electricity. At least with the hybrid I can recharge without plugging in. I have to wonder with the rise of all-electric vehicles will we be able to sustain the increase in electrical demand?

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[LeersMav]

Toyota and Nissan had small trucks once. Early Nissan Frontier is the closest to the Mav.
Toyota's trucks morphed into the HUGE ones we see today in the Taco-coma and the Tundra.
Current Nissan trucks (Frontier & Titan) compete with the Ranger.

Only 3 things would change my mind towards a Toyota or Nissan small truck:
1) Hybrid drivetrain
2) Super Crew cab and most importantly
3) Price competitive with the Mav at each trim level.

 

[Dad]

Remember when the Explorer came out? Ford caught everyone with their pants down. How about the Model T, 64 Mustang, 32 Ford and now the Maverick. Too bad these circumstances are keeping them from killing the market and allowing the others to catch up.

Just my thoughts.

You're right, those were ground-breaking automobiles and with the Maverick, Ford continues doing the same. I was surprised Ford dropped the Flex. I had one and it was a well built solid car that brought back the station wagon design with style. That car had excellent road handling. Drove it through a fierce rain storm and it thrived on drenched roads. Ford hit a home run with the Maverick, but as you pointed out, if they had the resources to built to demand it would have been a grand slam.

 

[Dad]

Toyota and Nissan had small trucks once. Early Nissan Frontier is the closest to the Mav.
Toyota's trucks morphed into the HUGE ones we see today in the Taco-coma and the Tundra.
Current Nissan trucks (Frontier & Titan) compete with the Ranger.

Only 3 things would change my mind towards a Toyota or Nissan small truck:
1) Hybrid drivetrain
2) Super Crew cab and most importantly
3) Price competitive with the Mav at each trim level.

While Toyota kept their mid-size truck competitive, Nissan ignored the Frontier for several years. Old interior design, dated engine and drive train. It's only this year did they re-style. Tundra is a much better truck than the Tacoma, but then you're leaving the small to mid-size market. The Maverick filled a big gap in the truck industry and did it extremely well. I know how much you love your Maverick ... cold day in hell before you look at a Toyota or Nissan!

 

[Leuf]

Interesting that they left open the possibility of body on frame. That likely wouldn't be price competitive with the Mav but would make it more likely there could be an extended cab/long bed option, which is completely absent from the compact truck market at this point and probably never going to happen with the unibody competition.

 

[Maverickman74]

Interesting that they left open the possibility of body on frame. That likely wouldn't be price competitive with the Mav but would make it more likely there could be an extended cab/long bed option, which is completely absent from the compact truck market at this point and probably never going to happen with the unibody competition.

Considering to do a different cab/bed setup on a body on frame you have to redesign both the frame and the cab and the bed. Granted their redesign might be a little simpler, but that enlists 2 maybe 3 different departments just to get the shell together. In a unibody its a little simpler. Remember the 80s when automakers were like GM and Ford were saving money by putting multiple configurations into a unibody? Hatchbacks, 2 doors, 4 doors, wagons. AMC actually pioneered all of it with 2wd and 4wd, 2dr hatch, 2dr sedan, 4dr sedan, 4dr wagon, 2 door targa top, and whatever the gremmy was. All on the same platform on the cheap.

As for the Toyota. Im sure it will sell, but could care less. However I will gladly tow them off the side of the road just like I do with 90s, 2000s, and 2010s Tacomas. The newest was a 2019 that overheated and popped a head gasket after the radiator was damaged while fording about 20" of water. It was a TRD. It was a concreted river crossing thats almost impossible to go too fast on. Never been impressed by a Toyota truck after about 1995.

 

[Jmav2152]

Talked to my Toyota Dealer about a Tacoma I have family that works there and was told either in late 23 or 24 the Tacoma will be offered in a hybrid that'll be my next truck after my Maverick.

Look at the hybrid in the tundra....if you're expecting economy I don't think toyota is gonna go that route

 

[WVX76]

I had a rental 2021 Tacoma TRD Off Road Double Cab for the last month. While I like Toyota and it was decent to drive, it really seemed dated compared to the Maverick. Seemed much smaller inside especially in the rear seat. Fuel economy was poor as well.

I would strongly consider an updated Tacoma, however it likely will have a turbo and frankly the new Tundra twin turbo roll out hasn’t been great from reported issues. A smaller Toyota with body on frame and true 4x4 would be awesome, but I’m not holding my breath.

 

[JASmith]

HEY AUTOMAKERS ....... want to know what people want? TRY ASKING THEM! Do a frickin' survey or something.

People only know what they want right now, not three years from now when product development is done. For example, I am still kicking myself that I didn't buy a BMW i3 EV w/ generator with I believe it was 22K miles on it for $13K when oil was trading negative and gas prices were dirt cheap and there were a TON of them collecting dust on lots as nobody wanted them, and yet now a similar 18K mile one is selling for over $30K per Autotrader, more than double and people are all about the EVs with crazy gas prices that probably won't end until the next election cycle. I said it would be a no-brainer as we could just sell it later at no loss as it could only go up, but oh well, water under the bridge.

...it would make more sense to use the TNGA unibody platform," he added, mentioning Toyota's newest component set that sits beneath everything from the Corolla to the Camry to the RAV4 crossover and more.

I just hope the RAV4 chassis is beefy enough for it, as Hyundai said that the reason they didn't put their Santa Cruz into production on the last generation Tucson platform was that they tested it and it wasn't strong enough, so they intentionally designed the next gen from the ground up to be able to serve double-duty.

While I like Toyota quality, I've never been very impressed with their designs. I have a feeling Ram will beat them to market and has a reputation as a truck brand, so supposedly will bring a Dakota which will basically just be a on-road focused version of the existing Jeep Gladiator for the midsize category that would compete with the new Ranger, and recently refreshed Fiat Toro that's already for sale in Brazil might be made in Mexico or the US marked as a Ram 1000. I'm already familiar with their new 1.3T engine and would be happy with that since its peppy enough for such a small/light vehicle and so much better than the crappy 2.0 Tigershark they put in the Compass, and I like the interior layout already since I've long been an advocate of portrait style infotainment and digital clusters:

 

[Rob Cactus Gray]

I passed this on the road today, never seen one in person before. Looks about same size as Maverick.
A Rivian all elecric, starting at 67,000! Don't think it will replace the 20k Mav, but looked cool.

Super nice interior. I’m on the hunt for salvaged seats from one. I will do my best to stick them in the Maverick and swap the logos, then figure out airbags…

 

[Sliphorn]

As far as affordability is concerned, a base RAV4 LE hybrid is currently at $26,975.00. It does have AWD for that price, but even if they made a new hybrid FWD truck based on the RAV4 they've got a ways to go to compete with an XL Maverick.

 

[stoptothink]

I had a rental 2021 Tacoma TRD Off Road Double Cab for the last month. While I like Toyota and it was decent to drive, it really seemed dated compared to the Maverick. Seemed much smaller inside especially in the rear seat. Fuel economy was poor as well.

I would strongly consider an updated Tacoma, however it likely will have a turbo and frankly the new Tundra twin turbo roll out hasn’t been great from reported issues. A smaller Toyota with body on frame and true 4x4 would be awesome, but I’m not holding my breath.

That is Toyota's MO: they stick to proven parts/technology until people stop buying them. Drive any Toyota an you'll feel like you're stuck in the 90's, because most of the car was likely designed back then. Tacomas are very reliable trucks, but they are slow, gas-chugging, cramped inside, and ponderous handling (on the road) compared to the competition...and they still cost more.

It's going to be really difficult for Toyota to come close to Ford on cost, so I don't think they are even going to try. I have no interest in paying $40k+ for a compact pickup.

 

[ThisWas]

As far as affordability is concerned, a base RAV4 LE hybrid is currently at $26,975.00.

RAV4 LE hybrid is $29,575 + $1,215 delivery.

 

[Vicelysg]

While it's been hard to get a Maverick, it has also gotten the attention of other auto makers. It looks like Toyota will make a Maverick competitor.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/toyota-compact-pickup-truck-under-consideration/

Finally!!! That's what they need some fair competition, maybe this will help everyone!

 

[Red Ryder]

It's going to be really difficult for Toyota to come close to Ford on cost, so I don't think they are even going to try. I have no interest in paying $40k+ for a compact pickup.

I have no interest in paying $40K for any truck. That is why my $27K Maverick works for me and my $27K '18 Colorado worked for me before that.
While I could have found a low-end Taco for what I paid for the Colorado in '18, it would have been much less comfortable and sparsely equipped.

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