2025 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter

I spent a week with this off-road beast and found that it has pretty much everything you need to bolted onto it, so there’s no need to go hunting for aftermarket parts. Trail hunting aside, this Toyota Tacoma is ready for anything you can put it through during your daily commute during the weekdays and is more than ready for the weekends.

Interior

The interior of the Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter is a little nicer than you might expect. Instead of cloth seats, which would be fitting for a truck of its caliber, the Tacoma Trailhunter is fitted with gray SofTex-trimmed seats with power-adjustable front driver and passenger seats. The rear seat area fits three people, but I doubt anyone would want to sit in the middle. I sat back there and laughed because my head was wedged into the headliner, and I’m only five-feet, eight-inches tall.

That said, it can comfortably fit up to four adults while keeping them entertained with all of its infotainment features. Speaking of its tech, the large screen sits in the middle of the dash and is within easy reach of the driver. There are also plenty of physical buttons for the HVAC controls and off-road mechanicals, which is a welcomed sight, considering everything is controlled via touchscreen nowadays.

One thing to note is the Tacoma Trailhunter is lifted, so getting in and out of it can be difficult for some people, including myself. Fortunately, there are grab handles for all the passengers to help them get in and out, but there isn’t one for the driver. I found myself grabbing onto the steering and throwing myself into the truck every time, which took a bit of effort and probably looked funny to any potential onlookers.

Exterior

The Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter looks like fully kitted off-road rig that means business. Toyota partnered with ARB to make the Trailhunter trail-ready. For starters, the Trailhunter is fitted with an Old Man Emu suspension that lifts the front of the truck by two inches and the rear by 1.5 inches to increase its off-road capability.

It also has an ARB rear bumper with a tow connector for trailers, two robust steel recovery points, two jack points for an off-road jack, and provisions for rear-facing auxiliary lights. There’s also an ARB sport bar for mounting shovels and recovery equipment as well as bed rack. The front of the truck has an LED light bar and fog lights. For some reason, I couldn’t get the light bar to turn on to test it, though.

On-site workers will love the Tacoma’s bed has a household outlet for power tools and an air compressor to inflate the tires when needed. Overall, the Tacoma Trailhunter looks the part and is ready for any off-road. Unfortunately, I’m not much of an off-road guy, so I didn’t put the truck through its paces off the beaten path.

Regardless, the Tacoma has a steel front skid plate to protect it from debris if you do happen to take it off-road. Hopefully, you don’t scuff up the 18-inch bronze wheels in the process, because they look nice.

Powertrain and Driving Impressions

When I first started driving the Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter, I had a hard time believing that it was powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Having driven the new Tacoma in the past, I thought this version felt quicker. However, it’s the same i-Force Max 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with the hybrid powertrain that you’ll find in every other Tacoma trim level. It generates 323 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque, which is good for up to 6,500 pounds of towing power.

The engine setup is attached to an eight-speed automatic transmission that flows the power out to the rear wheels in its standard mode. However, you can access four-wheel-drive with the turn of a knob, in addition to the different drive modes. The truck also has Crawl control and hill descent, but as you can guess, I didn’t use either of them. 

Instead, I drove the car on regular city streets and highways, like most truck lovers will do 98 percent of the time. On the road, the Tacoma Trailhunter feels very composed, despite its higher ride height. The truck’s steering effort is well-weighted and the brake pedal feel is a bit mushy, but it is a truck, after all. 

The acceleration is great, which is due in part to the electric assist from the hybrid motor. What makes hammering the throttle in this thing fun is the snorkel that resides on the passenger-side A-pillar, which emits whooshing sounds from the turbocharger when the transmission shifts gears. It sounds really cool at first, but gets old after a while. 

Otherwise, the Tacoma is easy to drive. The visibility out of all four corners is pretty good, but the mirrors and blind spot monitors help as well. When it comes to parking, the 360-degree camera does wonders, but it should be noted that the truck’s turning radius is shallow, so be prepared to make a nine-point turn when parking in tight situations. As for fuel economy, I averaged 19.4 mpg during my week of driving, which is lower than the EPA estimate of 23 mpg combined.

Technology

The Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter has all the technology you want, including a large 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a premium JBL audio system that sounds amazing, and a JBL Flex portable speaker so you can take your music on the go. There’s also a powered tailgate, which seems unnecessary, but it’s actually pretty helpful.

Safety

The Tacoma is as safe as can be with its airbag system and array of driver assists. It comes standard with Toyota’s Safety Sense 3.0 system, which includes features like proactive driving assist, a pre-collision system, and a radar cruise control. The Trailhunter trim also comes with an array of camera for its Multi-terrain view system that allows the driver to see around and underneath the truck when in off-road situations. There is even a backup guide monitor to assist when towing.

Summary 

There’s no doubt that the 2025 Toyota Tacoma Trailhunter is ready for any off-road situation you can put it through. Considering how well-equipped it is, I would say that it is worth its as-tested $64,944 price. However, some off-road enthusiasts may beg to differ, considering a base Tacoma truck costs less than $40,000 and some aftermarket modifications could be installed at a cheaper rate.

That said, the Trailhunter may not be the right trim level for every truck lover. But I will add that not having to install modifications yourself and having an off-road truck right out of the box is not a bad thing, especially if you plan to actually take it off-road.