2009 Toyota Tacoma Overview Change Vehicle

This 2009 Toyota Tacoma overview explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2009 Tacoma, and includes Toyota Tacoma safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

After four years of production and few changes, the 2009 Toyota Tacoma arrives with revised styling in and out, and a host of new safety features including standard front-seat side-impact airbags, side-curtain airbags, stability control, and an available rearview camera. Access Cab models gain more standard features, and XM satellite radio service as well as Bluetooth connectivity are available on the 2009 Tacoma.

Though the Tacoma has been slightly restyled for 2009, the model lineup has not changed. Starting things off is the two-wheel-drive Regular Cab that’s available in Base and PreRunner trim levels and equipped with a CD player, satellite radio with three months of complimentary service, an auxiliary audio input jack, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, and a composite cargo bed. For 2009, the list of standard features grows with the addition of the Toyota Star Safety System and its stability control system, and front-seat side-impact and side-curtain airbags. Front active head restraints are also now included on every new Tacoma, as are LED taillights and revised interior door panels.

The Tacoma Access Cab, available in Base, PreRunner and V6 trim designations, treats its rear occupants to more comfortable seats this year and offers more standard amenities, such as power door locks and power windows. Toyota also offers an X-Runner sport truck edition of the Access Cab which, like versions outfitted with available TRD Off-Road and TRD Sport packages, showcases new smoked headlight housings. The SR5 package, long associated with the brand’s pickup trucks, soldiers on for 2009 but is upgraded with new fabric upholstery.

A rearview camera is also newly available on the Access Cab and the more spacious Tacoma Double Cab, a truck with four full-size doors that seats up to five passengers. The Double Cab is available in PreRunner and V6 trims, and can be had with a short five-foot bed or the same six-foot box that comes with the Regular and Access Cab.

While Toyota has made some noticeable changes to the 2009 Tacoma’s features and styling, the hardware at work behind the scenes is identical to that of previous models. Buyers who want the most fuel-efficient Tacoma available will want to focus on trucks with the 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine delivering 159 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque, mated to a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. In two-wheel-drive guise and fitted with the stick shift, the midsize Toyota pickup earns EPA ratings of 20 mpg in the city and 26 mpg on the highway. Add 4WD, and those numbers drop to 17-mpg city/22-mpg highway.

For those who want to tow up to 6,500 pounds and enjoy 266 lb-ft of torque in the process, Toyota offers a 4.0-liter V6 in the 2009 Tacoma. This 236-horsepower mill works with six-speed manual and five-speed automatic transmissions, the latter helping rear-drive models hit up to 17 mpg around town and 21 mpg on the freeway. The least fuel-efficient Tacoma V6 is the 4WD model with a stick shift, rated at 14 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway.

After a long run of earning top-notch scores from Consumer Reports, the Tacoma’s reliability ratings dip significantly for the four-cylinder models, which get the worst rating possible. The market research company rates the Tacoma V6 average. J.D. Power and Associates also predicts that reliability will be average, despite awarding the essentially mechanically identical 2008 Tacoma a gold trophy for dependability.

Thankfully, the Tacoma’s outstanding safety performance hasn’t diminished at all over the years, thanks in part to features like front-seat side-impact and side curtain airbags, both of which are now standard. They join stability control and antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist on the standard equipment list, as well as options including downhill assist, and hill-start assist. Crash tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have resulted in top scores in every impact assessment, and the IIHS says that rear impact injury protection now rates Good instead of Marginal.

Toyota’s leading midsize truck has lots to be proud of in the areas of safety, capability, off-road prowess, and versatility. The ho-hum styling has been the pickup’s greatest weakness, something that 2009’s minor changes do not address. More significant are the less favorable reliability ratings based on what consumers are saying about Tacoma ownership. Still, we think Toyota will recover from its current recall problems and related brand tarnishing, and we continue to recommend the Tacoma.

By Thom Blackett