01-30-26 UPDATE: This review has been updated with instrumented test results.
If you’re ever challenged to name three new turbo-manual Toyotas, say, by the wizard guarding the bridge on your daily commute, the first two are easy. There’s the GR Corolla, the GR Supra and, um. . . do they still make the Celica All-Trac?
No, but Toyota does offer the Tacoma with a six-speed manual transmission, one that’s paired with a 270-hp 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and rear-wheel drive. (Okay, it has selectable all-wheel drive, but please indulge us in our enthusiastic hyperbole.) We view the manual Tacoma as irrefutable proof that Toyota still cares about the transparently thin group of buyers who want a three-pedal vehicle. And now that Jeep has abandoned the manual-transmission Gladiator, the Tacoma now has the stick-shift pickup market all to itself.
The Tacoma’s manual transmission is only available on four-door, four-wheel-drive models with a five-foot bed, but it is offered in multiple trims: the base Work Truck SR ($38,700), as well as the TRD Sport and TRD Off-Road (both $44,110). On the SR, the manual and automatic versions cost the same, but the manual gets 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, while the automatic trucks make do with 228 horses and 243 pound-feet; Free horsepower would be incentive enough to limber up our clutch legs. Conversely, the manual versions of the higher trim levels have slightly less power compared to their automatic counterparts—more on that later—but offer a financial incentive to shift gears yourself: the manual version shaves $1,100 off the price of the TRD Off-Road model we drove.
Our Tacoma example included the $4825 TRD Off-Road Upgrade Package, which includes heated front seats, JBL premium stereo and a trailer brake controller. Tailgating enthusiasts will appreciate the 400-watt power outlets in the bed and cabin, as well as the sound system’s center channel speaker, which doubles as a removable Bluetooth speaker. This truck also featured the $1230 front stabilizer bar disconnect mechanism, which allows for greater front suspension articulation. While the SR stakes out bargain territory, complete with a leaf-spring rear suspension (upper trims come with rear coils), you can opt for a manual-transmission Tacoma into the abyss of Land Cruiser financial territory. Toyota astutely realizes that the remaining cohort of manual transmission die-hards includes both spendthrift truckers and Gen Marty McFly’s dream truck– so delicious Back to the future 1985 SR5 – and can now afford a modern equivalent. Someday is now, Jennifer!
Predictably, some of the manual’s performance metrics suffer compared to the automatic truck. The manual Taco gets EPA-estimated fuel economy of 18 mpg city, 23 mpg highway and 20 mpg combined, which represents a 1 mpg drop across the board versus the automatic. Horsepower and torque are also down slightly, with the manual trucks’ 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque lagging behind the non-SR automatic variant’s 278 horses and 317 pound-feet. Toyota also tinkered with the torque curve: the automatics peak at just 1700 rpm, while the manual gearbox ramps up in a gentler manner, peaking at 2800 rpm. Meanwhile, manual power peaks at just 5,400 rpm, 600 rpm lower than the peak for the automatic-equipped truck. These tuning adjustments, Toyota says, are “related to the flywheel” in the manual, which is presumably happier with a more progressive torque curve and lower overall rpm. However, the manual Tacoma can tow 6,400 pounds, the same as its automatic counterpart.
We believe it’s worth trading eight horsepower for the view you get every time you open the driver’s door and see that manual shifter between the seats. The Tacoma’s center console is relatively high, so the shift lever isn’t the benchmark of old-school trucks, and the feeling when you shift into a gear makes you wonder if “snicktion” is a word. However, the stick-shift TRD Off-Road trails the automatic truck’s 7.0-second scoot to 60 mph by 0.9 second, and the 16.1-second quarter mile at 80 mph trails the automatic’s 15.3-second run at 90 mph.
We do have a word of caution about manual blowers: We ran the automatic truck in high-range four-wheel drive, because the engine in first gear in rear-wheel drive severely reduces boost. The manual gearbox is quicker in rear-wheel drive mode, with the clutch engaged gradually to keep the tires on the edge of spinning. In 4HI, you’re probably not driving on dry pavement, so in the real world, reverse times are likely to be shorter — at least, in a race to 60. But from a rolling start, the manual Tacoma’s stroll from 5 to 60 mph takes 10.4 seconds, which is much worse than the automatic truck’s 8.1 seconds. Perhaps even more disappointing is that the current manual Tacoma lags behind its 2016 V-6 ancestor in terms of acceleration. That truck hit 60 mph in 7.3 seconds and did 5-60 in 8.0 seconds. The arc of history does not always bend toward justice.
As the numbers suggest, the manual Tacoma is best enjoyed at a more sedate pace. The Tacoma’s persistent revving during upshifts makes it feel like the flywheel is the size of Stone Mountain. So you adapt, keep the revs low and pause for a moment before choosing the next gear. Drive it like a diesel with blown synchros, and everything is simpatico. Shifting on the redline is of course an option, but it’s impossible to upshift quickly without feeling a hint of mechanical sympathy for the clutch, which has to compensate for the difference between wheel speed and the unnatural drop in revs. It’s no way to live.
Short shifts are the general rule, and everyone is happy: go ahead and surf the torque of third gear while listening to the turbo wind up. As the old saying goes, “A fall from the sky will hurt a lot, but a fall from a footstool is just a step, so shift at about 3000 rpm and your friends won’t wonder if you just learned to drive the stick yesterday afternoon.”
We also tried clutchless start, a mode intended for tight trails where you want to get moving without potentially rolling back an inch. To accomplish that, the Tacoma will start with the clutch engaged and the transmission in gear, with the starter motor powering the truck until the engine fires. To use the clutchless start, your foot must be on the brake, so instead of the clutch-gas pedal, you have to modulate the brake as soon as the truck starts moving, otherwise you’ll lock it up. It is an acquired skill.
And manuals are an acquired taste, one most of us developed in our early years of driving. For decades the existence of manual transmission trucks was a given, but not anymore. This is it: the lonely Tacoma and its mechanically outdated, defiantly charismatic six-speed manual transmission. If you want one, get it while you can, because we have a feeling it might not be around forever.
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Specifications
2026 Toyota Tacoma Crew Cab, Manual
Vehicle type: front engine, rear/four-wheel drive, 5-passenger pickup, 4-door
PRICE
Base/as tested: $44,110/$55,215
Options: TRD Off Road Upgrade Package (garage door opener, trailer brake controller, additional storage, heated leather-wrapped steering wheel, power rear window, AC inverter, heated front seats, JBL Premium stereo, auxiliary switches, eight-way power driver and passenger seats), $4825; front sway bar disconnect, $1230; rock rails, $950; moonroof, $850; 14-inch infotainment screen, $720; white rigid fog lights, $680; TRD front skid plate, $560; ARB rear tow bars, $425; rear differential skid plate, $355; bed mat; $200; shift knob with TRD logo, $130; wheel locks, $105; off-road trail pipe, $75
ENGINE
DOHC with turbocharger and intercooler, 16 valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, port and direct fuel injection
Displacement: 146 inches32393cm3
Power: 270 hp @ 5400 rpm
Torque: 310 lb-ft at 2800 rpm
TRANSFER
Six-speed manual transmission
CHASSIS
Suspension, F/R: wishbones/axle
Brakes, front/rear: 13.4″ ventilated disc/12.2″ ventilated disc
Tires: BFGoodrich Trail Terrain T/A
265/70R-17 115S M+S
DIMENSIONS
Wheelbase: 131.9 inches
Length: 213.0 inches
Width: 77.9 inches
Height: 74.6 inches
Passenger volume, F/R: 54/43 ft3
Curb weight: 4996 pounds
CD TEST RESULTS
100 km/h: 7.9 sec
1/4 mile: 16.1 sec at 80 mph
160 km/h: 21.6 sec
The above results show a 1-foot rollout of 0.3 sec. away.
Rolling start, 5-100 km/h: 10.4 sec
Top gear, 50-80 km/h: 18.8 sec
Top gear, 80-110 km/h: 14.4 sec
Top speed (gov ltd): 170 km/h
Braking, 110–0 km/h: 60 meters
Road holding, 90 meter skidpad: 0.73 g
Interior noise
Idle: 43 dBA/3 sounds
Full throttle: 75 dBA
Cruising at 110 km/h: 69 dBA/24 sone
EPA FUEL ECONOMY
Combined/City/Highway: 20/18/23 mpg
CD TESTING EXPLAINED
Ezra Dyer is one Car and driver editor-in-chief and columnist. He now lives in North Carolina, but still knows how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 330 km/h. Those facts are mutually exclusive.
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