Our 2024 Toyota Tacoma's Interior Has a Few Key Flaws

• We're testing a 2024 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road for a whole year.
• We've had plenty of adventures with it, but a few issues with its interior have crept up.
• Other midsize trucks in our yearlong test fleet are examples of what to do right.

We really like the Toyota Tacoma in our one-year test fleet. It's been a reliable towing partner, has one of the best truck beds out there, and is even tough enough to tackle Moab. But for all its inherent goodness, there is one thing I just can't get past: our truck's interior. It's not bad — there's actually a lot to like — but the materials and the sheer size of the screen are two things I still can't get past.

For context, our Tacoma is a TRD Off-Road with a number of optional goodies thrown in. That means it costs $55,240 — that's more than the previous-generation TRD Pro. In fairness, the big three in the midsize pickup segment have all gotten more expensive. But that comes with the added pressure of buyers expecting more, and this interior doesn't quite live up to those expectations. 

The Taco's interior is built almost entirely out of hard, scratchy plastics. Some of the plastics on the door feel unfinished. While some might say nice materials aren't necessary in a pickup truck, Ford and Chevy both clearly disagree. One look at the dashboards of the Ranger and Colorado we have in our yearlong test fleet reveals a nice mix of finishes on the doors and dash. These trucks cost no more than the Tacoma, but they feel more upscale as a result of these tiny extra details. 

And then there's the screen. It's massive — a whopping 14 inches — but more screen is not always more better. In addition to simply looking tacked on to the dashboard (a crime many cars commit these days, it must be said), the big screen is basically square, which makes it far too tall. When you're on the road it is always caught in your sightline, and when a screen is that big, you might as well have a TV running in your truck. 

The Colorado and Ranger have their own takes on screens, but both do it better than the Tacoma. The Chevy's screen is integrated into the instrument binnacle in a such a way that makes it feel more cohesive and intentional. It's also a more modest 11.3 inches and doesn't peek into your eye-line when you're on the road. But the Ranger houses its screen the best. The Ford's 12-inch unit is in a portrait orientation. It's perfectly integrated into the Ranger's center stack and that means the upper part of the dash is a clear, flat plane. 

Our Tacoma has but a few weaknesses, which makes them more glaring because the rest of this truck is so good. We hope a refresh can find a way to zhuzh up the cabin a little more, but that's at least a few years away. Time will certainly tell.