Toyota Tacoma XtraCab Cargo Test: How Much Luggage Fits in the Truck?

• The Toyota Tacoma is one of only two midsize trucks offered with an extended-cab body style.
• Toyota puts a storage area with multiple bins in place of back seats.
• Our real-world test shows how much stuff can fit back there.

OK, this is interesting. It's definitely not just open floor. Instead, the area is festooned with bins, which I'll take a closer look at below. 

To access this area, you can slide the seat forward, as in any two-door vehicle with a back seat. Alternatively, the PreRunner comes standard with a fold-flat passenger seat that grants easier access. It's optional on the SR and SR5.

The floor is split 60/40, at least with the lockable bin. The larger portion is lower, which means the bin below is only deep enough for some tire repair items. 

This is the lockable bin. None of my bags fit in here, but I could fit a child's bike helmet, the passenger seat head restraint and the truck's front license plate bracket. 

Instead of jump seats that'll cause your girlfriend to dump you, the Tacoma has sizable cubbies on each side of the cab. 

Scroll up for a second to see the full image of the rear cab area. See that full-width piece of metal trim? That's actually a handle that pulls the entire panel downward. Doing so gives you what you see above. 

This isn't a particularly useful storage area unless you think storing pizzas vertically is a good idea. Really, though, the more functional element here is the drop-down door/lid/gate/panel itself. Remember how the 60/40-split floor is not level? Well, dropping this down provides a full-width flat surface while freeing up some depth to the overall area. 

I did not use it while testing, however, as the total volume was still better with the panel raised. 

OK, let's get to the luggage boilerplate information. There are two bags you'd definitely have to check at the airport: Big Gray (26 inches long x 16.5 inches wide x 12 inches deep) and Big Blue (26 x 16.5 x 10). There are three roll-aboards that usually fit as carry-ons: Medium Tall (24 x 14 x 9), Medium Wide (23 x 15 x 9) and the smaller Green Bag (21 x 14 x 9.5). Finally, there's everyone's favorite Fancy Bag (21 x 12 x 11), a medium-size duffle.

This is all of the bags in the back of the XtraCab. The seats and headrests were keeping the bags from flying forward, but I couldn't put anything up high in the middle since it would absolutely fly forward.

But, as you might guess, front seat placement is directly tied to how much you can fit back there. As such, I would eventually perform two tests. 

Both had the passenger seat in the same position. I moved it forward to a point where the seatback was at a comfortable angle and my legs were not touching the dash. I'm 6 feet, 3 inches tall, so you could certainly do better if you had your passenger scoot farther forward. It would still be better than riding in the back of a Mazda B3000. 

As for the driver's seat, the first test (above) involves placing it as far back as the maximum bag capacity allows. Let's see what that looks like. 

Not terrible. There's no way I could drive like this, but someone in the mid-to-upper 5-foot range would probably be fine. 

OK, for the second test, I set the driver's seat for myself, which is nearly all the way back. The new Tacoma has great driver's seat adjustment, by the way.

Basically, I had to flip the Big Blue bag up onto its side in order to drive. I could technically fit a smaller duffel above Big Blue, but it would smack me in the head under braking. No bueno. 

As for the poor old Fancy Bag, if only there was somewhere else to put it ...