![]() ![]() “I wanted it to out-perform not only all competitive sport trucks but also many sports cars,” said Yuichiro Obu, chief engineer on the Tacoma project at the vehicle’s introduction to the press last year. Toyota says it used the Nissan 350Z as a benchmark for the X-Runner’s handling performance. Toyota says production will be limited to 3500 units. Just three colors are offered: black, red and blue. Base MSRP is just over $23,000 and there are only a handful of dealer-installed options. The X-Runner comes only in a 2-wheel-drive Access Cab configuration. Now I’ve had the opportunity to drive it on twisty canyon roads and open highways. I briefly reviewed the X-Runner as part of the Tacoma First Drive last year but only drove it on one outing in a very restrictive setting. Replacing the S-Runner model, the X-Runner features a sport-tuned chassis, a spirited 4.0-liter V6 engine and a new 6-speed manual transmission. With those experiences in mind, I eagerly took delivery of a 2005 Toyota Tacoma X-Runner for a week’s test drive. But fullsize trucks became all the rage that decade and used S-10s are hauling lawn-care equipment today. It was inexpensive, rugged and a small-block V8 swap took so little effort. I thought compact trucks had so much potential then that the S-10 might become as popular as a Camaro for hot rodding. ![]() It was fun but not exhilarating as the horsepower just wasn’t there except for the GMC Syclone, which if not for the frustrating turbo lag coming out of the turns and the gutless automatic transmission would have been a real threat to a few popular sports cars of the day. I later ran stock and modified compact pickups in a few SCCA Pro Solo and Solo II events on the West Coast as part of some other story projects. It was an eye-opening introduction to the road-hugging potential of compact pickups when fitted with proper equipment and racing tires. After a few laps I couldn’t really disagree with the handling in the turns but the wimpy 4-cylinder engine certainly would not have kept pace with the Vette over the entire 2.5-mile course. “They handle better than a Vette,” said Bobby Archer, holding the door open for me as I squeezed into the OMP seat and adjusted my helmet. The truck was a top threat in the SCCA Racetruck Challenge road-racing series that had started about three years earlier. Compact pickups with sports-car abilities have always intrigued me since I drove the Archer Brothers’ Jeep Comanche at Willow Springs in the early ’90s. ![]()
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