Toyota Motor Corp. spent the last 4 years developing and testing the new gas engine in most of their race vehicles.
Early numbers look promising for performance and mileage. While I havent been able to drive a truck with the new engine I was able to get a ride in one and seat of the pants performance difference is noticeable between this engine and the 4.0 or 3.4, it feels more like the V8.
Toyota Diesel powered trucks have been around for many years, and at different times were available in the U.S. 79/80, 84/85, and 87/88 model years there was a diesel option available for Toyota trucks. 84/85 was only available as a std cab truck non-SR5, so it got the Japan style bed. 87/88 had an available SR5 package and Extra cab, this was also a Turbo Diesel engine that pushed about 40 more horses than the earlier trucks.
They were available in 2wd or 4wd, with 4wd being the more popular model. All model Diesel trucks are rare, production numbers were low as Diesel wasnt really considered a viable fuel for personal vehicles at that time, you had to go to truck stops to fill up back then as local gas stations didnt carry Diesel so the inconvenience defeated the popularity.
Early Toyota Diesel engines werent powerhouses but they did get decent mileage, unloaded they could achieve as high as 28mpg.
The later version Diesel sold over seas and in South America is a more powerful engine, it can be purchased as a normally aspirated, Turbo, or intercooled Turbo.
The basic block is shared by all three engines but internally theres a lot of difference between the three engines.
From 99-04 I owned a 99 normally aspirated Extra cab truck, and a 01 Turbo cooled Crew cab truck, mpg was about the same for both trucks but performance wise they were world apart.
The 99 was a great truck that had decent get-up and go and could haul a good sized load if needed, the 01 was like running a race tuned engine, performance was awsum it could keep up and pass most vehicles on the road.
In 2002 I added Propane injection to both trucks, the performance and mileage improvement was huge, almost a 20% gain in mpg. Unfortunately in late 2004 I recieved orders back to the U.S. and was forced to sell both trucks due to their inability to conform to U.S. safety and smog standards, the only option I had shipping them back to the U.S. was to remove the drivetrain and ship them without engines then reengine them when they got here and have them inspected to ensure they conformed, wasnt worth the hassle so I let them go.
As far as a Diesel or Hybrid option for the Tacoma I wouldnt hold my breath, the options are being explored but any offerings are a long time out if at all. Well placed friends of mine at TRD say they were told at this point dont hipe up sales for add-ons of these type vehicles because they arent even sure if the vehicles will ever be available.
