Back in 2005, Toyota did something that nobody was prepared for: it built a mid-sized pickup truck with some actual road-holding manners. They called it the Tacoma X-Runner and it remained a rather popular street truck available right up until 2014. Now, nearly a decade later, it seems that Toyota is ready to unleash a new X-Runner with a new concept at the 2023 SEMA expo.

If there is a single potential flaw in the original X-Runner execution, it's the fact that it had a rear leaf spring suspension. Yes, it was lowered and came with front and rear sway bars, but the performance of a traditional leaf spring rear suspension leaves much to be desired in handling. Even with that caveat, we pitted the original Tacoma X-Runner against a contemporary field of competitive sport trucks that included the Dodge Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab, and the Toyota won. It was the fastest in the slalom (beating the Ram SRT-10 by 1 mph) despite its power gap and 0.3 second slower 0-60 mph time. It showed just how monumental the original X-Runner was and the hill this concept will have to climb if put into production.

Thankfully, Toyota knew it couldn't rest on the laurels of the original and the new Tacoma X-Runner concept takes things up to 11. The engine puts out 176 greater hp and 197 lb-ft more torque more than the original 4.0-liter V-6 the 2005 X-Runner came equipped with. This is thanks to some updated engine technology we get from Toyota with its 3.4-liter twin-turbo i-Force V-6 and its TRD Performance package-boosted output of 421 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. You'll note that the 3.4-liter i-Force Max V-6 is exclusive to the larger Tundra pickup and Sequoia three-row SUV and isn't offered in the new Tacoma, whose most powerful factory engine offering is a turbocharged 2.4-liter i-Force Max hybrid engine. At least, the V-6 isn't offered in the new Tacoma yet—hopefully a production X-Runner might change that...

Sadly, the new X-Runner does not get a six-speed manual, instead opting for the 10-speed automatic transmission that's also found under the Tundra. We'll just have to see how that impacts its fun-to-drive factor, but it does come with a set of paddle shifters to join with its unique X-Runner interior. It wouldn't be the first time an OEM moved on to more gears and automatic shifts for potentially quicker results.