2012 Toyota Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series Pricing Announced, Will Start at $32,990

Earlier this year, we had the chance to drive a prototype version of Toyota's ultimate off-roader - the new 2012 Toyota Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series Limited Edition - on some rugged Texas terrain, and with the truck finally going on sale next month, Toyota has finally announced official pricing. Base price for TRD-tuned Tacoma will start at $32,990 (not including the $810 destination charge) putting it up against trucks like the Nissan Frontier Pro-4X, Chevrolet Colorado Z71 and the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. As for the "Limited Edition" part of this truck's lengthy name, Toyota spokesperson Sam Butto said that only 750 Baja Series trucks are being built for 2012, but the automaker will "gauge consumer demand for the truck to determine if production should be increased for 2013."

Alone, the TRD T|X Baja Series package will cost $5,015, but there are only four models of the Tacoma 4x4 that can be optioned up with this package and all must be equipped with the TRD Off-Road Package. The $32,990 starting price is for the Tacoma Access Cab with the six-speed manual gearbox, and the five-speed automatic transmission model with this cab starts at $33,975. Adding the full rear doors on the Double Cab body style raises the Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series up to $34,275 with manual transmission and $35,255 with the automatic (which is the model we were able to test out). Although the 2012 Tacoma comes standard with a more economical inline-four, the TRD T|X Baja Series trucks benefits from the added power of the 236-horsepower, 4.0-liter V-6.

Photos by Jeffrey N. Ross

The 2012 Toyota Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series Limited Edition starts life as one of these four-wheel drive Tacoma models and adds obvious upgrades like the TRD cat-back exhaust, bead-lock style wheels with a Gun-Metal Gray finish and exclusive body graphics, but with this much money being added to the final price, the truck also gets plenty of off-road performance upgrades as well. The big difference on the T|X Baja Series trucks is the upgraded suspension consisting of Bilstein racing shocks paired with the TRD coil springs which helps increase the ride height, provide better wheel damping and, most importantly, improve wheel travel. The rear shocks are unique in that have a remote fluid reservoir (similar to the rear shocks on the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor) to provide optimum control in high-speed off-road driving - like in the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 which Toyota has been racing in for almost 30 years. Advanced features on this truck include an electronic locking rear differential, Hill-start Assist Control (HAC) and Downhill Assist Control (DAC). Finally, all of these limited-production trucks are finished off with some meaty BF Goodrich T/A KO tires.

Unveiled at last year's SEMA show in Las Vegas, Toyota is definitely using this Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series to target customers that would otherwise customize and upfit off-road trucks on their own, and with a package price of just $5,015, it's hard to beat that kind of value... not to mention the coverage of a factory warranty to boot! Even with pricing in the mid- to upper-$30,000 range (not including additional options and accessories), the 2012 Toyota Tacoma TRD T|X Baja Series Limited Edition is priced quite competitively with other factory-built off-road trucks with this kind of ability.