 | |
| Manufacturer | Hino |
|---|---|
| Production | 1993–1998 |
| Assembly | Hamura, Japan |
| Successor | Toyota Tundra |
| Class | Full-size pickup truck |
| Layout | Front engine, rear-wheel drive / four-wheel drive |
| Engine | 2.7 L 3RZ-FE I4 150 hp (112 kW) 3.0 L 3VZ-E V6 150 hp (112 kW) 3.4 L 5VZ-FE V6 190 hp (142 kW) TRD Supercharged 3.4 L 5VZ-FE V6 265 hp (198 kW) |
| Transmission | 4-speed automatic 5-speed manual |
| Wheelbase | 121.8 in (3,094 mm) |
| Length | 209.1 in (5,311 mm) |
| Width | 75.2 in (1,910 mm) |
| Height | 1993 - 1995 Regular Cab 2WD: 66.7 in (1,694 mm) 1993 - 1995 DX: 68.1 in (1,730 mm) 1993 - 1995 SR5 2WD: 70.1 in (1,781 mm) 1995 - 1996 Extended Cab: 71.1 in (1,806 mm) 1996 - 1998 Extended Cab 4WD: 71.6 in (1,819 mm) 1996 - 1998 Regular Cab: 67.2 in (1,707 mm) 1996 - 1998 Extended Cab 2WD: 68.6 in (1,742 mm) |
| Related | Toyota Hilux Toyota Land Cruiser Prado Toyota 4Runner/Hilux Surf Toyota Tundra Toyota Tacoma |
The Toyota T100 (not to be confused with RK100) was a full-sized pickup truck introduced by Toyota in late 1992 as a 1993 calendar year vehicle.
As Toyota firmly established itself in the North American compact truck market in the 1980s and 1990s, it seemed to many only logical that Toyota needed to capture part of the lucrative full-size truck market. Rumored for many years until finally becoming a reality in 1993, the first big Toyota truck boasted a full-size (8 ft) bed but retained the engine and suspension characteristics of a compact truck. It was a bit larger than the mid-size Dodge Dakota but still smaller than a typical full-size pickup. It gave the T100 a unique position within the truck ranks. Though economical and reliable, in the grand scheme of things it was not the greatest selling vehicle and had not captured as much of the market as Toyota had hoped. Although many of it purchasers would disagree many critics maintained the T100 was still too small, despite being bigger than Toyota's other truck, the Toyota Hilux and later the Tacoma.
Although sales were slow at start, the T100 sales did reach into the mid 40,000 vehicles sold range (1996) in the United States. General Motors pickup sales were roughly 700,000 per year, while Ford sales surged from 550,000 to nearly 850,000 and Dodge went from 100,000 to 400,000 with the introduction of the new Dodge Ram in 1994. Sales of the T100 fell approximately 30% when the new Ram went on the market half a year or so after the T100's launch.
Upon introduction, the T100 was criticized for several things. The first was being too small to appeal to buyers of full-size work trucks, the second was the lack of an xtracab version and the third and perhaps most important criticism, was the lack of a V8 engine with the only available engine being that of a small 3.0 liter V6 powerplant which was already found in Toyota's compact trucks and in the 4Runner. Although considered criticisms by many, Toyota stated these were all factors that were taken into consideration when designing and producing the T100. They claimed the smaller size was planned to offer a larger truck with a compact "feel", an Xtracab was on the horizon and the 3.0 liter V6 would provide far better fuel economy than its supposed rivals.
