Around the Block: Add Another Small Sporty Pickup to the Endangered List

TESTED 2013 Toyota Tacoma X-Runner

WHAT IS IT? The sole remaining sport compact pickup truck optimized for street, as opposed to off-road, performance.

HOW MUCH? $27,590 base, $28,075 as tested with TRD performance air filter ($90), bed mat ($119) wheel locks ($81) and carpet floor mats and door sill protector ($195).

WHAT MAKES IT RUN? Four-liter V-6, 6-speed manual transmission, rear-wheel drive.

IS IT THIRSTY? Rated at 16 m.p.g. city and 21 highway, the X-Runner’s fuel economy is more in line with that of a full-size truck.

I’m a big fan of little trucks. Ever since Michael J. Fox scored a sweet 4-wheel-drive Toyota SR5 in “Back to the Future,” I’ve harbored a vague longing to own a pint-size pickup. You’d think there’d be plenty of people like Marty McFly and me, who prize wieldy dimensions and don’t need a bed that could serve as a dry dock for a nuclear submarine.

Unfortunately, times are tough for sub-heavyweight haulers. The Ram Dakota expired after 2011, the Ford Ranger is finished and the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are on hiatus. That leaves the Tacoma, the Nissan Frontier and — for real freethinkers — the Honda Ridgeline.

The dilemma is that small trucks are no longer terribly small, in some cases overlapping full-size trucks in fuel economy, size and price. So why not just buy a full-size truck? The dearth of nongigantic pickups seems to answer that question.

Well, here’s one argument for the compact pickup: the Tacoma X-Runner. Where else are you going to find a vehicle that can reach 60 m.p.h. in less than seven seconds, corner in excess of 0.9 lateral G and tow 3,300 pounds? There’s also a 6-speed manual gearbox and Toyota Racing Development’s tempting menu of goodies.

The X-Runner drives like a restomod, one of those vintage muscle cars that has been fitted with a modern suspension and powertrain. Since it is a truck, the chassis has more in common with a 1978 Camaro than with contemporary performance cars: check out the solid rear axle with leaf springs and drum brakes.

The V-6 makes 236 horsepower at 5,200 r.p.m. and reaches its redline a few hundred r.p.m. later. The shift throws are so long that going from second gear to third makes you feel like Doug Flutie launching a Hail Mary pass.

Yet the thing has a screwed-down cohesiveness that translates to deceptive speed. As I took the X-Runner down a 20-mile stretch of snaky country road, I frequently glanced at the speedometer to find myself moving far quicker than anticipated. Corners that would challenge performance cars were serenely dispatched, the big engine’s 266 pound-feet of torque enabling rapid progress without fuss.

While the X-Runner includes a lowered, sport-tuned suspension (it’s the only Tacoma with a rear stabilizer bar), I’d say its unlikely cornering abilities are mostly attributable to the 255/45/18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires. The RE050A is a high-performance summer tire, a version of which was original equipment on the Ferrari Enzo supercar. So the next time you pull alongside an Enzo at a stoplight, you can chat about all the things your vehicles have in common, such as the tires.

While the V-6 is certainly punchy enough, it would really justify its hood scoop with the addition of the dealer-installed TRD supercharger kit ($4,500), which raises output to 304 horsepower and 332 pound-feet. The full factory warranty is retained as long as a Toyota dealer does the work. That would be a lively Tacoma.

The day after I pressed the X-Runner into sports-car duty, I remembered it was a truck and used it to haul a load of brush, a gas can and a pressure washer. I didn’t tow 3,300 pounds, but I could have.

For about $28,000, the X-Runner combines an odd bundle of attributes. I don’t want to get too far into sycophantic hyperbole, but in terms of mission and ability it’s rather like a modern El Camino SS.

Alas, the X-Runner is being canceled. The good news is that you’ll be able to get a 2014 Tacoma with a 6-speed manual and a V-6, but it will be a 4-wheel-drive model. Marty McFly, at least, would approve.

EZRA DYER

Video: Testing the Ford Fiesta, a Small Car With Large Ambitions

Review: 2014 Ford Fiesta: Some people won’t drive anything less than a luxury car. Others just need the luxury of driving. The refreshed 2014 Ford Fiesta offers budget buyers a slice of the good life. For a price.

Wheels: Fuel Economy: Small Decline in 2011 and a Probable Improvement in 2012, E.P.A. Says

Stan Honda/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Ford’s president and chief executive, Alan Mulally, highlighting the mileage numbers of the 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid at its introduction in September.

An Environmental Protection Agency report issued on Friday offers a mixed picture of fleetwide fuel economy in the United States. It documents a minor decline in the 2011 model year to 22.4 miles per gallon, but projects “significant gains” to 23.8 m.p.g. for 2012, a 1.4 m.p.g. improvement over one year. The report said that the 2012 numbers, if confirmed, “would be all-time records and amongst the largest annual improvements since 1975.”

The fuel economy and emissions numbers for 2012 are preliminary, and based on sales estimates provided to the agency by automakers. The actual fuel economy decline from the 2010 to 2011 model years was just 0.2 mpg, the E.P.A. said. Also in 2011, fleetwide average carbon dioxide emissions for personal vehicles increased to 398 grams per mile, up from 394 grams per mile in 2010. Carbon emissions are expected to decline to 374 grams per mile in 2012, based on projections.

The E.P.A. said that one factor leading to the fuel economy decline in 2011 was the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency in Japan, which interrupted the flow of both new cars and parts to the American market. According to the report, the E.P.A. estimates that fleetwide fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions in model year 2011 would have been the same or “slightly better” than 2010 if Japanese manufacturers had not been constrained. Under those assumptions, the projected 2012 fuel economy improvement would also be “somewhat smaller.”

Some critics seized on the 2011 fuel economy decline, not the projected increase for 2012. Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Campaign, said in an e-mailed statement: “After improving for six years, average gas mileage of all cars and trucks sold here faltered in 2011. We went into reverse because General Motors and Chrysler failed to improve fuel mileage. That had an impact when sales of more efficient Toyota and Honda vehicles dropped due to the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.”

The E.P.A. report says that 2011 Toyota and Honda production fell by more than 500,000 vehicles compared to 2010. “Yet in 2011 those two automakers still delivered vehicles that averaged 3.4 m.p.g. better than those of General Motors, the U.S. sales leader,” Mr. Becker said. According to the report, G.M.’s overall 2011 fuel economy was 20.7 m.p.g., and that of Honda and Toyota both 24.1 m.p.g.

The industry sees an overall positive picture. Gloria Bergquist, a vice president of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents 12 carmakers, said in a telephone interview: “All of our members are working very hard to improve fuel economy, and the good news is that it’s continuing to increase. We have challenging new fuel economy standards we need to meet. There’s no technology left on the shelf — it’s already on dealership lots.”

The report says that the widespread adoption of new technologies is helping improve fuel economy. These include variable valve timing, gasoline direct injection, the use of turbochargers and superchargers, and cylinder deactivation. Direct injection, the report said, has grown from “essentially zero” in model year 2007 to a projected 24 percent of the market in model year 2012.

David Friedman, deputy director of the Clean Vehicles Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, sees both sides. “Today’s report shows the great strides automakers have made to deliver a better kind of car for the American people in 2012,” he said in a statement. “But it also shows just how far they have to go. The decline of average fuel economy in model year 2011 highlights how much consumers had relied upon only a few automakers for many fuel-efficient vehicles.”

The E.P.A. said that consumers have twice as many diesel and hybrid choices as they did five years ago. The number of available cars with 30 m.p.g. combined or higher grew sixfold in the same period, the agency said.