For all its excellence, the old Toyota Tacoma was a chore to drive. Its V6 lacked grunt, and the driving position was uncomfortable. This time around, Toyota has fixed both.

Power from the turbo four is strong and immediate, with the electric drive motor contributing an extra kick of torque.

Despite being a Toyota hybrid, the Tacoma retains its torque converter and conventional eight-speed automatic transmission. Thus, it drives nothing like a Prius or a Camry, which depends on an e-CVT to drive the wheels.

Instead, it feels more like a regular pickup with an aggressive auto start-stop feature. In fact, I actually forgot I was driving a hybrid at one point and went hunting for the button to shut off the start-stop.

The engine also makes a surprisingly throaty rumble and is one of the better-sounding four-cylinder engines on the market.