Before you head to your local Toyota Dealer to pick out your first Toyota Tacoma for sale, brush up on your truck lingo.

The Toyota Tacoma offers tons of options: six trim levels, various cabs, multiple bed lengths, and more.

To make sure you get your best-fit Tacoma, here is the vocabulary you should know:

Powerful Terms

Every new Toyota Tacoma for sale comes with two engine options. To understand which one you’ll want, you need to understand the various measurements that are used to describe an engine.

Engine Size

Most engines will be described by their size. For example, the Tacoma comes standard with a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine. The displacement of the engine (the total volume) is described in terms of liters. It will also describe the number of cylinders/pistons the engine uses.

A larger engine size is typically equated with more power. This may not always be true, especially when you consider turbocharged engines. The more cylinders an engine has, the less work it has to do to reach higher speeds and carry heavier loads.

Output Specs

There are several other elements that help determine how powerful a truck’s engine is: horsepower and torque.

Torque is the ability of the engine to perform work. This is accomplished by twisting force from the truck’s crankshaft. The higher the engine’s torque output, the more force is applied.

Horsepower is how fast the engine can perform the work. Higher horsepower numbers mean a truck can apply force faster. An engine with high hp and low torque, like you’ll find on a lightweight sports car, can apply small amounts of force rather quickly.

If you plan on using your Tacoma to haul heavy trailers, boats, or campers, you might prefer an engine with higher torque numbers.

Enough Cabin for Everyone

A truck’s cabin is essentially the interior area of the truck; this is where people sit. The Tacoma comes in either an extended cab or crew cab. Other trucks may have additional options or have these same cabs with different names.

Standard Cab

A standard cab is the smallest cabin size. It has a single row of seats fitting only two or three people and offers little to no interior storage.

Extended Cab

If the can has two rows of seats, it’s either an extended or double cab. The extended cab has back doors with reverse hinges and can only be opened if the front doors are open. The double cab has a more typical set of rear doors that can open independently of the front doors.

Check The Capacity

One of the perks of owning a pickup truck like a Toyota Tacoma for sale is the ability to haul and tow. So you can determine what kind of towing/hauling capacity your truck has, there are a few terms to know.

Payload capacity

A truck’s payload capacity is how much weight it can hold in both the bed and cab.

Towing capacity

How much weight your truck can tow behind is considered its towing capacity. The way you configure your Tacoma directly impacts its ability to tow and haul. The Tacoma TRD has a maximum towing capacity of 6,700 pounds. The Tacoma SR and SR5 have a maximum payload capacity of 1,685 pounds.

Knowing Is Half The Battle

Having an idea of what you want before you explore your local dealer’s options is a great way to save time and avoid awkward sales conversations. Of course, if there is anything that you’re not sure about, take a moment to look it up or just ask.

The Toyota Tacoma comes in many shapes and sizes, so do your homework and go pick out the pickup of your dreams.