Toyota Tamaraw: Japanese automobile with Filipino heart

The Tamaraw is one of the popular models from Toyota, whose name was taken from an endemic specie found in the island of Mindoro.

It spawned a series of multi-purpose vehicles and light commercial vehicles and was also known as the Toyota Kijang, in various markets such as Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and India.

The first-generation Toyota Tamaraw

Toyota first produced the Tamaraw in the Philippines in December 1976 and was sold as a high-side pickup truck powered by a four-cylinder, inline, 1.2-liter engine mated to a four-speed manual gearbox that put out as much as 61 horses.

Designed mainly as a utility vehicle — or a BUV or a basic utility vehicle, as it was called back then — the Toyota Tamaraw was made with independent wishbone suspensions with transverse leaf springs and telescopic shock absorbers at the front, while it was equipped with a semi-elliptic leaf spring setup with telescopic shock absorbers at the rear. 

Photos on the web reveal the first-generation Toyota Tamaraw to have circular headlamps, two doors, and an overall boxy appearance.

Toyota Tamaraw FX

In 1986, Toyota introduced the third-generation model, which is what many of us are probably accustomed to when we hear the Tamaraw nameplate.

The 1994 Toyota Tamaraw FX, for example, was offered in three variants: a diesel-powered high-side pickup truck as well as a diesel-fed and a gasoline-powered five-door wagon.

The diesel variants came with a 2.0-liter mill while the gasoline model was slapped with a 1.5-liter engine. Across the board, the 1994 Toyota Tamaraw FX was fitted with a five-speed manual. 

Power figures range from 64 to 69 horsepower (hp).

Thanks to the bump in power, the high-side pickup truck now had better hauling power that impressed local entrepreneurs. Moreover, it now had more creature comfort features as it was now touted as a family carrier. 

Its list of amenities includes a Sanden air conditioner, a Kenwood radio cassette player, and comfortable fabric seats. 

Toyota Revo

The fourth-generation Toyota Tamaraw came late in the 1990s and was known as the Tamaraw FX Revo.

Major updates were seen overall as it dropped its squarish appointments in exchange for a more rounded exterior design, as was common for most automobiles at the time.

Powering the locally available 2001 Toyota Revo was either a 1.8-liter gasoline engine or a 2.4-liter diesel powerplant. 

It was supported by a torsion bar-type double wishbone suspension setup (with stabilizer) as well as rigid axles and leaf springs. 

For its brakes, it had ventilated discs at the front and drums at the rear. 

Now seen more as a family car than a business partner, the 2001 Toyota Revo packed power-operated windows and door locks, leather seats, a leather steering wheel, a dual-type air conditioner, and an Alpine sound system. 

Finally, Toyota decided to pull the plug and ceased production of the Tamaraw in 2005 in favor of its IMV project.

2024 Toyota Tamaraw

 

Fast forward to 2023, Toyota Motor Philippines announced that it is reviving the nameplate and will be building it in the abovementioned IMV platform. 

Still poised to take the role of a mover, the Toyota Tamaraw will once again be built locally and is expected to be launched in the country by next year.

For updates about the Toyota Tamaraw, keep it here in Carmudi. 

Photos from Ruben Manahan IV, Juan Paulo Papa, and Car Brochure Collection Ph Facebook page

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You are looking at the next-gen Toyota Tamaraw