4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY NAMED MODEL · 1989–97
NAMED MODELJapan

Taro and the Hilux (1989–97)

The joint venture behind the Taro: a fifth-generation Toyota Hilux engineered entirely by Toyota and sold with a Volkswagen badge, at Hannover for the two-wheel-drive cabs and at Tahara for every 4×4.

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Sources & evidence
BASE VEHICLETaro 4×4 (1994–97)BUILT BYToyota Motor CorporationIN SERVICE1989–97PRODUCTIONNot publishedLAYOUT4 wheels · 122″

The record

Volkswagen had no one-tonne pick-up and Toyota wanted European sales; the Taro gave each of them what it lacked for eight years. The four-wheel-drive Taro appeared in September 1994 on a 3,095 mm wheelbase against 2,850 mm for the 4×2.

Research status: draft — identification, dates or figures could not all be pinned down; the summary says what is unresolved.

Specification

MANUFACTURERToyota Motor Corporation ↗
Tahara, for Volkswagen
MANUFACTURED1989–97
ENGINEToyota petrol fours of 1.8–2.4 litres; Toyota 2.4-litre diesel, about 60 kWToyota L diesel
PRODUCTION RUNNot published
COUNTRY OF ORIGINJapan
STATUSout of production
RECORD KINDNamed model
MODEL LINETaro
FAMILYTaro
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE122″
BODY STYLEextra-cab

Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.

Variants & colours

Base model variants

Factory colours

  • Alpine White

Codes on hover. Hex values are representative approximations of period paint unless a source states a measured value.

AI rendering impression

An AI rendering impression starts from a 3D model of this vehicle, which an image model then paints into a scene. It is an artist's impression of the type, made to give a feel for the vehicle in its element — not a photograph, and not a record of any particular vehicle.

Proportions, fittings, markings, colours and the setting can all drift from the original in the process. For the vehicle's actual details, rely on the specification, the photographs and the cited sources on this page.

Sources

  1. 1Volkswagen Taro ↗Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-23SOURCE

Registry record updated 2026-09-23 · status: draft