4×4S.ORGTHE REGISTRY BASE MODEL · 1994–97
BASE MODELJapan

Taro 4×4 (1994–97)

Volkswagen’s one-tonne pick-up, and a Toyota: the Taro was a rebadged fifth-generation Hilux, built from February 1989 to March 1997. The four-wheel-drive version arrived in September 1994 with an extended cabin on a 3,095 mm wheelbase and was built only at Toyota’s Tahara plant in Japan.

Difflocked · free browser gamePlay & customise vintage 4×4s →Race classic 4×4s, build your own and keep it in your garage. Free, in the browser.
Sources & evidence
Taro 4×4 (1994–97) — Volkswagen Taro 4x4 Xtra-Cab offroad truck with the original promotional side sticker.Philaweb · CC BY-SA 3.0 ↗
MODEL LINETaroBUILT BYToyota Motor CorporationPRODUCED1994–97PRODUCTIONNot publishedLAYOUT4 wheels · 122″

The record

The joint venture solved a problem for both: Volkswagen had no one-tonne pick-up, Toyota wanted a way further into Europe. The two-wheel-drive regular cabs were assembled at Hannover from 1989 to 1994; every 4×4 came from Japan. Only the four-wheel-drive Taro is in the registry.

Specification

MANUFACTURERToyota Motor Corporation ↗
Tahara, for Volkswagen
MANUFACTURED1994–97
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 KINDBase model
MODEL LINETaro
FAMILYTaro
WHEELS4
NOMINAL WHEELBASE122″
BODY STYLEExtended cab pick-up
VARIANTS1

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.

Body styles & colours

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: researched