(July 5, 2010) Toyota has dropped the goods on next year's Tacoma, the best-selling compact pickup in the U.S., and it includes a slight facelift and some shifts in transmission choices.

The 2011 Toyota Tacoma’s styling changes should not amount to more than revisions to the grille and tweaks to interior and exterior trim. That’s typical of what carmakers do to keep a model fresh as it advances in years.

In fact, this generation Tacoma has been around so long — since model-year 2005 — that the 2011 changes will constitute the second facelift since its introduction.

The 2011 Toyota Tacoma is not due notable mechanical changes. The Tacoma will again be available with a choice of two engines, a 2.7-liter four-cylinder or a 4.0-liter V-6. Both are dual-overhead-cam designs with variable valve timing. Expect 2011 Tacoma power ratings to carry over from the 2010 model, with the four-cylinder at 159 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque and the V-6 at 236 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque.

Toyota will juggle 2011 transmission choices in response to falling demand for manual gearboxes. For example, four-cylinder 4-wheel drive Tacomas for the first time will be available with the four-speed automatic transmission; they had been limited to the five-speed manual. Four-cylinder 2-wheel drive models will continue to offer both transmissions.

V-6 Tacomas will repeat with a choice of six-speed manual or five-speed automatic, though the 2011 X-Runner is likely to continue with the manual only.

Tacoma dominates the shrinking compact-pickup segment, commanding a nearly 40 percent market share and outselling the next-most-popular model, the Ford Ranger, by almost 2-1.