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Cooley's Logbook: 2012 Toyota Tacoma Baja Edition

Not a tremendous showcase for Toyota's tech, but a good indicator of how civilized this category has become.

Brian Cooley Editor at Large
Brian Cooley is CNET's Editor at large and has been with the brand since 1995. He currently focuses on electrification of vehicles but also follows the big trends in smart home, digital healthcare, 5G, the future of food, and augmented & virtual realities. Cooley is a sought after presenter by brands and their agencies when they want to understand how consumers react to new technologies. He has been a regular featured speaker at CES, Cannes Lions, Advertising Week and The PHM HealthFront™. He was born and raised in Silicon Valley when Apple's campus was mostly apricots.
Expertise Automotive technology, smart home, digital health. Credentials
  • 5G Technician, ETA International
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Brian Cooley
Watch this: Off-road in style in the 2012 Toyota Tacoma Baja Edition

I wasn't sure what to expect when we got the Tacoma in -- we don't review trucks very often and have no idea what we're doing when we take them off-road. But I approach the Tacoma Baja Edition like I do every car: As an everyday ride with some special talents.

The head unit in the Tacoma is more limited than what Toyota is capable of -- in fact, it only offers Bing search and Pandora radio apps, not the full complement of Entune apps like OpenTable and MovieTickets.com. Disappointing and, I feel, an ill-advised segmentation of Entune. But the real point of this vehicle is to go off-road sometimes and to the store most times. It does all that perfectly well, even if it does so with what may be the worst-sounding exhaust I've driven in a year.

Also, check out CNET's full review of the 2012 Tacoma.