In recent years, the manual transmission has been relegated to a very small niche of the U.S. pickup truck market. The share of manual transmission in the pickup segment has steadily declined from a peak of 30% in the 1990s to just a single model in 2026.
Yes, you read that right, there’s only one pickup left available with a manual transmission in the United States—the 2027 Toyota Tacoma. While the 2027 Tacoma online build tool isn’t up yet, the truck will largely carry over from the current fourth-gen platform introduced for 2024, Toyota’s official website shows.
Rumors of the Manual 2027 Jeep Gladiator Were Greatly Exaggerated
Stellantis
The midsize pickup soldiers on as America’s only remaining truck available with a manual transmission after Jeep discontinued the manual Gladiator two years ago and failed to bring it back for 2027MY.
Jeep’s global head of off-road, Aamir Ahmed, hinted during the 2026 Easter Jeep Safari that the stick shift gearbox would return for the 2027 model year. That won’t happen, unfortunately, as Jeep’s official configurator can attest.
Although initial press releases and product teasers suggested the manual gearbox would return as an option, there’s no trace of it in the 2027 Gladiator online build tool, as CarBuzz points out.
The Manual Tacoma Comes in Three Flavors
Toyota
That leaves the Tacoma as your only choice if your pickup must have a stick shift.
There are currently three trims that can be had with the six-speed manual gearbox as a no-cost option: the SR, TRD Sport, and TRD Off-Road. Mind you, these trims offer the manual transmission only when you order the Double Cab body with the 5-foot bed and four-wheel drive.
The only engine choice available with the manual transmission is the 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that makes 270 horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 310 pound-feet of torque at 2,800 rpm. All manual Tacoma variants have a towing capacity of up to 6,400 pounds.
The manual gearbox in the Tacoma comes with automatic rev-match downshifting and a no-clutch starting option called Clutch Start Cancel. The latter allows drivers to start and crank the engine without needing to press down on the clutch pedal.
The Downsides Over the Automatic Gearbox Are Negligible
Toyota
Compared to equivalent Tacomas equipped with the 8-speed automatic, the manual version takes small hits both in terms of efficiency and performance.
Fuel economy-wise, the manual Tacoma returns 18 MPG city/23 MPG highway/20 MPG combined, while the automatic achieves 19/24/21 MPG. It’s not that big of a difference, and the slightly worse fuel economy is not likely to put off those who want to row their own gears.
As for performance, the manual Tacoma is noticeably slower from zero to 60 miles per hour, completing the benchmark sprint in 7.9 seconds in Car and Driver testing—almost a full second slower than the automatic version. Not that it matters that much on a regular truck that’s not built to rip through the desert.
Pricing-wise, the manual Tacoma is in a league of its own simply because there’s no other manual transmission truck on sale today to compare it with. Prices start at $39,330 for the SR grade, $45,080 for the TRD Sport, and $45,080 for the TRD Off-Road. All prices include a $1,745 delivery, processing and handling fee.
Toyota
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