Although the T100 was a bit larger than the competitive mid-size Dodge Dakota, it was still markedly smaller than full-size American pickup trucks of the time.

Wary of the market pushback of competing directly with the Big Three, Toyota chose this somewhat smaller size (and limited lineup) so as not to risk blowback and import quotas.

They claimed the smaller size was planned to offer a larger truck with a compact "feel", an Xtracab was on the horizon and the 3.0 liter V6 would provide far better fuel economy than the vehicles it aspired to rival.

Both the V6 engine and the somewhat smaller dimensions were influenced by environmental concerns, issues that were irrelevant to American pickup buyers.

The T100 was the first vehicle – car or truck – ever to receive an "Initial Quality Survey Award" in its first year of production.

In 1993, a 2.7 L inline-four engine with 150 hp (112 kW) - same as for the 3.0 V6 - and 177 lb⋅ft (240 N⋅m) of torque was added in the hopes new buyers would be drawn in with promises of greater fuel economy and a lower price than on the initial offerings.

Automatics received a column shift while manuals were floor mounted, where the transfer case shifter was also located on 4WD models.

At the time (late 1990s) some believed a revamped T100 with a V8 engine was on the way, and there were some reports that altered V8 powered T100s were used as test-mules, but ultimately it never came to pass, and the T100 was superseded by the Toyota Tundra.

Although most trucks fell within the 1/2 ton category, a 1-ton model was offered (in two-wheel drive form) for several of its earlier years until finally being dropped because of a lack of interest.

The T100 was the last Japanese-built Toyota pickup made for North America when production ceased in July 1998, sales being phased out in August and ending with the 1998 model year.