The 4 cylinder?

Do these mudflaps make my bed look fat?

No, your horrible leafs do that.

*badumtish

 

They need to go back to the size of my '79 Pickup man! Look how gigantic the new Tacoma is in comparison. My first gen feels large compared to the old truck too.

 

I would love it if they went back down in size to around the 1st gen footprint, personally.

I think, though, that I'd still think the new grill/nose is ugly

 

I agree, but I think it's because safety BS is why they don't. Doesn't make sense to me, there are still much smaller cars than first gen Tacomas being made today that pass safety inspections. Think all the first gen would need is some curtain airbags, maybe thicker doors and it would be good to go. And hopefully a frame that was worth a shit.

 

Yeah, I parked beside an early 80's Pickup...little surprised the 1st gen is quite a bit bigger. Feel like the 1st gen was good compromise...goldie-locks size, not too much electronic gismo fluff.

If they can make the Scion IQ, and pass a crash test, not sure why they can't make a true mini-truck again.

 

2.0 L turbo charged Lexus NX derivative. Soon.

 

The 2nd gens are pretty much the same size as mid-90s F150s. It's crazy how big all trucks are getting.

 

I had an early 80's truck that I loved, rust ate it.
Then a 1st gen Tacoma that was - as you say - just the right size. It was perfect.

I'd just about kill for a modern drive train in the smaller, go anywhere Taco footprint.

 

Sadly, the business end wants the much larger profit-per-unit of the full size, so guess what they do to us?

 

I get it, but it makes me buy used, not new. :\

 

Even if the Taco grew in size, the 2.7 is a fine, functional motor for say the access cab; IN 2wd, not in 4 wd. Because so many trucks are sold with automatics, another frightful combination is the archaic 4 speed transmission, the same mentality used for the dreadful Yaris. There are people who will still buy the 4 wd with an automatic and 4 cylinder and can still be happy. . It may be in areas with flat terrain. Hills and high speeds are a big factor. Most who complain about the four cylinder tried to use them in ways and in places they weren't intended. 4 wd and a four speed auto are additional factors along with increase in size. They were factors for me when I had the first gen Taco, even when it was smaller.

 

Personally, I really like the size of the current truck. I've had 2 Rangers and a Nissan hardbody. I liked them all, but honestly, they were just a bit too small. If I were a hardcore off-roader I might prefer the smaller truck. I've owned my AC Prerunner fora year and a half, and I think I'm more pleased with it each day. And since the is a 4 banger thread, it's done and been everything that I'd hoped and more.

 

Btw, the Taco got bigger for safety reasons. As I remember, the earlier, smaller trucks were panned by CR for rolling over so easily. One solution was to make them longer and wider which was a general trend for all compact trucks as we fat Americans just got fatter.

 

My next Taco will be a 4by. If I stay with a reg cab, I'm staying with the 2.7.

If it's an access cab, I'll have to try it with some climbing to see. I haven't had the opportunity to try one personally yet with the 2.7.

 

And Texas has a lot of flat terrain and you have 2wd....less of a problem and the four is adaquate.

 

There's a HUGE difference in size in the Tacos too though. Even on the larger meats than stock, I'm still on stock steelies and stock suspension, and I've parked next to a DCSB and frankly, it blocked out the sun.

A 5 lug reg cab is *tiny* compared to a lot of the beasts here.

 

True, in the base 2WD's the 2.7 is fine. My thinking is, if the Tacoma stayed small and the 2.7 produced hp/tq around the 200 mark...the 4 Cylinder/manual trans would be fine in the 4WD.

I have always owned 4WD's so I tend not to look at the 2WD models.

 

You're right. I didn't say that it was perfect for everyone.

 

We piled 5 guys in a slug of a rental car and pushed 75 easily on some stretches headed to Dallas, never feeling a need to downshift. I think the biggest hill we saw was a armadillo. I could live with the four too easily there with 2 wd, even in the access cab. No problomo. The same for many other states. The four, even with the bigger cab can serve well for many Taco lovers. The new one with six gears will be a huge help too.

 

Exactly, that or those silly little pop can sized Smart cars.