OK, the 3.5 should be a good engine

The booster engines are over the Tacoma's payload. PAM's on the other hand... will make you go splat against a vertical surface somewhere in your new 3.5 L 2016 Tacoma.

 

In the towing test I posted the 2015 Colorado beat the 2015 Tacoma towing the same weight over a long clime with only a 3.55 rear gear... The Tacoma was around 4000 rpm most of the time and Colorado was around 5500-6000 rpm... So even though the smaller motor may tow good it may be a real pain revving it so much if you tow a lot.... and the 6 speed may not help because it will probably be a double overdrive for mpg not an additional gear for towing ect, unless they use a lower rear gear ratio that would be sweet... 4.11 gears and 300 hp and a 6 speed and still get 22-24 mpg would be great with tow mode and econ mode but, I don't think that we will get that this seams like a very budget driven refresh.... Slight upgrade in power big increase in mpg and emissions and a refreshed interior and exterior... like when cannon came out with the 5DmkII good but under whelming... Finally they fixed it with the 5DmkIII, home run...... camera guys know what I'm talking about....

 

All very interesting. Thanks for the inside info on the Ford ! And probably why GM and Toyota will tout these trucks as "life style" vehicles. Occasional towing, a little off roading and pass everything in sight while getting better, not great mileage. Taco owners have to lead the world in mods. Toyota knows we really want off road potential, even though many don't use it, reliability, better mileage and little more kick in the butt. Towing for most of us is an ancillary consideration as these things don't even like to tow their recomend weight, as you say, without straining. We have been pigeoned holed by Toyota.....car engines here we come. Not to say that is bad. It's probably what most of us deserve. ;-) I tow my fishing boat and two sailboats with my Taco. My Kubota ? I borrow my neighbor's flat bed and tow it with his dump truck. I could do my towing otherwise with my wife's Venza ! Probably will have a similar motor next year.

 

Yeah, you don't buy a Toyota Tacoma to tow...when I got out of the family construction business, downsized from 3/4-1 ton (and bigger) trucks to the Toyotas. Actually my Toyota was my daily driver back then, didn't use it for work. They are great general purpose running around vehicles. Just need mine to tow a couple dirt bikes and sleds...maybe tow 2000-2500 lbs. max. Which seems to be the sweet spot for Tacos. Me personally wouldn't make the little truck tow more than 3000 lbs.

So guys getting in into a pissing match over hp/tq numbers for towing...is kind of a moot point...since the majority of Taco buyers used it as a play/DD vehicle.

 

Pretty much this. It's very rare I see a Taco pulling anything.

 

The new Tacomas are as powerful as mid-range V8's in the early 90's. No reason a Tacoma can't regularly pull a 4,000 trailer. Capacity will likely jump to 7,000 lbs (when equipped properly) to catch the Colorado.

 

I consider the Tacoma more of a recreational vehicle than anything, kinda like the old stepsides of yore...mostly useless as a "truck", but hell of fun to go fuck around in and haul toys.

It is an age old formula to sell play trucks...

 

hell, my modified Tacoma has as much power as a 2002 tundra... (245 hp at the crank)

 

crazy to think it makes the power that it does, compared to the engines in the 80's.

Some Fords for an example.

232 CID Essex V6 1982–83 110 hp (82 kW) 183 lb·ft (248 N·m)
255 CID Windsor V8 1980–81 115 hp (86 kW) 206 lb·ft (279 N·m) 2bbl
300 CID Straight-6 1980 117 hp (87 kW) 227 lb·ft (308 N·m) 1bbl
300 CID Straight-6 † 1980 120 hp (89 kW) 229 lb·ft (310 N·m) 1bbl
300 CID Straight-6 1981–86 125 hp (93 kW) 250 lb·ft (339 N·m) 1bbl/EFI
302 CID Windsor V8 1980–85 133 hp (99 kW) 233 lb·ft (316 N·m) 2bbl
302 CID Windsor V8 1985–86 190 hp (140 kW) 285 lb·ft (386 N·m) EFI
351 CID 351M V8 1980–82 136 hp (101 kW) 262 lb·ft (355 N·m) 2bbl
351 CID Windsor V8 1980–82 136 hp (101 kW) 262 lb·ft (355 N·m) 2bbl
351 CID Windsor V8 1983–86 150 hp (110 kW) 280 lb·ft (380 N·m) 2bbl/EFI
351 CID HO Windsor V8 †† 1984–86 210 hp (160 kW) 305 lb·ft (414 N·m) 4bbl/EFI
400 CID 400 V8 † 1980–82 136 hp (101 kW) 310 lb·ft (420 N·m) 2bbl
420 CID International Harvester IDI diesel V8 † 1983–86 150 hp (110 kW) 285 lb·ft (386 N·m) IDI
420 CID International Harvester IDI diesel V8 † 1983–86 170 hp (130 kW) 315 lb·ft (427 N·m) IDI
460 CID 385 V8 † 1983–86 245 hp (183 kW) 380 lb·ft (515 N·m)

 

Well, just look at these engines. I highlighted the engines that have less torque than the current Tacoma. I am guessing the new 3.5 will have more power than many of the 5.7 liter 350 V8 engine varieties offered by GM.
Look at those awful Diesels GM made back then. No wonder they jumped out of the diesel business for so long!

 

Completly false in everything you just said...not gonna argue but everything said in your statement is ridiculous....I was in the boosted scene for awhile now with previous Tacomas and vehicles

 

Absolutely it is.....the frame on my Tacoma looks like tissue paper ( exaggeration ) compared to that on my 4 Runner which was much deeper and fully boxed and rated to tow 1500 lbs less with exactly the same motor. Towing isn't just about power. It's about all of the systems being set up to do that job.....horse power and torque are of relative importance. My Kubota with less then 45 hp can tow more weight then my truck up a steeper incline and with greater safety. Of course it goes much slower, weighs a thousand pounds more and I get they aren't comparable on the highway...but the point is, hp and engine size are just one factor and to dwell too much on the motor when the entire truck is barely adaquate for 6000 lbs does too much injustice to the motor. Heck, withthe right gearing, it could tow 10,000 lbs, albeit very slowly.

 

X2 on this

 

Most people with full size trucks only use them as recreational. A truck that is almost as big as the full sized trucks were in the 80's and about as powerful should be able to pull as much if not more than they did. Yes, the Tacoma's main purpose is not towing, but they would not offer a towing package if Toyota thought people weren't using them as tow vehicles. I want my Tacoma to pull 4,000 lbs without breaking too much of a sweat on mountain passes. Not too much to ask.

 

Tow ratings on those old 1/2 ton trucks was terrible. I remember my ex-wife dads had at least 5 different GM trucks, with inline 6 and V8 engines, from when he used to farm and not one of them was rated to tow more than 4000 lbs.

Some people forget that.

 

The new tacoma engine isn't proven yet. As far as I am concerned it will have to prove itself like the other had to.

 

Very true...pickups have become luxo family barges. Crazy to read the list of demands some people want in todays pickups.

Hell, I remember the only option I really wanted was 4WD....now people want power and heated everything, dual climate control...vagina warmers, and what not...

 

Checking in. Toyota release an exact engine model for the 3rd gen yet?

 

A vagina warmer sounds amazing. But let's go all out...I want a dick cooler too!

Think of the comfort.