3rd Gen Concerns

I can see where you are coming from. IMO the all black had a almost totally different overall look than the other two tone colors. The aggressive look was blended and made less obvious.

 

You made the right move.. I don't think I can spring for a 4Runner Pro atm but I hope they are around into 2016! Made in Japan, rear disk brakes, Crawl and Terrain Select, "leather" interior (notice the quotes, way better than cloth though!), 21mpg updated 4.0L and it looks SO badass. I am hoping to be blown away by the 2016 Taco to keep me from pulling the trigger on a Pro...in White.

 

It is a little much for me, maybe if I was a 16 year old kid I would like it, but now that I am older...I want something that doesn't stand out. Find it odd that Toyota has been using such polarizing designs lately, when they used to be vanilla...apparently they are tired of being vanilla.

 

I,m 43 so I must be immature.

 

No need to get offended. Just looks like it it designed for a younger crowd, is all I am saying. It isn't for me.

Different strokes for different folks.

 

I can honestly say that roll over rating on the current tacoma does not bother me at all after seeing first hand the truck that rolled at rock therapy this year. It rolled at least three times and went 60ft down a steep ravine. Roof was dimpled. Couldn't come close to calling it crushed. That's my only input here.

 

And looking inside the cab, it was more or less untouched.

 

I just hauled 1,400 pounds in my 2013 TRD Sport short bed. Drove it about 90 miles. Had no issues whatsoever. Bilsteins never bottomed out.

My 2 cents.

 

I never felt or heard the bump stops. I assure you I had every bit of 1,400 pounds in the bed.

700 lbs. of steel plates
390 lb. power rack
45 lb. Olympic bar
100 lb. (est.) bench
75 lb. (est.) weight plate rack
other miscellaneous stuff

I was quite impressed with the way it handled.

 

I wouldn't waste my time with him he hates Tacoma or Toyotas anyways, don't bother.

 

I've owned a Tacoma made in Mexico and Texas.
They were identical and you couldn't tell the difference.

 

I've owned 4 made in Kalifornia and 1 made in Texas. More rattles and poor fit and finish with the Texas 2015 so far.

 

Exactly - I have seen too many reviews and comments to think that everyone is making it up.

Here is a review on the Canyon towing nearly 3/4 tons - and the guy says it has room to add more.
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2015/05/2015-gmc-canyon-long-term-review-payload-test.html

I would to see that kind of capacity in the new Tacoma.

 

Just wanted to add that I've had 3 4Runners now (89, 00, and 05) and I'm on my 2nd Tacoma (99, and 15 currently) and I've always been more impressed with the Japanese built 4Runner quality over the Tacoma. My 2015 is a nicely built truck overall, but it's the little things you notice that are more cheaply made.

Regarding payload capacity, I've had 2 MX bikes in the back at about 225 pounds each. A couple gear bags, fuel cans, tools, and a loaded cooler with a passenger and the truck wasn't squatting bad. But my suspension is still new and that might change with time. If it does I will be upgrading the leafs for sure.

If I didn't need a bed I would have bought another 4Runner instead.

 

I'm lucky since my dad owns a 4Runner and if I want to drive it I can on occasion...... It beats the tacoma in terms of quality by a long shot....

 

One of these days I'm gonna get another first gen 4Runner.

 

?? You start off on body appearance, then go on to aerodynamics, then end on the driver's seat height.
I'll assume that the point of this was aerodynamics. There is a limit to what you can do and still have a tall-ish 4x4 truck with ground clearance. They did add an interesting deflector under the front bumper... I wonder how much impact it will have and if its worth adding to an older config.

Probably be similar in strength to 2009-2015, which is fine, as long as you aren't abusive to it. Climb up and jump on it, it'll be fine. Drop an excavator bucket down on it hard and you'll probably crush it.

Fully boxed frames are no stronger, yet are *impossible* to rust-proof. The primary weakness of the <=2015 Toyota Tacoma frames happen to be the section that *is* fully boxed.

Drum brakes are actually a heck of a lot more *expensive* to manufacture than disk brakes. What disk brakes have are MARKETING power, because of the perception of superiority. Everything has its application, and the back end of a pickup is the application for drum brakes.

Matter of opinion/importance. Does it not achieve the job needed, technically? That is what a truck is for... doing the job. Much more important than being "pretty".

skewp is silly, but has previously been limited to poser-edition aka "sport".

Even if it did, I doubt that Toyota would care, since (a) tacoma is *NOT* an offroad vehicle (not really, if you want to offroad, get a dune buggy or ATV) -- most owners are going to need it for street, snow, and light dirt/gravel.

Don't worry about it unless it shows itself to be an actual problem. Even thin metal can be rigid if shaped correctly.

Apple can rot.
Android Auto is... ok, but not amazing.
What is really needed, is a full Android HU... but that isn't likely to happen.
And aside from that, the one thing you can be guaranteed of, is that a factory car radio will be junk. Guaranteed. Look for something like Parrot RNB6, if they ever actually ship the thing... but haven't really heard much about it since CES back in January.

Actually, the "quality" issues were mostly from the unionized GM plant in California, and there were a few growing pains when production was suddenly moved to TX at first run of MY2010. Since then quality has been top notch.

Well... personally, I wouldn't even call 2016 a "3rd gen", since it is only cosmetically different from 2009+. In fact, it was a bigger and more important difference between 2008 and 2009 when the frame production was moved from dana to hino. Not that 2016 won't be good... after all, why mess with what is already good?

 

The frame is new.
The power train is new.
The exterior is new.
The interior is new.
Several new features like power moonroof, blind spot monitoring, push button starts, fancy cordless charging, etc.

You're right, only cosmetic differences. Just the same old second gen.

 

Got to sit in the 2016 last weekend at XGames Austin....Loved it

 

Your generalizing, the panels on the body are new, the cab is the same, the body panel mounting points, there's a picture with the grille removed, looks exactly the same as a 2nd gen with the grille removed, the frame is the same but improved, not all new. It is a new gen, but its more of a revision than a total redesign. Lots carried over or just revised, suspension components, etc.