New DCSB TRD OR 4x4

Picked up the truck yesterday (9/18) in Denver and trailered it back to my side of the mountains since my trade in was done locally. Bought from Groove for invoice plus their $499 doc fee (TTL was extra of course). Only options were the tow package and all weather mats. I didn't really want anything else in the way of options any way.

I used to have the same truck in a 2011 access cab that I only kept for about a year or so. I liked the truck but should have gotten the double at the time. This purchase was an attempt to correct that mistake.

First impressions is that it is a much nicer truck than my 2011. The interior look and feel is way better, definitely more quiet. Ride seems a bit softer but honestly its a truck so I'm not too particular about it. Haven't had it off the pavement yet but hopefully tomorrow I'll head down to Ouray and run a trail.

Cons that I've noticed so far.

-the tailgate has a separate key to lock/unlock. Its not controlled by the smart key and the key in the smart key only works on the doors, not the tailgate. WTF toyota?

-tow package doesn't come with the ball and mount. My 2011 did and I'm glad I kept it.

-ECT power. I was pretty underwhelmed with the trucks performance until I turned this on. On the interstate, it struggles to stay in 6th gear at 75mph on cruise. I haven't been back on the interstate since I hit the ECT button but around town it makes a noticeable difference in shifts and power.

-hood and driving position. This thing has a long nose and the seating position puts me down low. Not to big a deal around town but I can tell on trails its going to take some getting used to. Why doesn't toyota put a height adjustable seat in this thing? Seriously....

Pros so far.

-At about 50 mph the mileage indicator is maxed out (30mpg or better) and thats my normal daily drive around here as long as the cotton heads don't slow me down.

-This truck looks bad assed in MGM.

Its certainly an upgrade over my 2011 but i wouldn't call this a "3rd gen", more like 2.7ish.




UPDATE 9/20

OK, took the truck out today. Was going to go to Ouray but I needed to check out some camp sites in a different spot. Some mild trails, no rock climbing or anything and it did fine. The ride off road is about what my 2011 was, maybe a little bit less rough and soaked up the bumps a bit better.

Fanboys, look away because I am going to bash the truck a bit here.

I did not push the ECT power button all day because I wanted to see what it would do as far as mileage was concerned (more on that in a sec). Between 60 and 75 mph this thing has a hard time staying in overdrive on cruise control on relatively flat roads. At the slightest incline it drops a gear and sometimes 2 and is constantly hunting for a gear. Even when it flattens back out it would sometimes stay in 5th on CC until I would tap the brakes and then it would shift. Kind of aggravating ...... I'll push the magic button next time out and compare the performance but as is, a little disappointing.

Bash over....Tacoma praise coming.

On the good side, the MPG is pretty good so far. You can see my tank average below and thats with a lot of up and down hill and some trails. I'm pretty happy with that...


So at the end of the trip, I have 300 miles on the ODO and it says 129 to empty.

A few pics in the wild:






DRL's in bright daylight



9/25 UPDATE:

Went through the first tank of gas. 418 miles with 8 to empty. Truck shows 21.8 mpg. Gassed up and put 19 gal in the tank which was right up to the filler neck. That was with the ECT in the OFF and you can read my impressions above. I'm going to roll with the ECT ON for this next tank to see the difference. Wish Toyota would have made the default ON instead of OFF.

9/28 UPDATE

Took the truck out this weekend to check out the colors. Mild trails and as expected, the truck handled them fine. I did the drivers seat mod and raised it 1 1/2" and it is SO MUCH BETTER. Really do not understand why Toyota does not make a height adjustable seat available. I don't care if its power or not..oh well, easy enough fix. Makes it a lot easier to see over the long hood.

ECT. I'm pushing the button every time I get in now, to see what the MPG/Power difference is. At lower speeds, its a noticeable difference, at 75 mph on cruise not so much but thats to be expected as folks say it just changes shift points. I'm sure someone will come up with a mod for the default to be ON.

 

very nice! congrats I'm waiting on mine to show up at groove as well.

 

I'm looking at the same model and color with the 6spd manual. Nice pic. Upload a few more if you get a chance. Grats.

 

Yea, I'll have some more pics up soon. Just wanted to give some impressions between new and old.

One other thing I realized was that the front of the bed no longer has the tract for the cargo things. Thats where I used to have my bike mounts. Wonder if that can be retrofitted somehow?

 

Great looking truck! Love how it looks in mgm!! Congrats

 

The reason you sit low is for safety in a crash. They make cars (and trucks) today so it is difficult for you to ride with arm out the window. You have less injuries if your arm is protecting your side. My sister and her husband work in insurance.

 

It has the bolt holes still there. I imagine it's going to be easy to add

 

I like this. With the way I drive around town (like an old man), I'm fully expecting to average around 20mpg city or more once everything is broken in.

 

Dude AWESOME TRUCK! Please POST MORE PHOTOS!!!!

 

Congrats ! MOER PICS!!!

 

Congrats!

 

Thats my truck too. Congrats, and more pics out in the sun please.

 

Welcome.
Nice truck.

Haha cotton heads

 

OP- if you don't mind me asking, how long did it take you to take delivery on the truck? I've been waiting about a month now and all they can tell me is that it was built on 9/9.

 

+1

 

This is the only configuration we are lacking PHOTOS!!!

 

I didn't order it, just called the dealer a couple of weeks ago to see what they had inbound and put my name on this one.

 

gotcha, thanks and congrats again looks very good.

 

beautiful truck op, congrats. moar pics please!

 

updated OP with info and pics