Car and Driver Comparison: 2016 Tacoma v. 2016 Colorado

Most of the major mechanical components of each model, the Colorado and the Tacoma, are derivatives from models that each already sell. The die is cast. The Tacoma will be more reliable then the Colorado and the resale value will be higher....take it to the bank. I trust the integrity of consumer reports because it's based upon the buyers opinion, not the seller. History has a lot to do with resale value. History is on the side of Toyota. Just the fact that the 2015 old style Tacoma outsold the the new Colorado by a wide margin is a pretty good f'n indication.

It doesn't take a Taco fanboy to conclude that Tacos will be more reliable and have better resale value, it takes a Clorado fan boy to deny it.

 

Or, C. a Taco hater.

 

I'm not even a Tacoma fan boy either lol. I would love a diesel but for what I use my truck for, I don't really need it and the Tacoma makes the most sense. My only complaint is the lack of power rear window and the price increase. They did add a bunch of little features here and there that add up but it should be almost the cost of a 4Runner. The margin between those two used to be a lot wider. New vs new a Chevy will win. Few years down the road people will realize the differences between the two. I've driven my Tacoma from Alabama to Maryland and was comfortable. My Honda Civic has the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in yet some people hate them. It will depend on the person, their body type and size, driving posture, etc. you can't use reviews on that to compare, you really need to drive it yourself. And my sport I've taken some sharp turns in and it felt very well planted. But I bought a sport because most of my driving is on road

 

You pick the right tool for the job. I'm not going to buy an f350 for some occasional minor hauling just like I won't buy a Tacoma to tow a 5th wheeler. I buy what suits my needs

 

I trust that the Car and Driver article is accurate. Heck, there are many Toyota models that do not test out well compared to other makes.....the Corolla for one yet it still manages to widely out sell others becasue it holds it's value and is extremely reliable. People actually appreciate that their cars don't brake down and leave them stranded. I did not buy my second generation Taco Because it was the best running truck out there, but it is reliable and very sturdy. All seven of mine have been relatily maintenance free scepter for stuff I broke myself. The testing is fine. I will continue buying Toyotas for other reasons then handling and how quickly it accelerates. Otherwise, I would Buy a Dodge Hemi.

 

Touche. It didn't take a genius to know that a vehicle with more power will likely accelerate faster unless weight or gearing is horrible

 

At least several of the posts in this thread try to imply that the Tacoma is the same price as the Colorado but with less equipment. That is hardly true...

I have priced out a Tacoma TRD OR Access Cab with the Tech package and it is right around $35k and that is basically a fully loaded vehicle. I then priced out a Colorado Z71 Access Cab with the V6 and that came to over $39k fully loaded.

Now if you compare features, the Tacoma has the following that is not available on the Colorado: 120V Outlet in bed, keyless start, blind spot monitoring, Qi wireless charging, dual zone climate control, crawl control, rear locker, rear parking sensors

The Colorado has the following features that are not available on the Tacoma: power seats, remote start, Apple CarPlay

And if you are looking for a Double Cab instead of the Access Cab, you can add the Moonroof to the list of items available on the Tacoma and not on the Colorado. Comparing both features and price, you are clearly paying a premium for a Colorado.

 

But are you pricing them with equal equipment? For example, the bed of the Colorado comes bare and needs some sort of liner and that costs extra. The liner is standard on the Tacoma. The higher line Tacomas come standard with Navigation. That costs $1k extra on the Colorado. Those are just a couple of examples, but there are more. They really do nickel and dime you to death on the Colorado and Canyon. So I wouldn't be convinced that advertised price is the truck you would want to go home with. By the time you are done it will be well north of $40k.

 

Toyota isn't perfect.

I've had my '03 4Runner since new. It is now at 160k miles. It is generally a good vehicle, but it does have some recurring issues. The biggest is frozen brake calipers. I've replaced the front calipers at least three times and the rears at least twice. Go over to Toyota-4Runner.org and you'll see that is common for the 4th gen 4Runner.

Other things include the steering intermediate shaft, steering lines, transmission cooling lines, running board support brackets, two seat belt receptacles. The drivers side blend door is fluttering.

I've had to replace the heater fan twice and it is making noise again. The timing belt and water pump is a regular maintenance item, but it is an expensive one.

The biggest issue on my 4Runner was the frame. Mine rusted to oblivion. Toyota paid for most of the frame replacement, but I still had to pay for $2000. Since last December, I've dropped $5,500 for repairs and maintenance into my 4Runner, which probably isn't worth more than $10k.

While I think Toyota is generally more reliable than GM, let's not put Toyota on a pedestal. Toyota has had more than its share of issues that it has known about for years, but was unable or unwilling to fix.

 

with the amount of fan boys in here, I'm surprised you haven't been taken out and beaten to death for such comments. I have been driving Toyota trucks since '85, but that doesn't mean other companies are not catching up with options offered and quality in a truck. I had the opportunity to see a Blue Pearl DCSB Limited this weekend in person. That is one nice truck, really enjoyed looking it over and taking some pics. But I have yet to test drive either and see which I prefer over the other. I will definitely favor the Tacamo, due to having driven them for years, but it's not an automatic win just because it's Toyota.

 

Actually I'm really curious how the GM/Chevy says it can get 27 mpg and got 19 and the taco says 24 and got 19. As an owner I have no problems with the engine. And if I need it to be responsive in the city just turn ETC on.

 

I believe they test drove the Chevy that is only rated for 17/24 mpg and the TRD Off Road is only rated for 18/23mpg as well.

 

Yea it wasn't really stated by the OP. Right now I'm avg 22.4 mostly city in a 4x2. Waiting for my EZtag to come in to start driving my work commute and get some real numbers.

 

They also complained about the cornering abilities of an off road in what seems like a ROAD test Chevy advertises best in class towing and fuel economy but that is misleading, because to have the one you cannot have the other. They offer 3 different engines to put in there

 

My thing about this is that the twins have a soft suspension and a car like set up. And that's fine if that's what you want. I looked at them but the interior to me was just really awful in the Twins. And I've only owned one Chevy that I cared about and after owning 3 fords I'll never go back to them. Always wanted a taco for all the reasons why people buy them. Reliability and quality. I don't need 300 hp. I don't need 0-60 sub 7 time and I don't want to be able to drift in the truck. I plan on keeping this truck for about 12 years. The Tacoma track record and my past experience with other auto makers led me to my new purchase.

 

That's totally how I felt about the Chevy. Feels like a car, and a cheap car at that.

I think most of us at tacomaworld are in the minority, everyone else seems to want a refined car like ride. When I tell people I am thinking of buying a 4R they say stuff like "you bounce around in that thing, you feel every bump...." I'm like "yea, to me that's good...if i wanted a car ride i'd buy a car."

 

Lurker here - thought I'd offer my point of view. I've driven a 16 Canyon and a 15 Tacoma - ended up "ordering" a 16 Tacoma. The Canyon seemed somewhat quiet, but some things that turned me off (way off): transmission was "jerky" and never felt smooth, the steering wheel was off-center (maybe a minor complaint - still thought it was odd and made me wonder what else could be not quite right), the interior sea of hard plastics looked and felt cheap, the audio/entertainment interface was painfully slow to respond to commands. I drove two different Canyon's and both had the same problems. I do think it's a nice looking truck. I'm not an off-roader, but decided I need a vehicle with a bed because I have a green thumb (plants, mulch, etc). However, it's nice to know the off-roading capability is there if I need it with the Tacoma. The 15 Tacoma felt more solid, but obviously lacked the tech of the Canyon. Still, most of us here know Toyota well. They build to please the consumer - not to please Car and Driver. They rarely perform well in these car magazine tests (that's been the case for years and years) and often get cast aside as being too vanilla. These people want everything they test to be an M3. For me, the 16 Tacoma was the way to go. Dependability. Resale value. Proven track record. Quality of build. All of that matters to people and it's why I'm going with Toyota.

 

Everyone is assuming the 2016s will be as reliable as previous generations, just as 2nd gens were less reliable than 1st gens, I'm willing to gamble with new powertrain and tech the 3rd gen as well will be less reliable than previous gens. Just the world we live in today. But still better QDR than other manufacturers, not to mention most people will be in another vehicle before 100k.

 

I think they are just assuming they will be more reliable than the competition....which is probably a good assumption. But you never know, GM has stepped up a bit.

 

I'm just astounded that apparently the aero tweaks, new transmission, and new engine with Atkinson lobes couldn't beat out the Colorado in fuel economy. Mazda improved their fuel economy by like 25% when they added Atkinson lobes to their engines; Toyota apparently did it wrong?