No to the 2016 Taco...sigh~ The Test Drive Blues

Well, after waiting for nearly 3 months my sales guy calls me. A TRD sport loaded exactly as I wanted came in.

Back history. Never owned a pick up truck. Right now drive a Sporty Mazda 3. Owned some SUV's in the past.

I pull up to Wolfchase Toyota in Memphis and I am faced with a beautiful Quicksand TRD Sport Taco with the full Tech package. I did not order it but this WOULD have been exactly the way I would have had it built. The salesman knew I was worried about a pick up fitting into my garage he joined me for a long test drive out to my home! Very cool!

As I am driving the first thing I notice is a bounce that I am not accustomed to. Felt like I was in a moon bounce. The cabin is quiet but the ride is not fun. With the tech package you get a moon roof. I love those things! I am 5'10" tall..not a really tall dude. What I noticed is that my gelled back hair was getting tickled by the roof. Very distracting. As I am driving down the interstate he tells me to find the pump handle adjustment that he is sure is there. it don't exist! There is no vertical adjustment. The JBL radio sounds great and has loads of bass. The infotainment system is crazy wicked fast and responsive. A geeks dream! The Infotainment in my 2014 Mazda is a fooking joke at best.
I noticed that the steering is very spongy. I know I am used to a Mazda steering but this was just a spongy steering response. Not good.
Then there is the hood. Oh my the massive hood. With that breather thing on the front it adds height to the hood that does obstruct the view more than the base models. You better like a lot of hood in your line of sight. It looks cool from the street but distracting from the cabin. Now....the Blind Spot Monitoring....yeah...nice try. So when you are humming down the interstate and someone enters your blind spot and you turn your signal on you get flashing ONLY in your mirrors. Its the first car I've driven that does not beep or bark at you. Not a problem at night or on a cloudy day but if the sun's to your rear and in your mirrors, well, good luck. Even the salesman was surprised at this. He pulled out the manual to find the settings in the radio that would fix this. None to be found. It states it only flashes.

I asked him if the limited model had power seats that would remedy the ceiling clearance issue and he said not in the 2016's!

So all in all my wait has been in vein. We are looking at getting some land and need a truck. I thought this would be the answer to my land truck and daily commute. Nope. Too many negatives for me.

I did sit in the SR5 without the moon roof and noticed a lot more ceiling clearance. I wanted to buy this Taco but the negatives kept stacking up for me. I may just keep my M3 and find a 10+ year old taco cheap (I hope) as my land truck.

The 2016 Taco also seems underpowered. I felt like I really had to lean into the gas pedal on the interstate to get it to 80mph. Memphis is pretty flat land so this should not have been a hard task.
The salesman was understanding and not high pressure at all. He gave me my deposit check back and parted ways.

Just wanted to share my test drive experience with all y'all.

Denicio

 

I drive both a Mazda 3 and a Gen 2 Tacoma. I love the Tacoma more for daily commutes. The Mazda suspension hurts for daily use. for me anyways.

 

It sounds like it drives like a truck. As for the moon roof and blind spot monitoring... When I decide to buy I'm going without a tech package on trd sport. Just don't need those extras for 3 grand.

 

Yeah the Mazda is not perfect but its fun to drive......but hitting bumps in it. Dang! No bounce...but BOOM! I am 'almost' thinking the bastard child of a Taco and Mazda 3 might be a 2016 Outback (Denicio ducks his head waiting for the tomatoes to fly!).

 

And you have most likely nailed it. Never owned a pick up so I don't know how they normally drive. I ignorantly thougth it would be similar to the Honda Pilot or Mitsu Endeavor I used to own. I guess it can be said I don't like how Pick up's ride. Now I know!

 

Truth be told, with the BSM and Rear Back up proximity sensors (what ever its called) on my M3, I will never buy a car without those features again. They have saved me many times!

I was surprised the Moonroof ate up that much headroom though.

 

Might have been expecting too much coming from the M3 and Mazda.. its a truck, not gonna drive like a car in anyway shape or form. Is what it is.

Glad to hear about the responsive head unit and decent bass from the JBL.

 

See http://www.wolfchasetoyota.com/deta..._cab_v6_automatic_trd_sport-new-14269667.html for the truck. That dealer has some cool looking long bed Sports, too.

 

That's the one!! Nice! Its a looker. I know there is hate for the new fronts n all. But up close its quite a sight to behold. I love the quicksand color too.

 

You're gonna hate yourself later.

 

Doggman,
I think you are 100% correct. I had no idea. Its just that simple.
No need to go drive any other pick up truck to compare. Just don't dig the ride. Which is why the Outback may be the next logical option for me.

 

Probably not. The biggest issue for me was the bouncy ride to what I am used to. Its not a bad truck and its very good looking. Its just not me.

 

Had a Mazda3 hatch. It was fun to drive, kinda snappy. But it was a Mazda3 hatch. It has its place in the world, and that place doesn't really overlap with a TRD Sport Tacoma. In my opinion.

Had an Outback, as well. That is more in tune with what you're wanting, me thinks. And you can actually carry shit in it, unlike the 3 hatch I had.

 

I have the BSM on my '14 Avalon (and a Ford Explorer before it), neither made any noise, and it was never an issue, sun or no sun. Actually helped me avoid an accident head an idiot passed me doing 55 mph in a turn lane. Won't buy another vehicle without BSM of some type.

 

Really? My M3 does it, my wifes Honda does it and the Grand Caravans we rent for Destin do it. The beep with the flash, to me, is proper integration.
As you say, BSM is a MUST for me to consider any car ever!

 

Bought new Gen 2 with 7 miles on it. Currently 290k miles, no BSM or anything. I avoid accidents by defensive driving.

 

Maybe check out a Subaru WRX STI. Wish they still made the hatchback's but those things are very sporty and will tear up any truck on a dirt road by a mile. Won't be able to rock crawl though.. lol

 

Sorry you didn't like it


But anyone that calls a hood scoop a "breather thing" doesn't deserve a Taco haha.

 

ha ha ha. You should be banned for that comment!

Just teasing. I rented an Outback once. It was amazingly fun in the snow up by Keystone and Breckenridge.

 

Yea, but where u gonna put the deer during season?