Manual Transmission anyone?

Awesome to hear as I test drove an Auto TRD Off road and wasn't too impressed with the sluggish start. However, I did place an order and I am now waiting on a 16 TRD Sport 6MT. Currently driving a 2016 WRX in the meantime. Also, do you miss your WRX?

 

I don't miss it breaking...

But yes, I do miss it, I'll have another one day as a project car

 

Nice little write up! Glad I am not the only one coming from a WRX!

 

I test drove an auto a few weeks back and got my V6 manual today. It does get off the line a bit better than the auto and doesn't seem to need to rev up as much to get into the power. I went up some long steep grades on my way home from the dealership and only had to downshift to 5th once. As long as it stayed above about 2100 RPM it had plenty of power. I averaged 21.4 on the computer over my 60 mile drive home, even with all the hills. I feel like this engine is best with the manual. It definitely shifts like a truck but feels nice.

 

You guys make me want to get the manual even more. So sad it is not offered on the DCLB configurations.

 

Or the ACOR either!

 

Don't know why they won't offer a M/T 6 on a DCSB TRD Sport 4x2. Lots of us can do without a 4x4 but love a M/T.

 

I test drove a DCSB 4x4 Sport 6MT last week. I've never driven a prior-gen Taco, and the only other manual truck I've driven is a '91 F250 diesel (which is a blast). But I owned a 6MT Honda (Acura TSX) for a decade and now own a 6MT BMW, so those cars are my frame of reference.
-The clutch is great, no complaints
-The shift action is satisfactory; not rife-bolt mechanical like a Honda (nothing else is), but it slots nicely into the gates and engagement is very smooth/solid (similar to BMW)
-Throws are long, but it suits a truck
-The shift knob is flimsy; there is obviously thin plastic under the leather, and it pops/clicks if you push on it. I would probably have to swap to a more substantial knob
-The shifter is oddly far away from the driver; with my long legs, my arm is almost fully extended in 1st/3rd/5th, and it feels much farther to the right than I'm used to
-The gearing is spot on; short 1st makes it feel peppy off the line, and 6th is so tall you can't climb a grade without downshifting to 5th (I hate all these cars that are geared with a shorter 6th gear so you can accelerate up a grade in 6th; I bought a manual because I don't mind downshifting, so I'd rather have the fuel economy of a tall 6th)

Non-M/T specific observations:
-The one I drove had some engine vibration around ~2500 RPM, which went away at higher revs. Maybe it was specific to this vehicle, or I'm just not used to the NVH of a truck (my wife has the prior version of this engine in her Sienna, and it doesn't have this problem at low revs, although it's very buzzy at high revs)
-The seats are closer to the floor than some sports cars I've driven. I could probably get used to it, but would it kill Toyota to have height adjustment? Even most economy cars have this feature
-I spent half the test drive trying to figure out how to reset the trip MPG to no avail; all it would show was the tank average MPG, which was biased by other prospective buyers apparently hooning it (15 mpg)
-The tailgate is very nice
-The skewp is horribly distracting to the driver; the truck I drove was white, and the glare off the skewp was awful
-I like Toyota's cruise control implementation, I just wish it was on the left side of the wheel like BMW does (better for 6MT users)

Overall, decent truck, but I wish Toyota would have innovated a bit. Once you get used to forced induction, it's hard to go back to the sluggish low end of n/a engines. Truck usage aligns perfectly with the benefits of turbocharging (gas DI or diesel), and Toyota now has a very good 2.0t that would have been in blast in the Taco.

 

Love the feel of the clutch, love the role back protection on inclines too. That's a pretty cool feature.
Shifting is smooth for the most part. Gets smoother with a few miles of driving. I'm getting 16mph tho but its soo fun to drive hard to stay off the gas pedal. When the long intakes open up hold on!

 

Corporate

 

Waiting for @Z50king to arrive and verbally beat you about the head, face, and neck for paying the Toyota Advertising Fee.

 

I am pretty sure you can't get crawl control (only on the OR anyways) with a manual. So what DO you get with a manual in the OR variant? Locker comes in both sport and OR editions right?

 

Locker is only in OR and it also comes with the terrain selector.

Oh, and better suspension.

 

Locker only comes on the TRD Offroad

Offroad manuals get ATRAC

Offroad automatics get Crawl Control

 

What does ATRAC do? That's the terrain selector? Lame I can't get a locker with the sport... It should be a stand alone option for a few hundred bucks in all variants. Even people in 2wd can use a locker for towing or bad weather.

 

+1. edited to add MTS

 

I'm selling my '14 WRX hatch for this truck. Of course I sold my '10 TRD OR for the WRX....
Between the two I'll take the truck every day. The utility difference cannot be overstated.

Don't get me wrong, I love the WRX. If I'd never owned a Tacoma before I'd be completely loving it.

I also have the slight issue of having a company vehicle with fancy flashy lights on top which I drive like a maniac EVERY DAY. I'm averaging 24-25mpg in my WRX because I granny drive it so much.

 

You get a lsd in the rear with the sport, I didn't really care for the locker and you don't get the crawl control with the mt so I went with the sport. If I ever get the itch for a locker I can put one in, I think you also get a lsd in the front with the OR and the 4x4 has like 6 or 8 different settings. I'm going from an 04 Silverado and without a lsd and with a good set of tires never got stuck so I should be fine without all the extras the OR offers. To each their own.

 

Lockers run about $1200 I think but I have no idea how much install/labor costs are with that if you have to pay a shop to do it. I couldn't do it on my own, no lift and lacking required knowledge.

 

So get the OR if you want the locker. I just don't need it. I think somebody said you can only use it in 4lo but I'm not sure. The lsd gets everything done I need it too