Car and Driver Comparison: 2016 Tacoma v. 2016 Colorado

See... and that right there is the problem! Because it's Tacoma world we are suppose to blindly follow Toyota's lead, instead of discussing on the merits. I am in Tacoma World because I thought the first two generations were great....the jury's still out on the the 3rd Gen. IMO, a lot of mistakes were made by Toyota with the 3rd Gen in the way it was released, designed, the timing, etc. Makes me question it. I'm very glad to hear some positive feedback from owners, but there is a lot of negative too.

To dismiss a devils advocate point of view or a opposing argument as a '...knocker, through and though" is childish.

 

To be honest GM's reliability on trail with the H3/H3t/Colorado has not been great from the people I know who use those vehicles off road. Front end issues (not talking ECGS vibe only, but excessive wear on basically everything that moves requiring constant replacement) and little electrical issues seem to plague those trucks. Will the new Collie be better? We won't know for a few years.

 

GM has always made a few good engines. Toyota has always made better. That all being said you or I can't say what this generations reliability with either engine from either company will be until the trucks hit a few 100K.

 

I know you didn't mean it exactly, but the use of the word " investment" is so far removed from the automobile world when the average guy buys a car it is worth mentioning. The Glock idea is that, there are products that are investments. It isn't right for me to give others the idea that there is more then a marginal difference between a Colorado and a Tacoma which are compared when they are in equally good repair. The Taco holds it's value longer....but as an investment, it is out of it's league with houses, guns....and a good dog.

 

If we are talking strictly off-roading, I agree the Colorado is not going to compete with the Tacoma. Although, the massive new front-end is gonna get in the way on trail.

 

No one try's to compete with another brand directly. Honda Accord does not with Camry and the Colorado does not with Taco. They each give up something in one domain to attract customers in another. Regardless of how much better a Colorado will perform on the open road, a Taco owner may just complain about the undercarriage or the metal bed instead of composite or what ever. The opposite is true where the very few Colorado owners will even sera dirt road......there aren't many cross over buyers.

 

I agree. Which is my point. Since we're all having so much fun, LOL, let me throw this at you....

Colorado towing capacity is twice the Taco, better MPGs, more HPs, better low-end torque....same price. Aside from hardcore off-roaders, why would you buy a Taco if your above statement is true? I guess it's just a pet peeve of mine, when dealers and Toyota fans answer every question with "reliability and resale." As if they don't have to try any more.

 

Pretty easy mods to get rid of that. I bet there will be a bunch of bumpers available by early next year if not sooner.

 

It's not twice the Tacoma in towing. The max tow rating on the gas Colorado is 200 lbs higher than the max on the Tacoma. Is that better in the strictist definition? Yes. Does it matter in the real world? Well I guess it does if you honestly plan on towing 7000 lbs behind a gas mid sized, which IMHO is to hard on both trucks and basically selecting the wrong truck for the job.

The Diesel Colorado is a whole different animal, but at the same options packages a whole different price level too. For someone with a large boat or fair size TT but a fear of full sized trucks it could work out very well for towing. Time will tell on that one but I feel most people who will buy it are buying it for the novel size or the Diesel engine.

Gas versus gas the Colorado gets lower mpgs from real world testing so far. Again, wait a year and we can talk about that more accurately. The Diesel, again, is intriguing but prohibitively expensive if the end goal is to save money given the average length of ownership.

The low end torque on the gas Colorado is abysmal. I test drove one. Both the 2016 Tacoma and Colorado are geared and built for fuel economy. To get decent torque out of that end down low you'd need to regear to get the rpm's higher faster or chip it. The first option is $$$ for a daily driver and the second is something I would never do on a gas engine. Generic tuners, in general, blow engines faster than even poorly implemented boost does. The Diesel, again, is intriguing but prohibitively expensive if torque is the goal. My F150 out pulls the Diesel Collie with the gearing it has and has a wider power band. Same price too. Again, if the size is the driving factor the Diesel is a good option on paper but expensive.

Price, I'd actually say the Collie has the advantage. At least in Canada anyways. You can get 2-3K off MSRP on a Collie and a little less than that on a Tacoma, which given the Collies average lower MSRP price to start with, is a gap of $1-$2K on the highest trim levels. On the SR5/SLE the difference is pretty small.

So, yes, given all of that I'd buy the Tacoma over the Colorado if I had to buy a new truck today. The Diesel Colorado really intrigues me, but even if I don't off road, I couldn't trust the badge on the front and the differences you are trying to point out aren't there or are quite exaggerated on a gas versus gas comparison. I also couldn't buy the Diesel because who knows how reliable that pile of technology will be.

Notice how I didn't mention resale value or reliability as driving factors in any of that conversation . I'm no fanboy. I own multiple brands and I buy what works based on solid fleet data and my own needs. Like I said if the Colorado was really something impressive over the Tacoma I'd be leaning that way, but it's not.

 

That's true to some extent. Toyota is focused on retaining Tacoma owners and attracting more weekend warriors who see their trucks offroad or doing crazy things. GM is selling and advertising the Colorado like it is a manly version of the Cobalt. That's GM target market; guys who feel their current ride is a bit to ghey and want a truck but can't park or drive a full size.

 

Or just let your nuts fall out of your Vagina and buy a full size . On the test tow with the F150 the trailer brake controller programming had issues and the truck alone had no problem stopping close to 5000 lbs in a reasonable distance. While I would never advocate towing without trailer brakes on a load like that if you want braking power go to a full size with a higher weight pushing down on the road and wider track which both help control braking.

If towing is the factor in your decision and you can tolerate the larger size, I'd choose the Silverado/Tundra over the Colorado/Tacoma.

 

oh yea! how could i forget...add drum brakes to my list of fails on the new Taco! lol. Way too much exaggerating on the towing capacity from me, I take that back...just more towing capacity. "twice as much" is not fair.

 

I've had 9,000 lbs behind our F150 with no issues (3,300 lbs of trailer and the rest was scrap iron, all weighed I was trucking it for someone and collecting half the cash ). At that kind of weight the F150 feels a lot like a Tacoma with 4500 lbs behind it. Oh, and that load included an old combine shell so it wasn't aerodynamic by any means. Braking was not an issue and the sway control was nice when semi's tried to pass.

I'd say, if the load is balanced, anything more than 9,000 lbs is getting into a yellow area where your knuckles would get sore over long distances. At that point your load should be on a goose neck or fifth wheel and the 3/4 ton truck is that way to go.

 

Get back to me in five years. We'll see if the Colorado is worth 75% of what you paid for it. I paid 31K and change for my 2011, this past summer I was offered (from a dealer) 23K.

 

yea yea yea....we have been down this road a thousand times. first of all, you are talking about the 2nd gen....doesn't mean it's automatically applies to 3rd gen. More importantly, I am not going to buy a truck for the sole purpose of resale value. Once again, Tacoma fans answer for everything.... "We don't need disc brakes....resale and reliability!" "We don't need low-end torque...resale and reliability!" "We don't have to design a half decent looking front-end...resale and reliability!" lol

 

It's probably more like we don't need 200 pounds more towing or a few feet of quicker stopping distance. We just don't trust the bowtie to last. That's a personal preference you don't have, and you should avoid making fun of other peoples personal preferences if you want respect for your own.

 

But it's so fun! And give me a break with personal preference, every other thread on here is how to "fix" the grille....and is anyone happy about the drum brakes?!

But ya....just busting.... they'r just trucks from huge companies making a lot of money off of us...let's not take it too seriously.

 

toyota announced a huge recall

 

Is it oil pump related? That would be funny. Funny for those watching on here, but not so much for those with 2016's.

 

I just have to say that the great resale value on my 2008 is the reason I was able to afford my 2014. Resale value is very important to me when I buy vehicles. That being said, the new Colorado may hold it's value as well. We just don't know yet.