Car and Driver Comparison: 2016 Tacoma v. 2016 Colorado

I'm in 4Lo almost the entire time I'm on trail. When working around a farm or just going down a logging road I'm always in 4Hi. 2Hi is obviously what I use on pavement normally unless it's ice and/or snow covered.

You are assuming everyone is running around on dunes. Some of us are on tight trails and mucky spots where a true locker is far better than a LSD. Also, given my experience on gravel with the auto locker, I doubt you'd hit a high enough RPM difference in the dunes to keep the locker engaged on the GM. It will work, but not as well as a simple mod to enable the locker on the Toyota to be used any time.

BTW I'm not knocking true LSD's. They are useful. It's just not what I need but I could see the appeal to a street user or sand dune jumper over a true locker. LSD's and the type of autolocker used on the stock GM's are great at high speed because they are more forgiving.

 

@dlakerguy, given some of the other posts I've seen you make, what's your purpose here? You seem pretty set on the new Colorado Diesel, which even to me is a truck I will follow closely to see how it pans out over the years, but it doesn't make sense to me to be so argumentative over something you've already decided 100% for yourself based solely on your own needs. There is no give or take with you, it's all "this is the way it flapping is!"

Enjoy your new Colorado. It wouldn't be the truck I'd choose but that doesn't make it less of anything for you.

 

With absolutely no facts to back it up, I feel the choice of trucks becasue one may be reliable as opposed to another is distorted be the large number of new car buyers, leasing instead.

http://qz.com/214922/why-more-and-more-americans-are-leasing-cars-instead-of-buying-them/

Just a thought. With a quarter to 30% of new cars being leased for the most part of the bumper to bumper warranty period, reliability long term is not that big an issue. With more then 1/4 of the new car buyers looking to keep their cars for such a short time, Toyota reliability just may not matter. So, if perspective compact truck buyers are un bias to begin with, the one that rides, handles and is economical might get gain the advantage. How many too are going to lease a vehicle and chance beating the shit out of it off road ? It has to be a little tough for Toyota to sacrifice in some areas to excell in others knowing that going in, 1/4 of the buyers.......just don't care.

 

I would suggest the high lease rate is also indicative of people having less and less money but wanting more and more vehicle.

A lease on a Tacoma should be favorable due to the high retained value. IIRC part of what hurt GM in the last decade was they overestimated their resale lease values and ate the difference if the person didn't want to buyout the vehicle. Hopefully they aren't doing that anymore.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/05/business/us-auto-sales-gained-in-double-digits-in-august.html?_r=0

Here is another article to back up my unsubstantiated theory. Audi, with less then Stella reliability, sells 60% of it's cars through leases. Hmmmm.

 

Absolutely. The less reliable expensive brands (BMW, Audi, Mercedes, etc etc) do almost everything through leasing. No one wants to pay to fix those cars.

 

I have three personal aquintenses who absolutely love their Jeep Grand Cherokees too..They praise them to the hilt to anyone who will listen...yet, all three lease them. I would like to see the percentage of leases for the Colorado.

 

But the locker ISN'T used anytime on the Toyota. It ONLY comes on in 4Low. With the GM vehicles, it DOES come on in any condition and drive setting. And no, it isn't a LSD. Stop trying to diminish it. It is a auto FULLY locking differential. Big difference.

 

Once again, you assume ANY opposition to the Tacoma comes from a dissenter's standpoint. I like a lot about the Tacoma. I am still researching both trucks and after some time is out for both of them and I can gauge other factors, I will make my decision. I just counter biased posts like yours 'cuz they are full of misinformation.

 

It doesn't come as a use it anytime locker, but it can easily be modded to be available anytime. I'm not sure if the old way of doing it works on the 2016's, but if not someone will figure it out quick.

You are confusing two different types of locker here. A selectable electronic locker can fully lock up the wheels so both turn at the same time but only when the truck is at a very low speed (usually under 3 mph). This means that there is no spin up before the locker engages. Great for getting out of trouble in a muddy spot. A traditional autolocker, IE a Detroit Autolocker for example, automatically fully and mechanically locks the differential to turn the wheels at the same speed anytime slippage occurs. Again great for a muddy hole. The Eaton G80 in the GM's is slightly different. Basically, once both wheels are spinning at a difference of 120 rpm, a clutch plate engages and locks up the wheels slowly until they spin at the same speed. However, once the wheels return to spinning the same speed, the clutch is disengaged and the differential is open. The fully locking action only occurs IF there is a 120 rpm difference between the tires (that's a lot of spin at high speeds). Other than that, it is a LSD. This is not great in a muddy hole, because the spin up to get the locker engaged causes more damage than it helps.

Calm yourself. Find your center. I looked into this a lot when the stats first came out for the Diesel Colorado and I was impressed until I started reading the real world reviews of the G80 for what I do. For my purposes, a true selectable full locker is better.

 

No, mines are not disinformation lol. Trust me, you are way overselling the G80.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-rQTHMVAuw

This video demonstrates pretty clearly the superiority of a auto-locking differential. And you don't have to stop to engage it or engage 4Low either for it to work.

 

You are right. The two vehicles are expressly designed differently. For off road, Toyota OR uses a mechanical locker but just to get going in desperate situations and is manually operated. It is not promoted as something you use continuously. It uses electronic traction AIDS for more continuous use because over time, they require less ( actually no ) maintence. The GM products, (I worked for a contractor who uses thier trucks) , are not specifically made for off road. So the locking differential goes in and out as needed in all situations.

Of you don't off road much, there is still a lot appealing about both systems. One is not superior to the other, they each have their own advantages.

 

Just watch the video...

You have to stop or go extremely slow to engage and use the lockers you are mentioning. Those are very limited situations. More often than not, you need a little wheel spin in off road situations. You also don't want to have to stop your vehicle in slippery conditions like snow to engage a locker when you needed traction as soon as your wheels started spinning. That's a quick way to get someone behind you in your bumper or to actually slip too far from where you need to be.

 

That's great on a continuous surface like that, but seriously try to go argue this on any wheeling forum. The G80 is not amazing for offroading. If it was everyone would be swapping out their axles for GM and throwing in the G80. Instead, they are putting in ARB air lockers and Detroit Lockers.

 

Yes, for on road use or something like a boat ramp, the G80 is great. For offroading, it's not much better than something like the TruTrac.

 

Yeah that's for serious off roaders. This locker is for people in all types of situations including off road use as well as common on road needs like in snow. This is the best there is for everyday needs or average off road situations. No one is putting this in a jeep for rock crawling or stuff like that lol.

 

But this is a Colorado-Tacoma comparison. For the type of off-roading that THESE trucks would be doing, the G80 is better. For the type of on-road driving that THESE trucks would be doing, again, the G80 is better because it still works without needing 4low.