Fast Lane Truck Tacoma Towing Test

No one should buy a Tacoma or any midsize if they plan on towing that heavily. I'm sure most people on this forum are well aware of this. Not only is it very close to the max tow rating for the truck, you couldn't pick a worse type of trailer when it comes to aerodynamics. So pulling close to max weight along with pulling that through the air at 70mph, no shit it got crap mileage.

 

So is a F-150 in ur future?

 

Currently holding out for next-gen Tundra. If it's another lipstick job like the Tacoma I am breaking rank and going with a domestic.

 

I agree with you, but you can't blame Toyota for this. All manufacturers are doing this with smaller displacement engines due to EPA. Towing is at the bottom of the list for the majority of buyers. QDR, maneuverability, and off roading are the top reasons for buying. With that said, the new Tacoma should still have no problem towing the trailer you have in your pic if your 1st gen can do it. Just keep it out of D and use S5 and enable ECT and you will be fine. (IF you get an auto of course)

These guys in the video basically did exactly what you're not supposed to do when towing with a tacoma. Kept it in D, no use of ECT, and using cruise control while towing. The guy driving is just used to driving full sized trucks. Just makes me wonder how much better it would of been if they did it right. Looking forward to ike gauntlet.

 

I don't blame Toyota at all. They have constraints to work within. At least GM worked around it with the Duramax. I guess the 3.5L is still way more powerful than my 2002 Tacoma.

 

It is still definitely more powerful than your tacoma but still not a towing machine. Stronger engine, better transmission, stronger frame, heavier, and longer wheelbase all make it better for towing. I am with you though, i'm weighing in all my options and waiting for the next gen tundra to come out and wait a couple more years on the tacoma until they fix some issues and waiting on the TRD PRO before i make a decision.

 

I stopped lurking and made a account just to reply to this..

First off its a Tacoma and not a full size so personally I don't expect it to tow a huge pay load. Sure it is nice to be able to tow something substantial a couple times a year, and the 3rd gen Taco does that just fine. Can you run at 75mpg with 6k lbs, no.. Can you get 20mpg with 6k lbs no..

But lets be honest here. Most of us tow maybe less than 10 times a year. Some never tow at all, and with that being said is it better to drive a truck that gets worse mileage, harder to park, etc for 99% of your driving just to have a little extra umph that 1%?

Now on to this specific test and everyone crucifying the truck. Has anyone here towed a enclosed trailer? regardless of the weight inside the trailer the wind drag alone will murder power. Throw that trailer empty behind a 1/2 ton Chevy from mid 2000's era and you will feel it. Throw a ATV in it and your going to really feel it. We used a extended cab z71 to drag a enclosed on a 500+ mile all interstate road trip with 4 motorcycles in it last year. Averaged 9 MPG for the trip. Just a couple weeks ago we used a 4.8L Silverado to tow a cargo trailer (non enclosed) with 3 motorcycles on it and the thing revved to the moon and struggled the entire time.

To me its very impressive that the Tacoma can be so much smaller, easier to drive, better made, better fuel economy 99% of the time, but has the balls to get the job done that 1% of a time. Well done Toyota... well done!

If you spend 40% of your life towing 5k lbs or more then buy a Diesel (and I dont mean a twin.. I mean a 3/4 ton), but for the other 99% of the world the Taco will suit your towing needs just fine. Perfect for those 5 times a year you put your boat in the water, perfect for those 5 times you drag a camper to go camping.

 

Yeah I want it to tow my 3500 lb (at its max heaviest) Casita trailer a max of 10 times a year. Not a lot of weight for it but I do live in the Rockies and where I take it requires a lot of hills and climbing.

 

Right because that trailer was used only on the Tacoma,

/sarcasm
You need to work on better excuse.

Yup It is massive step backwards. If your midsize gets worse mileage than Tundra while towing. There is something horrible wrong with that design.
Its pretty funny that TFL guys were as surprised as everybody else, and they tested a lot of trucks so they seen all.
I bet they recounted multiple times.

 

Of course a midsize is going to get worse mileage than a tundra while towing. The tundra is designed to tow, where the tacoma is not. Therefore the tacoma has to work harder which = higher RPM = using more gas = less mpg, the tundra can do the same work at a lower rpm = better mpg. Same thing applies with any midsize truck. Without towing the tacoma will get better mpg. Honestly, who cares about mpg while towing anyways? That should be the last thing on your mind.

 

I just wish they had kept the 4.0L and improved upon it. I suppose they are expecting even tighter CAFE regs down the line.

 

They were also designing the engine when gas prices were over 4 bucks a gallon. It will be interesting to see if the next gen 4 runner gets a 3.5 with upgraded power.

 

and it is not a question of IF gas will get that high again but WHEN it will. The 2016 Tacoma drivers will be thankful then. The Silverado/Ford owners will be even more thankful lol.

 

What? You mean like the Highlander? The 4runner may get the Tacoma engine, but then the only thing differentiating it from the Highlander is Macho. Apparently Macho doesn't sell very well. I see way more current generation Highlanders & RX350's than I see 4runners & GX460s...

 

Much more than "macho"between the 4runner and highlander. 4runner is built on a truck frame and the highlander is built on a unibody car frame. Highlanders don't have a real 4X4 with low range and not to mention the highlander has a transversely mounted FWD layout.

 

That's the thing i don't get. Why does the 4runner get the 4.0 with newer technology and the tacoma doesn't? It should be the other way around. I honestly doubt the mpg would make any difference between the 3.5 and 4.0. If the next gen 4runner gets 3.5 with more power i'm gonna be pissed. The 2015 tacoma with the 4.0 4x4 auto is rated at 16/21/18. 2016 tacoma with 3.5 4x4 auto is rated at 18/23...so we're talking about a 2mpg difference if that. So between a new engine (which wouldn't really make a difference), new transmission, and better aerodynamics we got a 2mpg difference. IF anything the 4.0 might have been better since it doesn't have to rev as high. They would of hit a home run with the newer 4.0 (kept what was reliable and well known and improved upon it) instead of this Atkinson technology crap and kept everything else that they did - more efficient 6 speed tranny and better aerodynamics.

 

My guess is one of the major reasons that the 4.0 was phased out is factors of production. Moving to one block size for the entire lineup is much cheaper than having separate 4.0 and 3.5 line.

 

Makes sense. Seems like the consumer is getting ripped off these days. Everything is cheaper and more expensive

 

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To me this is more of a torture test then anything.

I'm surprised it managed to get that much weight up to 70 mph and keep it there, which is nuts to begin with for a small truck. Not to mention they are 5000 feet above sea level.

So yeah obviously the mpg is going to suck, but in the end it did it. It's not like the Tacoma was so under powered that it just gave up on the side of the road or couldn't reach 70 mph.

And yes of course bigger trucks will handle this load with more ease and efficiency, that's just obvious.

Also TFL said in the comments on YouTube that they did NOT use the ECT button. Even if it had a 4.0 I don't think the results would have been that much different.

The Ike Gauntlet test with the 2016 is going to be tough but then again, they did it with a 2015 Tacoma with the 4.0 and it managed it. Also that 4.0 screamed at 5000 rpms during that test (granted it was up hill), but they didn't even do an MPG calculation for that run. But I don't think the beloved 4.0 faired much better. Besides I had that 4.0 in a my 4runner and I didn't find it that spectacular.