Waited for 16 Tacoma..until I drove 4 of them.....

I like gadgets. I have a 14 TRD Sport. I saw that the 16 Tacos can be had with more gadgets, so I eagerly awaited for this. They put some 5 year old technology on the truck. It is nice, but not the latest tech. I have a 15 Honda CR-V that will keep itself in the lanes driving down the road along with adaptive cruise control,neither available on the Taco. I do think, however, most of you truck guys don't care about this stuff like I do.

The body: I first I saw the photos, and I thought the old models still actually look better than the new ones. After months of pictures and now seeing them in person, I still think the same thing, and in that area, I still lean to the old ones on looks. The new grills are especially gross, like, a huge watch band. It is boxy, gone are the nice curves. I am sure it will grow on us who don't like the looks. So much for that aspect.

The motor: I really like the way you changed the oil filter from the top of the engine on my 14. Well that is gone, replaced by a parts kit to make you own filter and now placed in a hole under the engine in front, where a wrong move off road and you have a busted filter housing as it is made of plastic now. also I read where parking on a steep incline can cause you engine to starve for oil and shut off. Have not read the latest on this, so don't know the info on this is.

The interior: It OK. Looks a little on the cheap side to me, but passible. One thing, they took off the window post handle on the drivers side. WHY? I want one there. They did leave the one on the passengers side. My wife uses these handles to get in and out as she is short. The HVAC panel is slanted downward for some reason, making it harder to see.

Drivability: I did some transport on these trucks for dealer swapping two of them on a 80 mile trip and the other two on a 215 mile trip. All four did pretty good on the road. All averaged 21-22 mpg at 70 plus mph. The two limited v6 dbl cab models were 4wd and the new 6 speed automatics shifted form 5 to 6 enough to be annoying! The other two were a v6 dbl cab TRD off road 6 speed auto 2 wd and a v6 access Sport cab v6 auto. The transmission shifted /hunted less on the off off road and the best at not hunting was the access cab Sport. I think it has to do with the awd drag and the weights of the vehicles. Just my opinion. There is a problem with that 6 speed auto, maybe a programming change.

Wrap up: I went from hot to get one to will probably pass for now.

 

Lots of good info in here. I was wondering why they took my handle from me, too. Maybe there is a mod to be done in the future. Agree on the grill. I see the ford fusion in the grill too much. The interior is perfect in my opinion, so we disagree there. To each there own and either way you got to make an informed opinion, which is perfect.

 

Toyota has never been known to have the latest and greatest tech in their vehicles. I do, however, think they nailed the interior, I thought it looked pretty good (I've sat in one at my local dealership). If you think it's cheap looking, you should sit in the chevy colorado. Transmission has been known to shift a lot to keep rpms as low as possible to save fuel, either turn on the ECT mode or put it in sport mode where you can limit it by putting it in 5th.

 

Adaptive cruise control is nice, but I would not want my car to take control of the steering wheel. Especially not off-road. So you are correct, the latest and greatest gadgets are definitely low on my list of wishes.

My number one wish is a V8 option or turbo. It doesn't need to be a super quick truck, but I'd like more low end torque. I don't like to rev high to get moving.

I can understand not wanting to upgrade from a 2014. Your 'old' truck is still very new.

 

Only reason i would give up my 4X4 DC is for a sunroof, and after all, it ain't all that if it's not getting 26+ on the freeway...

 

Well I ordered an OR version 4wd but I am still a little on the fence coming from an ole faithful Dodge Dakota v8. I do like the interior but like some of you, I wish they would have put a little more balls( or some balls) into the motor. I have a 2013 ford Taurus SEL with a v6 and hauls butt for a 4000 lb vehicle. With all Toyota's racing history surely they could have done a little better. But I don't plan on racing the thing anyway.

 

I haven't driven one yet but all the complaints on the tranny hunting is a deal killer for me. I've driven other vehicles like that and couldn't stand it. I'm so glad I went with my 2015.

 

lol I was actually thinking this was a good opinion piece until the comment about the AWD drag.

that pretty much threw this out the window and negated the whole piece in my mind.

 

The whole comment pretty much through itself out the window. I looked at this thread hoping to find something new that wasn't already posted 1,000 times. How many more threads do we need started that all pretty much complain about the same stuff?

 

Same, I could have waited a week and gotten a 2016 but I specifically wanted the 15. Looks so much better IMHO. I like a clean look and I hate the TACOMA stamped across the tailgate, also not a fan of the front at all. To each their own though, different strokes for different folks. I also am not a fan of buying the first year model of anything. I'll buy a new iPhone but I'm not spending upwards of $30k to be an early adopter/guinea pig. By 2015 Toyota has had 11 years to get the bugs worked out. Also you can avoid that transmission issue by getting a truck with the right number of pedals.

 

No, mate. I don't think you started out at 'hot to get one' at all based on your language. I suspect this is a troll piece. A weak one at that. "I took this thing I didn't like from the get-go for several test drives and hated pretty much everything about it. Here are my complaints."

 

Because he changed his thought on buying your truck? Would you rather he be a fanboy?

He has a Tacoma and has multiple posts asking about prices and interest in the 16', sounds like you just read it how you wanted to since he didn't praise your truck...

Tyler

 

I don't know about you but if I like the vehicle I own, I don't immediately become "hot to buy" a new car that I find has "especially gross" qualities.

The guy pretty much had his mind made up already.

 

To each is there own for sure. My last Tacoma was a 93, so my 16 is a huge improvement in my book.

 

If you want new tech go with a full size American truck. If your looking for more proven tech go with toyota. Ford has some cool features, but I don't need a fullsize. Now if they make a midsize aluminum ranger, with the turbo 2.7 liter, and add some of there full size tech.......I could be swayed.

Alot of people here mod their trucks. I do have to say the options for the tacoma are endless and there is a lot of aftermarket support.

 

This is the reason I will not buy a dealer swap vehicle. My ass is in the seat for the first 1,000 miles. That way I know how the miles were put on it and I sleep better at night knowing my truck was not driven hard or the brakes stomped on.

 

Your CRV has lane departure warning (LDW), which should notify you through various alarms that you are drifting out of your lane like a drunken lush, however does it actually commandeer your steering wheel and guide you back into your lane?

On a side note, LDW only works as great as the lines are painted on the road. I was a Honda tech for 3 years, and as far as that stuff is concerned:

Only neat feature Honda has, and I think is a Honda exclusive, is their blind spot monitor camera. Put your right blinker on, and the camera mounted in the right exterior mirror kicks on and displays a side/rear view of your right side on your radio/nav screen.

 

Amen Brother!

 

OP will likely go buy an F150...

 

I loved the new Tacoma from the time they released the first images of it. Then they annouced the engine specs and loved it a little less. Then I test from a TRD OR AC with the manual, and direct comparison to my 05 AC TRD OR with a manual. And now I know I wouldn't touch one.

I'll do something similar to the OP,

Body: Loved it, loved the look, the grille can always been changed, but there is so much room for light bars and other gadgets in there. Loved the new headlights, loved the stamped tailgate (Mine has rusted out and want to get a new with the stamped profile in it, but it likely won't work as good in the '05). I really liked the body design overall.

Cab: Loved it as well, I like the driving position, the heads up display in the dash, heated seats, a proper e-brake, all were great, felt like a nice place to be compared to the GM i test drove earlier that morning. Things I didn't like were the GoPro mount, it seemed a bit tacky to me, especially because I don't use gopro's anymore, they simply aren't reliable POV cameras. I also didn't like the shift nob on the manual, it didn't feel comfortable in my hand, there was a ledge on the front side of it where the inside part of my knuckle was supposed to rest, but my hands were too big for that and it was not comfortable to use shifting gears. I don't like how they removed the bench feature in the back to more over 2 independant seats (In the AC). The "shelf" style seat in the back of mine is really handy. Especially when I flip both seats over for a wider flat object I don't want to expose to the elements. The new one had 2 fold over pieces that didn't meet in the middle of the cab, so there was a bit gap in there that doens't work for supporting items like that. I also like the full flat area because my dog can move about freely without having to watch where she steps, with the 2016 there was a big gap there where she could misplace her paw. The access into the underseat compartment as well is also smaller now because the seats are smaller and the middle section doens't flip over. I keep my jumper cable, tow ropes, spare tire jack and other items down in that area and there isn't exactly the same amount of access to get in there like there is on the 2nd gen.

Engine and Drivability: In short, useless. I can understand how the auto's might be a step up going from a 5 spd to a 6 spd, but manual 6 spd to 6spd, the engine is useless. In my '05 I can cruise around a 60km/h in 4th at 2000rpm, and when I stand on it, the truck takes off from the first hint of throttle input. In the 2016 same speed, same gear, same rpm, when I stand on it, the truck just bogs and stutters, and doesn't know what to do until the rpm climbs another 700-1000 rpm. Now, in the same situation in the 2016 but I use 3rd gear instead of 4th, it takes off like my '05 does. High end power has no place in a truck. The engine is essentially the engine from the sienna power band wise. It's useless in a truck. The L/100KM are one 1L better than my '05, that isn't sufficient fuel savings to get me into the 3rd gen.

Recap: I love almost all the features of the 3rd gen Tacoma, from the body to the interior. The parts on the interior I don't like I can likely change or modify. Where it falls short is the engine, and unfortunately, it's a big failure in my opinion. If I wanted a van engine I would buy a van. I'm not going to buy a van because I haven't given up on driving fun vehicles yet.