Thinking of buying....

How the heck did you get 10 mpg less in the tacoma? Also there is an ECT (Electronically Controlled Transmission) power button that revs to a higher RPM before shifting so it doesn't feel sluggish.

If you aren't in a rush to buy I would wait on the 2017 honda ridgeline...I would certainly take that over the canyon.

 

I have the ECT button on my sport 3.5L, it is great for pulling trailer and driving through hilly areas. BUT, its no Canyon/Colorado comparison. I test drove 4 of these GM twins and they are rockets!! They get up and go with ease...nothing like my new Tacoma. But, of the test drives I had with the canyons, one of them had windshield noise above 35 mi/hr and the other one (all terrain package) had slop/slack in the drive line I noticed going through several stop signs/lights. Nothing is perfect.

 

I made sure to do the exact same route in all 4 test drives. I did 2 different 24 hr test drives with each truck same model.

Tacoma got 17.2 mpg (roughly) its about 50/50 split on highway city. Both Tacoma's V6 were shifting like crazy. Which didn't really bother me all that much. But I am sure thats why it go so bad mpg.

Canyon got 25.9. I noticed when cruise was set, it didn't downshift to gain speed.

It's probably in the programming as to why I got such a big difference on mpg.

Last couple days I have had the Canyon. I am around 27 mpg. And I have gotten on it a few times to get out of a couple semi's way.

 

Thanks for the thoughts on the ridgeline. Unfortunately I couldn't get over the look of it. Same with the Frontier, I'm sure both are great trucks. I just don't like the looks of them.

 

Chuck, glad you did your homework. I am due this late summer to trade my taco. I am leary on the new 2016 taco. You state it shift too much. Never like gear hunting truck..
Jeff.taco. thanks for your input on your work. So i can see where i look for a replacement. I may go full size again.

 

if you dont like gear hunting, then it will for sure be obvious to you. Or maybe (if you can/are able to drive) a manual? I haven't done a whole lot of research, on if there is an trans update or anything coming from Toyota. Or if there is a downloadable tune. (I personally am a little scared of those)

 

99% of the time if the trips are planned I use my trailer. I only use the truck bed if it is an unplanned stop. I avoid hauling anything big in the truck bed if I can help it. So much easier to load and unload from the trailer. In all honesty OP, if I had multiple rental houses that I did all of the work on I would have a van. Either a Transit connect or something similar and a trailer for landscaping chores, etc. They are secure and protect from the weather.

 

Thanks for the thoughts, but I have had a single cab ranger for a few years, and it was perfect. Wife and I starting a family in the somewhat near future. Thats the only reason I needed a back seat.

Trucks work great for what I do. I dont always know when I will need to pick up something, as I browse craigslist a lot for appliances/etc. And still hold down a full time teaching job. Rent houses are my retirement. So bringing a trailer with me everywhere is not feasible.

 

I had a 2012 taco with standard tranny, i just racked 90,000 miles on it in 2014 before traded for auto taco. Its good but where i work, its a royal in the ass to shift on certain roads that contains stop and go traffic. Not much different in mpg on either tranny auto gets 2 mile better over the stick. BUT with a new tranny that came out. Soo plenty of bugs to weed out for a yr or two if mother toyota ever get thier head of thier asses.
The last truck i had got gear hunting was a dodge Dakota 2002 auto. It was sucks

 

I hear you on that. Manual trannys can be a pain at times. Luckily I dont live in a HIGHLY populated city. But having the ease of an auto has in perks for sure. Wife gave up trying to drive the Z06, which that one doesnt bother me that much. lol

 

Ya i live in the country side but goes work near the city. There are 2 secondary roads i go on and always have good flow of traffic.

 

Beside that. Living in high mts area is nice but why playing around the stick. At times when i get call in for snowplow tour. I have deal with stick. Playing with stick for 8 hrs is enough