2016 TACOMA AUTO VS MANUAL

NEW to this forum. Bought a brand new TRD OFF ROAD ACCESS CAB in PA 10 days ago. Drove it 1985 miles back home to Colorado. This truck had the AUTO TRANNY with MANUAL MODE. Despite the fact that the truck is way comfortable with tons of tech built in...the AUTO TRANNY is a huge let down. I set the cruise control at 75-80 MPH and the truck almost never stayed in 6TH gear. Always downshifted to 5th, and usually 4th gear even on level roads. Very dissappointing. It was easy to see the affect on mileage as well...not good. This occurred in AUTO MODE as well as MANUAL MODE...and not as bad with the ECT button activated. But with the ECT button activated, the fuel economy was worse. All in all a huge LET DOWN.

So, upon my return to Colorado I acted upon years of experience (IT IS OKAY TO MAKE A MISTAKE, BUT NOT OKAY TO CHASE A MISTAKE) and went about getting rid of my BRAND NEW TRD OFF ROAD. I had read a review of the 2016 Tacoma on some website prior to my purchase and in that review the writer indicated that the 6 speed manual was a much better set up for driving....so I decided to test drive the manual model. What a difference! I cannot find the right words to explain how much better the manual truck operates than the AUTO tranny model. Throughout the entire power range it is SPOT ON. Pulls hard, seemingly much more torque throughout the rev range. I drove it over a local 10,000ft mtn pass in fourth gear at 60 MPH in cruise control and it held steady at about 2600 RPM. The AUTO tranny on that same PASS would downshift well into 3rd gear and way over-revving...and the fuel economy monitor would drop from 20MPG down to 16.6MPG in that short 4.5 mile climb. The manual dropped from 20MPG to 19.2 MPG over the same climb. NO CONTEST HERE.

I swallowed my pride, and accepted the fact that had I taken the time to test drive a manual shift TACOMA, I would not have to pay for this lesson....and I made a trade at our local Toyota Dealer for a Manual TRD SPORT Access Cab, and I believe that the fuel economy alone will re-pay most of the OUCH MONEY I just spent getting this swap accomplished.

I hope this posting will save a few Tacoma enthusiasts from making the same mistake...PLEASE TEST DRIVE THE 6 SPEED MANUAL before buying a new 6 Cylinder Tacoma.
Not sure if the OFFROAD comes with a stick, but the Crawler mode technology was not the reason I bought the truck. If I wanted a PLAY TOY to take to MOAB, the auto tranny with Crawl Mode would be just fine. But I put 15K per year (at a minimum) on my truck, and that AUTO TRANSMISSION drove me away in less than 2000 miles!

 

Yep, I got the MT first time around.

 

FTMFW

 

Usually hate gang bangs but ditto on manuals...But from other posts the auto seems to settle down once the engine gets about 3K on it. I know my manual feels stronger in 5th and 6 with 3300 miles...

 

It'll be a cold day in hell when I buy an automatic while a manual option exists.

 

I wanted manual trans as well however it is not offered in TRD OR Access cab.....Only in sport package.....

 

You going to get a new truck? The offroad double cab comes in a manual. I ordered one myself.

 

I have the OR/MT.

Crawl control is called first gear w/ atrac

 

Manual drives real nice, not not offered on DCLB's. =(

 

how does the manual work for hill decent? or does it?

Edit.... is the answer... "it does, it's called 1st gear"

 

Do the 3rd Gen manuals still get worse fuel economy like the 2nd gens?

 

It was between the DCLB or the DCSBMT and I had to have the manual. No regrets!!!

 

Exactly the boat I'm in. I have a Lb on order but just called to switch to a Manny. I think that's a good call.

 

Yea I've become a diehard M/T fan and I wanted the OR so shortbed it was. I'm super happy though! And after reading many negative posts about the auto I'm glad I stuck to my gut! Very few if any negative posts about manual and I have nothing bad to say. I ordered a topper for dogs and hauling most of my other gear. And for any toys too big for shortbed like my raft and maybe a motorcycle down the road I have a trailer plus you get more manuverabity with the DCSB

 

I've got 6500 miles on my MT Sport, nearly all in the mountains, works great.

 

What? That doesn't make sense to me.

 

Putting a camper on mine as well. Good call, great looking truck!

 

Nice pic. Did you plan to have your skis match your truck? Haha looks awesome! Do you store them diagonally in the bed? I have shortbed as well. Looking at all the possibilities of hauling skis.

 

Gear ratio differences.

 

Basically the same. 1 MPG increase on the OR's, I think 2 mpg better on non-OR packages with 4 wheel drive and manual transmission.