Hello All, honest thoughts on 16' Tacoma

Toyota doesn't do ANYTHING in a hurry. They take their time, test their engineering, and when they're certain (as certain as they can be) then they roll something out. Take built-in wifi. Dodge and Chevy went nuts with that shit, and it took a year for everyone to realize that "oh shit, these cars can be hacked." Toyota watched waits for technology to mature. A lot of times, they are the ones making that technology mature and I'm ok with that too.

8 speed trannies spend all their time finding gears. Hell, my 6 speed is sometimes busy looking for which gear it's going to settle on. That said...

I love love love my truck. I say this a lot in my build thread, others BS threads, rest area bathroom stalls, and carefully in a well-fertilized field (Google Maps it next year). But that's me - this is the vehicle I've wanted for years waiting for my last Toyota to die (hint, it didn't).

I suggest you make a chart with the columns "wants" and "needs" and think about what you're looking for in a vehicle. Look at what everything has, look at where you have the most matches. Then crumple that up and throw it away because you're going to just fall in love with the Taco and won't even consider anything else. You'll also develop an aversion to Nissan Frontiers and Honda Ridgelines, and laugh at all the full-size trucks that don't fit where you barely do.

At the end of the day, whatever you pick, if you don't love it simply don't get it.

 

i paid 2500 more for my 2016 than what i paid for my 2012 when i bought it new. my insurance co paid me 35k for my totalled 2012, which is what i paid for it new.

nearly identical, yes. just drives like a bigger truck.

 

how'd the ram treat you OP, always considered one.

 

I knew I wanted to move into a new truck (3rd gen) quickly after finding out about them. That was in
November 2015.
Placed an order for a TRD Off Road Access cab, after doing 3 test drives.
During the 11 weeks I had to wait, I read and read, much of it in this forum. As a result, I was so close to cancelling it.
But I took delivery, and truely enjoy the truck.
Having one issue, the Resetting trip meter. But we'll get it resolved at some point.
I'm a believer inToyota, having owned them since 1968.
That might tell you something about forums.

 

An you can take about 98% off the BS you read on the internet with a grain of salt. When you go to the car forums you forget that the members don't really represent "everyone" even though they state "everyone is having problems with XYZ..." You would think all these vehicles are falling apart as they are driving down the road from some of the stuff you read lol.

 

Exact reality.

 

My only complaint about the new tacos is their price.

~40k for no power seats? Sure the rear view camera is nice but if you have a truck you should be using your mirrors anyway.

Also, its unfortunate you need to get OR or Sport to get electric in the bed. This is a really simple and unique feature that i wish was included in the Sr5. Again, making you pay $3,000-5,000 more for a simple little thing like intermittent wipers is just...mean.

 

No intermittent wipers. I must admit, to not have this on ANY modern vehicle seems ludicrous to me.
But thats one of them opinion thangs.

 

Hello forum,

First post. Been lurking here for a little while reading up. Im pretty sure Ive settled in on a '16 Tacoma Sport 4 door 4wd long bed. It will be my first new truck, coming from a long line of various used junkers that I use for typical truck stuff. Im heavily into sports cars and own several, been a DIYer for decades, and have been driving a '98 BMW for the last 13 years as my daily driver. But the bimmer is showing its age and my house flipping "hobby" has started to be more like a second full time job- So, I now want a truck as my daily.

So, my long hunt for a replacement vehicle has led me to the Tacoma. Fits the bill for me. I dont want a full size truck, love the styling of the taco. I still need to test drive a Frontier, but I think they look like poo, and cost a bit more when I spec it out the way I would want it. Dont like the style of US trucks and even if I did, they still cost about the same if not more than the Toyota when speced out and dont hold their value nearly as well. Plus I love the huge aftermarket and mod options that are available for this truck. Looking forward to some build projects!

That being said, I love the info available on this forum. Im a member of many car forums for different marques, and I have to say this one has the most negativity for the vehicle it made to support than any other forum Ive been on. And the thing that kills me the most is the huge number of post from people that dont even have a 3rd gen or maybe even a toyota, but come over here and talk shit. Oh well. Carry on....

 

No worries, and welcome to TW! As the proud owner of a DCLB, I must applaud your decision.

Where you hail from? We might know a dealer near you that isn't a douche.

BTW, you'll hate the Frontier - rides like an empty U-Haul.

 

Bro, you have my truck! I love the blue, and a tonneau is first mod on the list!

Louisville, KY is home. I guess I need to update my profile.

 

I won't comment on the 2016 since I don't have one,I did test drive one but didn't buy it. As for your question about downsizing from a full-size,I did and I do miss it. I had a double cab Tundra and just like you I really didn't need a full size so I got the Tacoma. I like my Tacoma but the more I drive it the more I miss my Tundra. I really miss all the extra space inside and the power. My Tacoma is easier to maneuver so that's a plus and it gets a little better gas mileage,about 3 mpg's but I still miss the full size.

 

I like what you ended up with ... I'm partial to smaller trucks, but I do miss the power my 2003 Lightning had

 

Reserving judgment until second or third year of production
In the meantime I'll be with my 2nd gen!

 

I absolutely love mine, no issues yet.

 

it's a great truck, the Hemi has all the power you'd ever want and sounds good too.
For a truck, it drives very smooth, non of the bouncy like ride of the other trucks that use leaf springs, the Ram's use coil, so it's far and away the smoothest truck to drive, and you only give up a few hundred pounds in towing.
I got it because we had talked of getting a travel trailer. That went away.
The interior of the Ram is near luxury car like, at least in the Laramie's.
The 8.4 inch NAV screen is one of the best in the business. Very intuitive and easy to use.
The resolution isn't the best though and neither is the back up camera. But it does the job great and it's fast, no delays or freezing up like you hear about in GM's system or Ford's Sync (Sync 3 is apparently much better now).

With the 8 speed auto in the Ram (which is a dream), it got pretty good gas mileage, my onboard computer said 16.8 mpg after 5000 miles of having it, and that was mostly city driving. Set the cruise to 75 mph and it would read 20. Drop it to 65 mph and it would see 22 mpg.
That was also with the 3.92 rear axle ratio. The 3.21 averages like 18 from owners, but you don't get the towing or the acceleration with it. They also offer a 3.55 I believe, which I drove and is a nice compromise for acceleration and gas mileage.

The faults of Ram is paint jobs. You HAVE to inspect the paint job with a fine tooth comb. For some reason, some of them are not great with "pimples" and sometimes smudges or runs in the paint. My first one I didn't look close enough and when I got it home it was a mess.
I complained and Dodge got me a new one that was near flawless in the paint. But forums you'll learn of some shotty paint jobs. I think the paint inspectors get drunk on Fridays or something and if you have one that is made Friday night, it may be bad. LOL

I believe the Ram is getting a redesign for 2017, not fully sure though.
But as it stands, if I was going to get a full size truck now, would seriously consider the new Ford F150.
With the aluminum frame saving 500-700 lbs, it may be hard to beat. But I'd call the insurance company first, as the rates on the F150 may be significantly higher due to repair costs. And then's there is the price. F150's are expensive and they don't offer incentives nearly as much as the Ram. Silverado is nice and quiet, but the 5.3 is a bit "weak" in feel. Drive one then drive a Ram with the Hemi and you'll spin the tires on the Ram, as the low end torque is vastly more and you feel it down low in the rev range.

I traded my Ram in for the Hellcat, when I decided I wasn't going to get a travel trailer, but I miss the utility of the pick up truck, so that's why I'm considering the Tacoma now as an additional vehicle.
Cheers

 

Thanks for this review.
Just want to say, drive any vehicle with the ZF 8 speed in it, it does not spend any time hunting or finding gears. Best automatic I've ever seen or driven. It's a beaut.

 

I have noticed this too.
When I price a nicely optioned Sport it's around $37k
Price a Limited and it's $40+k

Well, a 2016 Ram Laramie will have an MSRP of $50-51k
But you can get them with $5-6k incentives and dealers will drop another $3K off.
So you can get a basically loaded FULL SIZE truck with a V8 for $42-43k (what I paid for mine that had an MSRP of 51,700)
Don't need a loaded Laramie, you can get the mid range "Big Horn" that MSRP's for $42-45k
This is their volume seller, so it's not uncommon to see $8-9k off with incentives 2-3 times a year when they are having good sales.
So that's a mid range full size truck with a V8 and an 8 speed auto for $33-35k

Sure you don't get the resale value, reliability, or as good of off road ability, but you get a bigger, roomier truck with a V8 that will tow more if ever needed and more room in the back and inside too. And it's not like they break down 5x more, they might have smaller little niggles that you have to get fixed a bit more often, and that drives down their reliability ratings, but it's not a big deal really. They sell a ton of the Ram's and you see 20 year old ones still on the road.
But I don't NEED a full size truck, and the downsides are it's size when parking and taking up more room in the garage.
But it's a bit painful to spend basically the same amount on a midsize truck with a V6, than you can on a full size with a V8 and the Taco doesn't seem to get any better gas mileage either since it only has a 6 speed auto.

Decisions, Decisions.

 

I bit the bullet recently. Upgraded to a 2015 Titan Pro4x. Interior is not as nice a Ram, but better than my old limited Tacoma.

Only paid $2000 on top of my 2013 limited trade-in.

The only downside so far is the size, which really I have noticed other than very small parking spaces.

The Titan is a notorious pig on fuel, but so were my Tacoma's. I consider it a wash now that I have all that power.

2011 6speed Tacoma - 14.5mpg
2016 limited - 16.5 mpg
2015 Titan (first tank) - 14.1 mpg

 

I'll top that. My DCLB is 19'.