Test Drive and TRD Pro

My current vehicle lease expires at the end of this year. So when I saw the TRD Pro pictures a couple of weeks ago, I decided this may be perfect for me.

Yesterday I visited the local Toyota dealer and decided to test drive a TRD Off Road to see if I like it, figuring maybe I would get on the waiting list for the TRD Pro.

I've never driven or owned a truck of any kind before, so here are my thoughts on the test drive:

1) I'm definitely going to need some side steps. Even on the TRD OR, which is 1" lower than the TRD Pro will be, it was a strain to get up into the truck without steps. I wonder why they didn't put a handle on the A-pillar on the drivers side like they did on the passenger side. It would have been helpful.

2) The seating position was fine. I had read reviews that the seating position is too low, but it was about the same as my current vehicle, a BMW X1 -- taller than most sedans, but a bit lower than some of the larger SUVs & trucks. The steering wheel could use a bit more telescoping range, but it was not bad.

3) The truck handles much better than I expected. I expected that an off road type of truck would be a little tipsy around turns, but it has a somewhat tight suspension, and you don't have to go as slow around highway ramps as I had expected. You can lean into the turns.

4) Brakes are pretty good. It doesn't stop like my BMW, but I did not expect it to. The pedal feel is fine and stops were well controlled.

5) Acceleration is my only complaint. The power delivery is not linear at all. It seems like it is really slow until my foot goes all the way to the floor, then the transmission suddenly decides to wake up and drop down 2-3 gears and it sounds like a riced up Civic as it revs up to red-line. I'm wondering if this was due to it being a cold day and the truck not being warmed up very much. But there just didn't seem like a comfortable way to merge onto a highway without the engine droning a bunch. The transmission seems like it doesn't want to downshift until you really push it to a point where it then decides to downshift multiple gears. Maybe I'm just spoiled from driving a BMW for the last couple of years.


So those are my thoughts. I inquired about getting on the waiting list for a TRD Pro and the sales manager said they are not taking orders yet, and he took my name and said he would call when they start taking orders.

 

I'm just impressed that someone who has never owned a truck has 218 posts on a truck message board.

 

I started posting here and asking questions a few months ago when I became interested in the Tacoma.

 

Number #5(acceleration)---Not sure if I've ever heard this before about the 3rdGens??

 

What year was the TRD Pro???

 

Beat me to it. I was of the understanding that the 17 pro's haven't hit the lots yet?

 

Me too?????

 

The specs listed during the Chicago auto show had the specs for the 2017 TRD pro the same as the 2016 TRD OR (engine size) anyways. So test driving the 2016 TRD OR makes sense. Unless they change what they are using for engine/tranny for the 2017 between then and now test driving the 2016 is comparing apples to apples.

 

From my first post in this thread.

 

Yeah, I know. I have read people say this before, but it was hard to imagine that it was so bad. If you had not told me, I would have guessed I was driving the 4 cylinder Tacoma. My Mom's non-turbo Subaru Forester with 170 hp and a CVT has better acceleration.

My BMW X1 weighs 3650 lbs and has 240 hp. This Tacoma is about 4300 lbs and has 278 hp. I would expect the acceleration would be somewhat similar, but it is not even close. With the BMW, you just tap the accelerator and it downshifts one gear and there is a strong surge forward.

I just keep wondering if this is something I will get used to. I'm going to have to drive the Colorado and the new Ridgeline to see how those drive and compare.

 

One of the reasons I was more than happy to order, wait two months, and then watch it roll off a trailer and immediately into my ownership ... Glad to know mine wasn't run out to redline, cold, before the break-in period was even over

 

I asked the dealer how many miles to complete the PDI, then said if it had more than that I wouldn't accept delivery.

 

Mine actually had 0 miles on the odometer.

 

Stop it troll, you're killing me! 221 posts, you don't own a truck, much less a Taco and you're complaining about it's acceleration.
You obviously have no clue about the pickup world. Just lease another hatchback and go away.

 

I'm not trolling. I'm 100% interested in buying a truck at the end of this year. I just haven't decided which one. If you look at the Colorado forum, I've also been posting over there as well on and off for the past few months.

You are correct that I have no clue about the pickup world as I've never owned a pickup truck. I would like to buy one. As for the acceleration, that's what I was asking about. Perhaps the example I test drove just wasn't warmed up, or maybe just not broken in yet. I have no idea, but it felt really slow.

I have better things to do with my life than to troll a message forum in which I don't know anyone. LOL

 

Calm your tits, bud - and shut the fuck up.

 

You really can't look at specs alone. A trucks motor and gearing is not geared towards stoplight to stoplight acceleration.

I understand that an X1 can kill the Tacoma in the quarter mile, but how much can it tow? That's what I'm getting at. A truck is designed for different tasks than a sporty car.

 

Yes, I always order my vehicles too. It's bad to red-line a vehicle before the break-in period is over regardless of whether it was warmed up or not. But the purpose of a test drive is to see how it drives. A proper dealership should have a demo truck that they use just for test drives. Unfortunately many do not.

 

Yes, I do realize that. I guess I would probably get used to it in time. Honesty I did not expect it to be super fast off the line, but I expected I would feel a little more lower end torque.

Also, in the past having owned many different vehicles, I know that sometimes it takes some getting used to each engine and transmission to know where the sweet spots are and how to coax the best acceleration out of a vehicle. I'm sure it can do better than what I did on the test drive. I really only had one open area where we were entering a highway on ramp and where I needed to go from a stop up to around 60 mph. What happened was I gradually pushed the gas further down, but we weren't really gaining speed fast enough, and then all of a sudden the transmission downshifted multiple gears and the RPMs shot up from 3k to 6k and then we took off a bit. It just seemed very abrupt like something you would expect from a small car with a tiny engine, but not from a V6. Maybe it just wasn't warmed up.

To be honest, I did like all other aspects of the Tacoma and don't think this alone would keep me from getting one, but it is enough that I would definitely have to check out the competition.