3.5 long-term dependability

Note: IMO the 00' to 06' 5.7L Tundras were the best trucks Toyota ever made. Not too big, ran like the wind, and towed good sized loads with no problems.[/QUOTE]

05-06 tundras are amazing! Find a good one and keep it forever. They are better than tacomas in everyway except tight trails

 

05-06 tundras are amazing! Find a good one and keep it forever. They are better than tacomas in everyway except tight trails[/QUOTE]

I really wish Toyota would have kept the Tundra the same size as the 00-06 models. The styling was aggressive but not the overzealous macho Mack truck style they have now.

 

I really wish Toyota would have kept the Tundra the same size as the 00-06 models. The styling was aggressive but not the overzealous macho Mack truck style they have now.[/QUOTE]

I couldn't agree with you more. I had an 03' and an 05' Tundra (both TRD's) and they were great. I then bought a 12' 4.6L Tundra TRD which was also a good truck but too big and boxy for my driving style (and a little under powered IMO). If you go the NW coast of Florida you will see tons of 00' to 06' Tundras still on the road and that is a tough environment with the heat and salt air. I now have a 16' DCSB V6 SR5 Tacoma. So far it has been a very good truck...minimal problems, good mileage, and comfortable ride. A little more wind noise at higher speeds than the previous Tundras but not unbearable. But, in comparison, it doesn't come close to the first two Tundras I owned and their resale was great. For example, I paid $23K for the 05' (TRD, access cab and cloth) and sold it "private sale" in 12' for $13.5K w/95K miles. Other than 1 set of tires and normal service I didn't spend any significant $$ on the truck. I figure I lost about $1400 a year in depreciation...I'll take that all day long.

 

Hi, I'm new here folks. I had an '06 Tacoma for about 4 years then had to trade for corolla. Now things are changing back for me and am planning on buying another Tacoma. I test drove a new 2016 DC TRD Sport for about 3 hour tour. I drove it on the free way, city streets and back roads. I really like the look and feel of the new truck... mostly. I didn't like the behavior of the new transmission. As I was cruising along I found I was lagging behind traffic, so to catch up, I nudged the peddle... nothing. I nudged it a bit more. Suddenly it drops what seems like 2 or 3 gears, revs almost 6000 rpm and takes off like a rocket! Wow! I really didn't want to do that. (Nice exhaust sound) My old 06 would have just picked up the pace without shifting. Not like I was preparing to overtake anyone. My general impression is that this truck has the wrong engine and tranny.
The new Tacoma that I get will be doing a lot of towing and hauling. It will be a work truck first. It's not that I don't think that this new truck can't do it, it's for how long will it work that hard.

 

I will be towing the maximum for appx 100 miles about 30 times a year. I do not want a full size truck.

 

Then I recommend you get something with a V8 or diesel, something more suited to towing.

 

This is a "have your cake and eat it too" issue. You can't safely/comfortably do both. Towing maximum capacity is a recipe for problems. I've towed 7K lbs with full sized (1500) trucks with 6.2L V8 and it can get squirrely at times. Would suggest a 2500 and possibly diesel for your workload.

 

30 x a year is a lot of towing. More than the average casual recreationalist. I probably tow only 10-15 times a year with my 2500 lb trailer and I fully realize my Tacoma isn't totally ideal for towing that little weight.

 

How do you guys end up having such long test drives? If someone test drove a brand new truck before me and put over 50 miles on it I wouldn't buy it. Mine had 2 miles when I signed the papers, 1 of which was from me. Not complaining here, but I never had a test drive for more than 5-10 mins, and this is my 13th vehicle

 

I've never test driven more than say 20 minutes. I don't think the standard is to drive more than 15 to 20 minutes. If you specifically inform the sales staff what you are looking to do (test drive for 30 minutes or more) then you can probably get them to find a vehicle they're comfortable with you driving for that long. I have a friend who owns a Chevy/GMC dealership here in AZ and he has offered me to take vehicles home for the weekend so I could try them out, but that is a very different type of scenario obviously.

 

A good dealer will let you test it more than just around the block. My dealer let me borrow the truck for the entire afternoon while they examined my trade in. I put about 35 miles on it. Cruzed to the top of the mountain pass and went back down to see how it would do on grades.

 

I have to agree with the rest of the folks here, this is not the truck for pulling 6000lbs, even though it can. For your test drive, when you wanted to catch up to traffic, if you have the ECT on you'll find you won't need anywhere near that throttle.

 

Wow! It seems there is not a lot of confidence in the new Tacoma for a work truck.
I'm certainly not going to settle for 13 mpg in a full size truck for 335 days a year I'm not towing.
Since trading my 06 for a corolla 4 years ago, I've had to use my wife's 97 4Runner for towing. It tows really well but can only legally tow 5000 lbs. having another 1000 lb extra would reduce the number of trips to saw mill.
Thank you good people for your input. Its looking like I'm leaning towards a 2nd gen again. I wish Toyota would have offered the 4L as an option on the new truck. Shame. The gen 3 is so sweet.

 

There are full size options that will daily drive pretty near as well as the tacoma fuel economy wise

 

There are a few unicorns here getting 20 to 22 mpg average but Fuelly shows the truth on the 2016 tacoma is about 19mpg

 

For those curious about the long test drive: I have a 30 year relationship with this dealer and I know a lot of people there. Also, the truck I test drove is the dealer jockey. It's not for sale as a new truck.

 

So what is it that you will be towing, or how much weight is it? All I've read was how often you would be towing, which doesn't tell the whole story.

If you are towing quite a heavy load and you don't want a fullsize, the only thing I can think of is the gmc canyon or chevy colorado diesel.

 

A lot a folks have made it very clear they this is not a truck designed to work hard. I've had a lot of Toyota cars and trucks with the ECT button and never had any need for it.
Looks like Toyota truck are not what they used to be.

 

It's not a heavy duty work truck and not meant to be one. It's not meant for towing over 5k lbs regularly

 

The towing capacity has gone up from 6500 to 6800 pounds, although the double cabs are the same at 6400 pounds.