Ford F-150 to Tacoma

You obviously have never seen a dyno chart then and don't understand how torque is delivered in relation to displacement in naturally-aspirated engines.

 

I understand it quite well. Towing is absolutely relative to what you are towing. To make a blanket statement that the 3rd gen isnt suited for towing is ridiculous. Of course it is t going to tow 10k lbs. Peope dont buy tacomas to tow that weight. Thats an absurd statement. My 2nd gen has a rating of 6500 lbs. I wouldnt want to tow that much, bit its still suitable to tow.

 

I miss the low end torque of my 2003 Ford Ranger. The new tacoma, for some folks, has also been plagued by some manufacturing and QA issues. Vibrating drive line, rear differential replacement (premature wear), squeaking leaf springs, crankshaft position sensor failure, weather stripping and road noise issues, as well as low transmission fluid from factory. The big gripe as I said for most folks is the lack of low end torque and the feeling that you have to dump your foot into the pedal to get her into the power band. There is a software TSB (update for transmission) which helped to cut down on some of the shift happiness but there are still some "dead spots" on the pedal. Make sure you test drive at length and understand that the transmission and motor feel is not going to improve much if at all due to break in...it is what it is.

As far as towing as long as you don't plan to tow 4k lbs or more on regular basis it will be fine.

 

Traded in 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 crew. I don't regret at all, but for family trips it was, maybe, better. Only because it was so roomy, but Tacoma is super comfortable too. Two car seats and booster in the back, no complaints from kids, except my wife. She liked how much stuff you can have with you in the cabin. But she drives 4Runner it has little more room.

 

He is commenting on the FACT that power/torque come at high rpms not that it doesnt have any power or torque.

 

Sit in the back seat and think about it!

 

Went from a 08 super duty to Tacoma. Would not look back.

 

I went from a 2013 F150 crew cab to DC tacoma. The size difference was hard for me to swallow, but since pulling the trigger i have no regrets. The big difference I see is when i have child seats in the rear. I have Sparco child seats that are little oversized so it makes it tight. My daughter is 3 and she kicks the hell out of the back seat. If we have the kids we now take the wife's car. I definitely enjoy driving the tacoma over the ford any day.

 

When I had my 16 Tacoma I thought the room was ok. Then I traded it in for a 16 tundra crew max the room in the cm is amazing. I was just at the dealer having my 5k service on the tundra so I went over and looked at another Tacoma. The tundra makes the Tacoma really really small. To me the back seat in the Tacoma is almost unusable. Especially if you have kids.

 

I like a big truck for the reasons the OP stated. I like a small truck because it's easier to get around town and park. It also gets better gas mileage. The Taco is plenty big enough for 4 adults, but as you stated, mostly it's just you.

In the end, I decided that I'd buy a truck for 99% of what I'd use it for. Mostly it's only me and in town/driving to work. The Tacoma is a better fit for that task. Plus, if I don't like it, the resale is pretty good.

 

Space and power, that is the difference. Have had full sized trucks and the Tacoma, for me, is a great size. Just me in the truck, so that makes a huge difference, Even if I had to haul around the girlfriend all the time, I would think about a bigger cabin.

 

My 6 foot tall uncle and my 5'9" dad both rode in the backseat of my truck for a few hours last weekend and niether had any complaints. Im 6' tall and can sit back there pretty comfortably with the drivers seat in normal position.

 

I have owned 2 Tundra's and three Tacoma's in my time. Having the extra room is great but the fill ups suck for sure. I have a family of four and the Tacoma is plenty big enough. In fact my wife drives a Highlander and we all prefer to take the Tacoma when doing our outings.

 

I just bought a 4x4 OR DC Tacoma this weekend and I came from from a 2012 f150 ecoboost supercrew cab. I really like the Tacoma but the size difference it the biggest thing I had to get over. Way less space in the backseat but I hardly ever have anyone back there so it was a compromise I was willing to make. I averaged 17.2 mpg in my 150 and after 500 miles on the new Tacoma I'm averaging 21 and can still comfortable tow my boat or utility trailer. Tacoma has plenty of power for me. Also I had the software update done at the dealer prior to purchasing it and I have zero complaints about shifting. It down shift on hills to 5th but that doesn't bother me as much as some people.

I'm 30 now and over the "must have a bigger truck" syndrome. I'm perfectly happy with the Tacoma because it does 99% of my needs.

 

I agree with the logic. First thing I do is look at my needs, then my wants, lastly what makes me happy. Then I land on something that makes me smile everyday I drive it. So that's why I drive what I drive. I don't buy a vehicle and then bitch that it doesn't do something it wasn't designed to do. If a Tacoma doesn't fit your needs, move on to something that does, you'll get one of these from me everytime I see you.

 

This is a long post but sounds like you had similar concerns that we had.

My previous truck was a 1998.5 Dodge 2500 quad can 8' bed dieseL. I don't really tow heavy loads that much anymore, so we started looking for a full size replacement (1/2 ton). We had a HARD time getting over the sticker price for new 1/2 ton trucks, so we kind of gave up and kept the old truck for a while longer.

At some point we again stopped in at the dealer (sells Ford and Toyota) and again we were shocked at the price of a new Ford. I had not even CONSIDERED a Tacoma because the last one I drove was a 1st gen, and they were too small for a family.

For shits and giggles we went over and looked at a 4dr Tacoma. We were impressed with the room. They let us take it out on a test drive- me, my wife in the front and 17yo son and 15 yo daughter in the back. We were shocked how roomy it is! The front is smaller than the Dodge for sure, but certainly not uncomfortable at all. My kids reported the back seats were entirely comfortable with ample room.

Price wise the Tacoma is by far cheaper than a similarly equipped F-150.

Statistically the Tacoma should haul and tow what we need, so we bought it and took delivery in mid-June.

My wife and kids just drove about 900 miles to Colorado for a week, and they said cabin comfort was WAY better than the old Dodge 2500 and driving the Tacoma was more enjoyable. All 3 rotated driving time, so each had time behind the wheel as well as time in the passenger and back seat.

So from a size and cost perspective, we think the current Tacoma is hard to beat. We're still breaking it in (less than 3,000 miles on to odo) so I can't comment on towing ability yet.

We have some minor performance concerns, however the tranny flash has yet to be performed, so I'll withhold those until a later date.

You should take it on a test run, we're glad we did.

 

Nice write up, glad you thought it through and made a choice that you are happy with!

 

Tacoma has more HP and torque. Sure your ranger might feel more grunty but that's only because the powerband was at a lower RPM and the truck was lighter. Id be willing to be if you got in your old ranger right now you'd think the thing was a dog and a pile of junk compared to the Tacoma you hate so much. So many other factors come into play comparing their 4.0L to the 3.5. You seem mostly against the transmission, of course it's going to feel like a motor has no power being in 6th gear doing 40mph. That's all tuning for the EPA to meet emission standards. Race around 40 mph in second/3rd gear and let me know what you think

 

I think Low End Torque is best suited for a truck application. Every time I think I start getting used to the 2016 Tacoma I hop into the old lady's 2016 Runner and I'm like WTF!!!!! The 4Runner just drives and shifts like I wish this Tacoma did. No dead gas pedal, no shift flares, no 2 to 3 second delay for kick down.... The TSB helped in some ways but I'm still observing some of these other issues.