IS THE TOYOTA TACOMA’S SALES LEAD UNTOUCHABLE?

Yeah I noticed that.
The new Camry has this same 3.5L V6 engine and the Highlander also has the same engine but both are paired with an 8 speed auto trans.

For the highlander mid cycle refresh for the 2017 model year, they did tweak the engine and paired it with new eight speed transmission. I think the horsepower got bumped up to 295.

It must be a cost savings thing for R&D. This 3.5L v6 engine is good for the Camry and highlander but not a good match for the Tacoma. They could have put the 4.0L engine from the 4Runner instead if they wanted to save on R&D costs.

I have a feeling toyota is only going to tweak the current engine in the Tacoma to give it an extra 20+ horsepower and pair it with an 8 speed transmission when it comes to mid cycle refresh time but that isn't going to be enough to keep the Tacoma competitive in the mid size truck market.

 

I think it is safe to say that this generation of Tacoma has been an outlier for Toyota in many ways.

 

I think they use it in minivans, SUV, and Lexus models too, seriously think they are using it even if it is not a good fit for a particular platform.

 

Can they meet CAFE standards with 4.0?

 

That's the current "world" model

 

That model is pretty much the Hilux's true competition overseas. It actually beats it out in some aspects in tests.

 

Also, the Ranger won't be hitting the US market until 2019. Or at least it will be a 2019 model.

 

Hilux vs. Ranger is like Chevy vs. Ford in America.

 

I am going to Scotland next month with my girlfriend. In the process now of renting a left-hand drive MANUAL DIESEL Hilux for 4 days. I will do a write up on here after I am back maybe. =)

 

Maybe that's why they didn't use the 4.0L. All manufacturers are going to smaller displacement engines for that reason.