Wouldn’t a V8 option be nice?

Since the RCf uses a V8 and the RC350 uses the 3.5L, can the RCF V8 snap in the Tacoma?

Would be an expensive swap. But people have already spent 30K+ modifying 3rd gen Tacomas. A V8 swap would be the ultimate project.

 

Nope. I'm happy with the V6.

 

That’s because you have a MT, lol

 

I don't know if it is or isn't. I would have considered the SR if it came in a diesel and had an option for 1,500 lbs payload in 4x4. To me that's the main appeal of the Hilux. Having a frame, chassis and drivetrain designed for utility. For example in a 4x4 XtraCab it does 3,050 kg GVW with a payload of 1,010 kg (curb weight 2,040 kg).

In 'Murican math that's a 1 ton truck. I don't need 2,000 lbs of payload, but having 1,500~1,600 lbs would be nice. And that's in the SR5 trim. The Workmate 4x4 XtraCab is a 3,000 kg GVW with a curb weight of 1,880 kg (it doesn't have a pickup box, they are trays).

That's the dealership model in a many places, you shop and order. I buy a truck about every 10 years and so far they've all been used. So the option to get what I want isn't a problem for me.

 

Ha! You hit it on the head there.

A couple times, I had the chance to drive an automatic version of the MT cars that we owned. Each time, I came away with the feeling that I would have hated life with the slushboxes.

 

Could you imagine if we had a v8 in our trucks and we tried to off road them the way we do? My god we would be blowing diffs and axle shafts every 11 seconds, then bitch why they didn't give us stronger axles, then they'd say buy a tundra...because that's what you want at that point

 

I assume that was why Toyota only used full time 4WD with the V8 in the 4th gen 4Runner. Only the V6 4Runners had a 2WD option.

 

Nah, the entire drive train would essentially have to be upgraded to handle the increased capabilities

 

But to add the additional model here would require increased cost in logistics to carry additional parts and training in repairs. For the niche hilux buyer like yourself it may not make good financial sense from a big business POV, particularly if you also have smaller choices in the used market with 1st and 2nd gen trucks still readily available.

 

I'm good w/my V6. Seems to drive way better than my old 2013 Taco.

 

There is never going to be a v8 option. V8's are pretty much dead. Even in the truck world they're on life support.

 

Not really, the Tacoma, Hilux, 4Runner share most of the same parts. I don't think it would be like adding a completely different model.

Mexico is a fraction of the market of the U.S. and Canada and Toyota seems to handle it OK. They manufacture cars for US/Canada but are part of the Latin America region. Which means the number of Tacomas sold there would be at least similar to the number of Hilux they would sell in N.A. In fact the N.A. parts chain already has a lot of non-U.S. models in it. They sell 70 series in Canada to mines, for example.

Anyway, all this Toyota New Global Architecture stuff seems to me to leave the Tacoma, Tundra and Sequoia as orphans. They would be the only models globally that aren't interchangeable with any Toyota factory in the world. It just doesn't make any sense why the Tacoma and Hilux are distinct models, that's un-Toyota.

 

Engineer Mike is going to bypass the v8 option for the 4th Gen, and go right to the 1LR-GUE 'option'...

 

Ok, why compete against your own best seller?

 

This. I came from a 5th gen 4Runner and all anyone did at those forums was bitch about weight and lack of response with the skinny pedal, nose dive, overhanging plastics, etc. Here, they wax poetic about the 4.0 and how much greater it was. My 6M/T with the 4.30 gears feels shockingly more responsive. Don’t get me wrong though, the 4Runner build quality was much nicer - but it’s bordering on expensive SUV.

The point of me saying that is that you’re 1000% right. If they offered a V8 people would bitch about wrecking CVs off road or grenading a diff or the secondary air injection pump dicking them over or fuel economy , etc.

OA

 

Compete against what?

 

Forgot to quote, discussing hilux and tacos selling side by side in the US.

 

You mean sell a truck to someone like me who is traditionally loyal but isn't interested in another Tacoma? I'm watching what Ford does with the reintroduction of the Ranger primarily because they are comparing extremely well against the Hilux in other markets. Like I say, I don't want a Hilux per say, I could get some badges and scratch that itch. I just want about 250 lbs more GVWR than any Tacoma is capable of. The problem is the way trucks are classes in the U.S. makes a Hilux stand out. In places like Australia a light truck is up to something like 9,900 kg GVW. That's why Ford doesn't have much luck with F150 outside of N.A., there's no reason for the physically bigger truck when the Ranger, Hilux, Colorado, etc. cover the payload while being smaller and easier on fuel. If you need a bigger truck the F250 and up are available (Super Duty does OK in Australia, for example).

But we have a 6,000 lbs category that puts a Hilux in the same class as a F150 in capability. Up to 2004 this wasn't a problem since a GVWR of 6,000 lbs with a truck that weighed a couple of hundred lbs less meant you could still use them. A 1979-to-1995 Toyota Pickup had a payload rating of around 1,400 lbs, as an example. It really had more payload than that being a global platform, so going up to or even over GVWR didn't wear them out as fast. I believe that is why the Tacoma exists, to let Toyota build a truck to 6,000 lb class rating that costs them less not having all the excess capability of a Hilux that they can't charge you for. Car companies are worried about pennies saved and you have to think something like shaving 100 lbs of steel by not fully boxing in the frame adds up to real mountain of money for them.

What I'd like to see is the Tacoma put on a diet or offered something like a "commercial" build (like the Workman on the Hilux) that bumped GVWR to something useful and would take 25 years to start wearing out. I beat my poor 1991 up until 2015 and this 2008 isn't going to go anywhere near as long in my estimation. It's at 78K miles and has more rattles and gaps than my old truck did at 287K.

 

Hell no. How many hybrid trucks are out there? ZERO. Plus this “efficiency” kick started when the cost of gas shot up over $4-5/gallon for gas. Now that gas prices have somewhat stabilized at $2-3/gallon people would absolutely pay the extra $4-5K they would charge[/QUOTE]

I think GM had a hybrid half ton available not long ago. I 've never seen one on the road, I do remember seeing a review of one the batteries took up a good portion of the bed.

 

I think GM had a hybrid half ton available not long ago. I 've never seen one on the road, I do remember seeing a review of one the batteries took up a good portion of the bed.[/QUOTE]

Oh I’m sure they are available, but like you said, no one has ever seen them on the road. Maybe as fleet vehicles as tax write offs and branding as a greener company. They may as well be a unicorn or Bigfoot because everyone has heard of them, but nobody has ever seen one