Drove a 3rd Gen Today...

Located in Ventura, CA. Would be happy to easily repeat what i described previously every single time. 0-55 2nd gen will pull, 60mph is where things even out (3rd gen ~2-3 car links behind) then 3rd gen catch up at ~ 80mph.

Im not saying the 3rd gen is a bad truck, but its no race truck and its slower 0-60 vs the 2nd gen. Also those who bitch an moan about gear hunting dont understand what is going on, 6th is double OD unless its flat with no wind yeah its going to hunt between 4th - 6th. Hell my 2nd gen hunts between 4th n 5th a good amount and those ratios are pretty much spot on the same as the 3rd gens 4th n 5th.... pair it with less torque down low, i dont know how it is able to even use 6th gear much.

 

One thing I noticed about the 'drag race' vid was how pitifully short the course was... didn't seem to be even an eighth mile. I'm sure the 3rd gen would have pulled away given a 1/4 mile strip. And one run, without switching lanes and running a second time... that is a crap testing procedure.

 

They need to take the minivan engine out and put a 4.0 v6 back in it or have a Tacoma with a v8 option. That would be tits.

 

ah damnit.... guess i got some driving to do!

 

deal.... but we do best of 3 in the 8th and then best of 3 in the quarter.

 

I remember when all the people would say, "if you wanted your truck to go fast, you should have bought a car."

Who here convinced Toyota to put a car engine in the truck?

 

It wasn't me. That's the reason I walked on trading in my 2012 for a 2017 the first time. I've flipped around between selling it and buying a 3rd gen or keep it until the wheels fall off or the 4th gen comes out. But then again what abomination of a motor will the put in the 4th gen? The 1.8 out of the corolla? How about that 5.0 v8 in the Lexus RCF? Would love a 500 horse tacoma from the factory.

 

I drove them before I bought my 15, the 16s had just showed up. After I drove the 16, I told the guy to show me all the 15’s he had, and what could he still get! I use mine for pulling trailers and carring a camper. I Love the 4.0 and it low in power, and pulling.

 

don't get me wrong, I loved some parts of my previous 2017 TRD OR 2wd auto.....the interior seemed more up to date (the seats still sucked......and NO memory or power seats), the exterior LED running lights were cool but the tail lights sucked, no stick antenna to get damaged, the factory tonneau was pretty decent, the exterior looks are kinda updated but nothing to brag about.......but the engine tranny combo was a deal breaker!.....I live in So CA and you NEED low end power to pass all the slow poke Prius drivers and to navigate all the damn traffic!.....I revved the crap out of that 3.5L motor AND used the ECT button all the time AND manually shifted it on occasion especially up hill.......guess what happened???....my gas mileage dropped to around 12-14 mpg on average. that is just a tiny bit worse them my current 2015 TRD PRO 4wd auto ( I get about 13-15 MPG now on average)......so much for thinking I would get BETTER MPGS!

So my option was 1).....drive it like a granny and TRY to accept the no low end power......or 2) rev the crap out the truck and use the ECT and manually shift to feel SOME sense of power.....or 3).....sell it back to another Toyota dealer and let them resell it. It sold pretty much right away.....it was nice looking and drove nice.....just not like the more powerful low end feeling of the 2nd gen.

If I DIDN'T previously own a 2 gen before I bought the 3rd gen then I would have felt a little bit better about owning it......oh well I'm loving my PRO!

 

I test drove a new 2017 TRD OR access cab on Saturday and was not impressed with the engine and transmission. It was disappointing as I am ready to get a new truck. But considering what I would have to pay to buy new there are not enough improvements over my 2010 TRD Sport. I also drove the new Colorado Z71 and I wish that engine and transmission combination was in the new Tacomas.

 

My comments below are not about specific things that were said in this thread but really about a combination of comments made on this site since the 3rd Gen came out...
1. People expect a smaller truck to tow like a full sized truck apparently. I have seen comparisons to the F-150, Tundra, etc. If you wanted a truck to perform like a full size, then you should have gotten a full size.
2. People expect this truck to be a race car and perform as if it has an 8cyl like the Tundra. That is what the Tundra is for. Or better yet, if performance from a truck was most important than you should be looking at something like the Ram with the Hemi.
3. You need to be happy with the following... The look and style of the Tacoma vs the other trucks, the resale value vs the other trucks, and the reliability.

For me personally, I waited for the 3rd Gen vs buying the 2015 2nd Gen because I was looking forward to getting (hopefully) much better gas mileage and more interior options. The gas mileage was a disappointment. The leg room in the back seat was too. I was thinking about the Tundra but the fuel mileage was much lower (at least that is what I thought) and sometimes I ask myself if I would have been better off with the Tundra.

** You can't have everything and you cannot expect Toyota to give you everything.

 

I think the main gripes are with the 3rd gen engine/powertrain Eric.

 

yeah in this thread engine/powertrain is the main gripe. Also, we are comparing it to the 2nd Gen which if you compared THAT truck to other options on the road at that time it is not as if that truck was lighting the world on fire when it comes to power.

 

Not really a power issue but more of a driveability issue with the 3rd gen. Too busy shifting, lack of low end torque, not the 0-60 times.

 

I guess I'll add my 2 cents... I think the 3rd gen is a pretty badass truck! I don't like the huge front grill area but other than that, looks wise it's great. For the engine I personally feel like toyota should have retained the 4.0 and gave it another 20-25hp and tq... I think would be possible? Maybe with a more trick intake mani and exhaust mani config and different tuning, maybe a better head? Who knows but I think they should have focused on an engine with more torque down low than overall hp.

A v8 option would be interesting but I don't know that any manufacturers are doing that for trucks this size yet. But before long they might have to with the way the "midsize" truck market keeps growing to larger and larger dimensions every new generation.

 

I think you will see an electric version (like a Tesla) before you see a V-8

 

Toyota already has a 4.0L that makes more hp.... the dual VVTI 1GR found in the 5th gen 4 runner.... makes 270-285hp.... 40 or so more than the single vvti found in our second gens. Would of paired VERY nicely in the 3rd gen with the new 6 speed auto and slightly lower axle ratios very well me thinks.

 

WTF really? Ok well then it definitely seems like an idiotic move on Toyota's part to have not put the new 4.0 in there then... I had no idea.

 

Turn on ECT mode. They flipped the concept of economy mode to power mode, so economy is the default. Makes a yuge difference... Bigly.