The "NEW" Tacoma

1) test drive
2) test drive
3) test drive
4) test drive

Not trying to be sarcastic, but you will get varying opinions to all those questions and it is best to drive one to see for yourself. I think it lacks torque, but I wouldn’t say it’s underpowered. I have manual, so I can’t comment. And I think the seats are about the same as my old second gen. Wind noise is about the same, I do have the diff howl. There is a TSB out for that but I haven’t done it

 

I test drove the Canyon.

The transmission was very "shift happy", and the door open alarm went off every left turn, even though the door was closed.

Yeah, no way.

 

Nicely done ZYBORG.

 

I test drove a Z71 Colorado the day before or after (can’t remember) I test drove a 2017 Offroad. The Colorado is definitely quicker/more powerful feeling, but not by a ton. Don’t quote me but i don’t think it’s dual injected like the Taco so that’s a slight concern. I feel better with the taco engine under my hood at least.

 

Well, thanks to all of you who responded, I believe I have enough info to make an informed decision on whether or not to test drive a new one. I think I will. Tough to beat those old 1st Gens though!

 

Yes, the truck definitely feels a little sluggish.
Yes, the engine/tranny are strange and more than anything i'd say kind of unpredictable. You'll have no power and then all of the sudden it kicks in and you're off! Makes traffic pretty miserable and makes you a jerky driver, which is actually kind of embarrassing if you have passengers in your vehicle.
No, seats are pretty awful, maybe my biggest complaint of your questions. I get it this is a truck but they really should have/could have done better.
I don't know, the cabin is noisy but not too bad. Not sure how it compares to the 2014.

All in all I still love my '17 but if I had it to do over again I woulda went manual.

 

1 What's powerful to me might not be powerful to you.

2 What's jerky to you might not be jerky to me

3 What's comfortable to me might not be comfortable to you.

4 What's noisy to you might not be noisy to me.

See where I'm coming from?

 

Well said.


Could close the thread after this post.

 

A test drive will answer all your questions

 

I just traded in my 16 Colorado diesel z71 with 56k miles on it. It was good truck and did well. I do like my new Tacoma. seats and position could be better but I have no other issues

 

As someone who was driving a 2017 fo 2 weeks and just got back into my 09 I’ll try to help you.
1. I did t think it was underpowered but it does have a different power delivery. It needs a different pedal touch to get going, it’s hard to explain but overall not much difference.
2. I never thought my 09 was jerky and don’t think the 17 is either.
3. I put clazzio leather covers in my 09 years ago so I can’t say what the 14 ome is like but I thought mine and the 17 were equal.
4. Around town the 17 is pretty quiet, better than my 09. On the highway I don’t notice much difference.

Overall there wasn’t anything in the 17 that I miss. Even gas mileage wasn’t much different, I get an average of 18.7 in my 09 and the 2 tanks of gas I used in the 17 only averaged 20.5.

Keep in mind my 09 has an aftermarket Kenwood stereo and the leather seat covers. Unless your 14 is high mileage and/or falling apart I don’t see much reason to trade up for a new one.

 

Yeah but I also heard the new Colorado is a Colorado. So. Fuck that.

 

One important piece is where you live. At any elevation, it does leave something to be desired due to the power losses.

As was stated, the power delivery is more car like in that it there is not a torquey/punchy feel, but rather a surge as it builds rpm. Some interpret this as being more powerful, others do not. Although they are functions of eachother, the "butt dyno" tends to detect torque more readily and comes across as a more urgent feel. The overall impression I have is that it leaves something to be desired. My last car was an IS350 with the same powertrain (albeit tuned a bit different) and it had similar manners but much more subtle due to the higher power tune, lighter weight overall, and less wind drag.

Moving onto the trans, I wouldnt classify it as jerky at all. The shifts themselves are smooth, however it does it entirely too much in a play for fuel economy. This makes sense and is simply a tradeoff. This is most noticeable at highway speeds when it shuttles between gears since the engine does not produce enough low RPM torque to maintain a gear with a small grade change. As I mentionned, this is worse at elevation, but still quite noticeable at sea level. You likely won't see this as readily on a test drive as it's situation dependent.

The seats are very comfortable on long drives, but I would say the seating position leaves the legs more stretched out than other competitors. Again, this is a tradeoff for ground clearance and I'm absolutely fine with it.

The wind noise is generally pretty subdued. I can easily have a bluetooth conversation at highway speed. The normal A-pillar/mirror noise is noticeable and it isn't in luxury car territory, but I don't think that's a reasonable expectation anyway.

 

High pressure sales at Toyota? Find a new dealer.

 

Yes
Yes
Yes
Maybe

 

A Colorado and a Frontier, really? Come on guy.

Now, I still haven't completely warmed up to the 3rd gens yet myself, but they're still the best new truck on the market.

Colorado and Frontier...

 

Right? I can’t even with anyone anymore.

 

Not to go too far off topic, but here goes.

OdiN1701, tou haul a 21' trailer with a Taco (2017)? Can you give me the name and model of the trailer, please. And what is the weight after loaded up?

 

When they first came out, it was difficult to get a good deal around here. It has since calmed. The further into the country you go, the less people are willing to fork out $40k for a loaded taco.

 

I had a 2015 and now a 2017.

2015 had a better feeling engine and transmission in my opinion. Note I say better "feeling" not necessarily better performing. I think the 2015 also had a little better sounding engine. 2017 interior is definitely nicer and has more options as far as seat comfort only you can answer that. My transmission in my 3rd gen it pretty smooth and I don't really notice any weird shifting anymore. I have quite a bit of extra weight all the time and it doesn't seem under-powered for it. Is it fast? No its a Tacoma none of them are or have ever been and people need to stop expecting them to be that isn't what they were designed for.

I would also say the 3rd gen engine likes to rev a little more then the 2nd gen that doesnt mean its under-powered like some would say.