3rd Gen Test Drive

When the 3rd Gen came out in 2016 I was not a fan of the redesign. I loved the new tailgate and rear lights but hated just about everything else. Well, after 3 years I am finally liking the new look. I see so many on the road that I wanted to go test drive one just to see how they compared to my 2014 TRD Sport. I test drove the identical trim I have now (TRD Sport with MT & 6 cylinder engine). I pulled out of the dealership, put my foot on the gas and was in shock. The truck couldn’t get out of its own way. I asked the salesman if he made a mistake and pulled the 2.7l 4cyl. truck around for the test drive. He double checked the sticker and confirmed it was the 3.5. I’m fully aware the truck makes good power up at higher rpms but man, it is just plain slow under 4K rpms. Needless to say, I will be owning my 2nd Gen till she dies.

 

Just wait, they about to get some twin turbo love!

 

thats cool n all.... but for $$$$$


Yup OP, the 3.5 makes far less low end torque than the 4.0L nothing new there.

 

I test drove 3 MT's trying to like it. It just wasn't convincing me. I was revving pretty high on my shifts to get it to move.

 

My MT now doesn’t need much gas at all to get going. Normal shifts at 2500 rpms is plenty to keep up with traffic from a red light.

 

I felt the same way when i test drove a 3rd gen. Tech, interior is nice. But i couldnt get past the powertrain.

 

Fuel to the fire, but...

We wanted to replace our two old trucks with a new one. My wife and I went out and test drove a 2018 DCLB Off-Road. The exterior styling has grown on me, the updated interior is awesome, and I like that you can finally get a DCLB in Off-Road trim but yeah...45 minutes later the hunt for a low-mile 2014 or 2015 began.

 

Tested my sister in laws TRD OR 2018. Seemed okay to me. Felt just as quick as my 4L.

 

Agreed.

Yep.

I still can't get past that carp mouth grill. Even when it has Pro braces installed.


But the good news here is you actually took a test drive.

So many come in with their whine about things that would have been revealed had they taken a good test drive and not been overcome by the new vehicle smell.

 

The dealer has a new one here that is all decked out with all dealer mods they are trying to sell for close to $63k + all the outrageous dealer fees, + taxes, + license, and on and on. Yea, right. ...but you can make payments. Yea right, not now not ever. I need to replace an aging Subaru but man no way on the new Taco. Would pick up a good '14 or '15 in a heartbeat though.

 

^^Man I hear you. New cars are insanely expensive, especially with those dealer add-ons. The bonus of us finding a nearly perfect used 2014 DCLB that checked all the boxes was that my wife gave the green light to start modding it to a modern version of my prized 1st gen. I feel like I'm nearly there, all for thousands less than it would have cost to finance a new, bare-bones 3rd gen.

 

Yeah I’m still waiting on that green light from the wife to start modding. I should have the truck paid off next year so it might not be far off.

 

Need more info and proof before I will believe that. Especially coming from a conservative car company like Toyota.

 

He didn't say it was from Toyota.

 

On a stock 4.0? I'm not buying it. Not without major internal mods and if you are going to drop that amount of money I would choose a older Tundra V8 to transplant and build. The "leaked" twin turbo Tundra V6 sure as heck wont fit in that engine bay.

 

He's talking about the 3rd gens with the 3.5l, OVTune is putting together a twin turbo kit and a supercharger kit being released soon.

There's a big thread on it

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/ovtune-3-5l-tacoma-supercharger-and-twin-turbo-systems.566390/

 

That wasn't mentioned either.

He was responding to the OP, who was writing about a 3rd gen test drive.

 

I totally misunderstood then. My bad. Still, I (personally) wouldnt twin-turbo or S/C a brand new vehicle and negate most of if not all of the warranty. Unless you got money like that. I would wait for the "rumored" twin turbo Tundra in the near future so I could have a factory warranty.

 

Somewhere in the 3rd gen turbo thread, OVTune mentions that the Tacoma is going to be getting a twin turbo 4cyl from factory when the next redesign/generation comes around.

Smaller engines and boost seems to be where most manufacturers are headed now, Toyota is kinda behind on that really compared to the others

 

Some will. Most won't.

But keep in mind that the '20 is queuing up, making the 3gen 4 years in. Many '16's and 17's are already out of standard warranty, and likely even some '18's based on mileage.

Yeah, it's a niche market. But some will play.