Poll: Tacoma with Solid Axle and Turbo Diesel

And put some real power under the hood. These trucks should either come with a diesel putting out minimum 300 hp and 650 foot-pounds torque or a 5.7 litre gas engine which is pretty seriously warmed up. And don't stop there, put some decent brakes on it. (No, I do not want a tundra). I love my taco it is just totally gutless. With a head wind, my truck struggles towing my 1800 lb. flats boat / motor / trailer. On the other hand, the truck always starts and runs like a top so that's good.

 

x2. better motor with a solid axle.

 

i would like an 4.7 manual transmission with the solid axle in the front.

 

4.7 V8 with a solid front axle 4wd...sold! With more power, this truck would just rock. It does not need to be bigger just way more powerful and it would prolly get much better gas mileage as well. Heck even if it didn't it would still be a great truck to own.

 

I don't get the diesel love. I wonder how many have actually owned a diesel truck? I've owned two trucks with diesels, and had nothing but trouble with them. Between the two of them, I became a pretty good diesel mechanic out of necessity. Also, they are VERY expensive to maintain. Any replacement part is very costly, and there is a lot more routine maintenance. I do remember that my F250 took about 16 quarts of oil. I bought it by the barrel. Depending on the quality of diesel in your area, you very well may be changing fuel filters very often. Like every other week. If you do have a serious problem, you will have a hard time finding someone to work on it in most areas. And it is going to cost you. Don't be shocked if you are out 2-3,000 bucks for some repairs. Maybe I just had some bad experiences. But a lot of guys I know use them for work, and every one of them to the man has his horror stories to tell. One of my neighbors just got rid of his Ram 3500 diesel and got one of the F250's with the gas engine. He got tired of constantly fixing something and paying 40 cents more a gallon for fuel. TIFWIW.

 

Good Points in everything you said. And yes your oil changes and routine maintenance cannot be ignored. So maybe that is the increase in maintenance your talking about. But then again if you maintained the gassers as they should be we might be talking maintenance cost very close to the same. I own a diesel car with a german designed and built engine. Cost to maintain are not any higher than my toyota truck or my Lexus. As far as fuel goes if you want the max performance out of your taco you should run premium fuel...not much difference in price where I live between diesel and premium. The difference may be as much as 10 cents a gallon. I believe most people on this forum that shout for the diesel (I'm one of them)is to get the MPG. I very rarely use my truck like a truck and drive it mostly like a car. It's just those times when I need a truck..."I need a truck!" We can talk about how the U.S. auto mfg have dicked up their diesels (and ford comes to mind) but again I don't think most guys use their trucks like trucks...I could be wrong. Secondly when you see the performance of diesel over gas I believe it's a winner. There is more explosive energy in diesel than in unleaded gas. To top that off from what I've read diesel is now cleaner to burn than gas. BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) If toyota can build a truck with the quality of the Taco then I think its a reasonable presumption they can build a diesel or contract out for a diesel meeting the standards they set for themselves. A mid size truck that has lower or equal cost to gas to maintain and equal or better mpg to a gasser with the added benefit of a truck seems to be a winner to me. Just fyi the 2011 diesel (VW) is said to have 10,000 mile oil changes or higher. Primarily because an oil change in germany can cost as much as $400.

I trust the Toyota name brand to do it right and if they build a diesel for the U.S. the buyers will come. Just my humble opinion though....

By the way thanks for the great argument you stated...it does give me pause to think about all that you said and get into the research to determine what is best for me....

 

The trucks I had were a Ford F250 and a Chevy Silverado 2500. Ford had the Powerstroke, Chevy had the Duramax. One of the guys I work with has a VW Jetta with the diesel. He has had pretty good luck with it (I do remember something he had to get done to it ran him $1800). A diesel in a car is a little different than one in a heavy duty pickup. There is a great difference in upkeep costs between a diesel truck and gasser. True, the fuel gets a little closer if you run premium. I never buy premium, because here in Kentucky where I live, it's all the same. You pay for premium and get 87 octane. And the difference in MPG between gas and diesel isn't what it's made out to be. Emissions standards have really affected the diesel engine in the last decade or so and it has brought about some crippling side effects. In the end, my way of thinking is this: a diesel engine can do some things a gasser just can't do. If you need your truck to do those things, then get the diesel. If you are towing a backhoe, you need a diesel. If you are like me (and most folks who drive a small truck like the Tacoma), and use your truck for hauling mulch, firewood, furniture, lawn mower, and other light cargo, there really is no advantage to the diesel from an economic angle. A diesel truly is far more expensive to buy and maintain. The last time I bought an air filter for my F250, it ran me $80. The air filter for my Taco is about $13. I had to change the air filter on my F250 at least twice a year. I could go on and on with the differences, but you guys get the gist. Just looking to get some folks with no diesel experience to think a little before getting in over their heads.

 

No doubt that the diesel is going to be more expensive to maintain. And diesel is more expensive than regular unleaded gasoline. (In TX about 20 to 30 cents a gallone more) and as usual this is directly attributable to governmental intervention. The government told refiners they had to start making ultra low sulfur diesel and that costs a lot of money to make that happen.

I had a 1999 dodge with a cummins and a 2003 dodge with a cummins. I had zero trouble with either of those engines. Now the rest of the truck was a different story. Well the 1999 had the death wobble and the dash literally crumbled. The 2003 I had no problems with that one at all. For towing and fuel mileage there is no comparison with a gas engine. However (and this is a biggie) not everyone needs a diesel even if they think they do. My new 2011 ford f250 with the 6.7 litre diesel and the 3.31 axle ratio is turning just about 1600 rpm at a little under 75 mph. Driving between 65 and 70 is currently yielding a little over 19 mpg and it is not even close to being broke in yet. I can tow up to 16000 on the fifth wheel and up to 14000 on the receiver hitch. So this truck will do some things I need but it will not do some of what the taco will do (like fording deep sand at the beach) etc. If I had gotten the 6.2 litre gas engine in that truck I would be lucky to be getting 15 mpg on the highway and around 10 in town. My taco with the 4 litre V6 and the manual trans is getting around 16 mpg on the highway and 13 to 14 in city stop n go driving which is really poor for a small truck...and it still cannot tow anything more than my light flats boat. To latch onto a 10000 lb. fiver and tow it out of state for work is something I need a truck to do so keeping the taco (for now) if I can maintain the payments on both trucks. The taco just runs too good to sell. The ford is a totally kick-ass truck with extreme quality and power and yes it costs a lot more for oil changes, DEF, and diesel fuel. It also has 400 hp and 800 ft/lbs torque.

So everything is a tradeoff and everyone has to have realistic expectations of what a vehicle will really do vs what they really need a truck to do. For most who buy a taco, prolly it could be said that they really don't need a diesel but then again a really stout diesel in a taco would be a blast to drive. Since this is very unlikely to ever happen, it makes interesting forum reading material but that's about all.

 

Are we comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges. (Not sure so I'm asking) I don't compare my truck (95 taco) to a F250 or a 2500 Duramax or Dodge. Should we be doing this kind of comparison when talking diesel? It's my understanding the vehicles above do waaay more than a taco because they are bigger. Can a taco do everything the larger american trucks do? I'm not sure so I'm asking. I don't think so but I just don't know as I've never owned an american truck.

Can someone educate me?

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head, at least for my way of thinking. For a truck the size of a Taco, a diesel seems like overkill. Heavy duty trucks need a heavy duty engine. My F250 was so massive that I had to go to specialty diesel shops for simple things like suspension issues. Regular shops didn't have the equipment to work on something so massive. I know many will say that the benefits of a diesel could be reaped in a smaller package. And that may be true, but in the end, for what you can do with a truck built as lightly as a Taco, whats wrong with a gas engine? I am going next week to get my leaf packs replaced because they are too weak. Why would I need a diesel in a truck like that? Folks want a diesel, that's different. I'm all for choices. I first bought a diesel because I WANTED a diesel. I remember when I was buying my first diesel. Man, I was stoked. That quickly faded when I spent all of my time and money trying to keep it running properly. The guy who had the Ram with the Cummins is right. The 5.9L was a beast. The rest of the Ram truck was terrible, why I never tried one. I have heard the new Cummins engine is having some issues, however. The Powerstroke and Duramax I had were junk. Fuel efficiency wasn't really that great, either. Best I ever got was when the Duarmax was new, at around 17 mpg. It quickly dropped to about 14-15 and never got better. 6.0L Powerstroke was lucky to get 13mpg. Some lucky diesel owners get the magical 20mpg platue, usually with the 5.9L Cummins. I guess my main point is diesels aren't for everybody. If Toyota ever offers one, it should be in the Tundra, and do your research before you jump into it folks. JMO.

 

the land cruiser prado 120 (which is what the tacoma/4runner/fj is based on and is sold as the lexus GX in the states) is sold in european markets that have higher emissions standards with a 1kd-ftv 3.0 diesel and from what i've heard from people that own the prados and hiluxes that use that engine, it's amazing. toyota has the engine, and the ability to put it into a tacoma easily, they just havnt for whatever reason

 

The Tacoma is an extreme light-duty truck. It is great for what it was designed to do. It sucks for what it WAS NOT DESIGNED TO DO. Even if it has a sticker on it that says it can tow 6500 lbs. it will not do that safely or very well at all. So if a prospective buyer does NOT NEED TO TOW HEAVY THE TRUCK WILL DO GREAT. I love my 2009 taco for the use it was designed for. If towing a light utility type trailer or similar it will do that all day long with the gas engine that is in it. If I want to tow my 10000 pound fifth wheel trailer, guess which truck I use to do that with? If I want to go wheeling or to the beach or just general running around, which truck is more appropriate? The taco. The diesel engine option (if offered in the taco, most likely will never happen due to emissions regs) is for fuel mileage. A gasoline engine typically cannot compete with diesel due to the energy density inherent to diesel fuel.

The tacoma they should build would be the original SMALL truck that was bulletproof and near indestructible. With a solid front axle for the 4wd. A fully boxed frame. Strong non-spongy feeling brakes. Minimal luxury junk that is not needed. A gas engine would fine or a diesel would be fine too. That crappy IFS has got to go.

The idea is to do your research to learn everything about whatever it is you are going to buy. Identify EXACTLY what it is you NEED to do with the truck. If you really want a luxury car, then don't buy a tacoma and then bitch about not having leather seats and a moonroof and on and on. If you need to have 40 mpg then don't buy a tacoma expecting it to do that. It will not. If you need to be able to tow 5700 lbs. consistently and SAFELY, do not buy a tacoma expecting it to do that. It will not do it SAFELY. It will get incredibly horrible gas mileage trying to tow anything over 2000 lbs. If you want a manual transmission, do not expect it to get at least as good gas mileage as the automatic trans will. It will not.

If you need a truck that will do extreme light-duty tasks and run great all the time, the taco will do that. At least my four tacos did and the one I have now still does run beautifully and reliably. I had to spend over $3000 to make it do that but I did and it does. Looks pretty good as well...gas mileage sucks. That's pretty much it rant over...

 

I agree with the above post. I am not looking for my Tacoma to do anything other than light duty work. I do want a small turbo diesel for the fuel economy benefits. Also the turbo aspect of it would help performance at the high altitude at which I live. I would be very happy with a strong turbo diesel 4 cylinder or a small 6. I would not necessarily need more HP than the current 4.0 if the torque was higher.

 

Not sure if Toyota will ever bring the diesel to America but for what its worth..the Mahindra is bring one and I was reading somewhere on the net the Maxda CR7 will be coming with a diesel in it as well in 2011. Slowly the diesel comes this way. It will be interesting to see what happens with VW's Amarok in South America. The Germans claim they want to challenge toyota for the #1 car producer in the world....that is one of the reasons they built a production plant in Tenn. If the Amarok does great in SA I believe in 3-5 years we will see the Amarok here in America. Having said that Toyota had planned to put a diesel in the Tundra this year but due to the economy they didn't. So maybe they will go that way....I think the next 3-5 years will be very interesting to watch or participate in with car sales. I just don't think a hybrid truck will do anything for anyone's market. Just my humble opinion though....

 

X2

 

a small turbo'd diesel would be the ticket. even if it was just a "bolt on" package like the trd exhaust... they have the motor in the hilux. when i was in london for a layover- getting back from a deployment, i went to the dealership and saw one. it was the gas model but they said the diesels are the better choice. The dealership said that the diesel wont come to the states because fuel isnt a deal breaker yet... plus in the states going 70 is normal. driving 20 miles takes 15 min. in london to drive 20 miles could take 2 hours... just what the dealership said.

they then said that because i was military they wouldnt mind selling me a 2011 model and sending it to the port to have customs take it to the states.
crazy right...

 

and Manual T-case.

 

SWEEEEEET!!!

 

Toyota tried to bring diesels before, nobody bought it. Toyota is afraid the same thing can happen. But diesels these days are top notch, Miles better than what they had in the 80s.

The 3.0 Diesel Hilux pulls just below 5000pounds. It would be fine for my towing duties, which is a boat weighing around 600KG, but some of you might be stuck. On the other hand, it gets 35Miles to the gallon, which is outstanding.

On the other other hand, modifying a diesel to get lots more power is so easy it's a shame more people don't do it in their other diesels.

Also diesels can work underwater.

And diesel is better in case there is a zombie apocalypse since diesel doesn't expire like gasoline fuel.

 

i read somewhere the other day that diesel can cure cancer