Would you pay MORE for a Manual Transmission Tacoma?

Well, I was on the fence between a new Tacoma and a lightly used FJC, and fully ready to spend the premium manual FJs tend to have on the used market so I guess that's a yes. If they'd dropped the manual for the third gen there's a 90% chance I'd be driving that used FJ, and a 10% chance I'd be in a JLU or a used 2nd gen Tacoma. I just really prefer the way a manual drives, modern automatics have really closed the gap but they still just don't feel as crisp and I'm a very tactile person so I find rowing my own much more satisfying. Funny thing, contrary to what a lot of people have said I could actually tolerate a sporty car with a dual clutch more than anything else with a slushbox. I'd still prefer three pedals but a DSG is mechanically much more similar to a manual transmission than it is to an auto so it at least still has that crispness.

I do actually own a Range Rover Classic with an auto. I've always had an infatuation for old Land Rovers and wanted to experience one, Defenders are too pricey and manual Discovery 1s are unicorns in the States. It was fun to own for awhile but I'm ready to move on, if I'm going to have two vehicles something sportier would compliment the Tacoma better.

I've never understood the traffic thing, I live in Portland, Oregon so it's not like I'm in LA or something but we have more and more traffic and I'm in it most days. If anything it gives me a little game to play, it's not like my right hand or left leg had something else they could be doing or operating a manual gearbox is such a mentally intensive activity to distract me from my podcast. It's at least something to do besides just sit there.

No, it doesn't. I am 100% positive the Tacoma allows it, I heel toe every day and I am 99.99% the 86 must too because I spend way too much time reading car magazines and listening to The Smoking Tire podcast, most auto journalists are heel-toe fanatics who prefer to blip themselves even if the car has auto-rev matching. If a little sports car didn't let you heel toe there would be an absolute uproar. Plus like if I can do it in my truck I can't imagine they'd be out of touch enough to not allow it in the sportiest three pedal car they make.

Two things, do those have auto-rev match? If they do and you're trying to heel-toe without deactivating it I could imagine the computer getting confused. Also, are you new to heel toe? Because the muscles that you use to move your foot that way aren't really utilized for much else so it actually takes a little time to develop them. I know when I first learned to do it I had a hard time getting into the throttle enough to give it a proper blip even though I felt like I was pushing down on it hard because I had to strain so much, and this was in an E36 with perfectly placed pedals. I just practiced the motion 10-20 times every time I got home with the car running in neutral until I could properly modulate both at the same time. My neighbors much have thought I was such a jackass, this high school kid revving his red BMW with a loud exhaust 20 times every time he parked in his parent's driveway in a quiet suburban neighborhood but hey it worked.

The pedal setup's fine, I even have pretty average length and rather narrow feet. Not like the aforementioned BMW, but not hard. If you keep your heel planted where it normally would be using the gas and pivot to use the brakes with the ball of your foot the gas is right under the right edge of your foot and you can rotate down to blip it. It's not as critical to the driving experience as with a sporty car but especially with how gutless our engines are at low RPMs I like being in the right gear entering a sharp corner and an un-revmatched downshift hurts my soul.

 

I’d pay more. I’ve never owned an automatic and never will.

 

Knock yourself out with envy...

 

Do you punch the dash every time you shift into 1st, 3rd and 5th? That must be the reduced effort shift mod!

 

You can check it out on MSN today.

 

Can you share a photo how you actually pivot in order to heel-toe? With the ball of the foot on the brakes, I feel I have to turn my foot 90 deg in order for my heel to reach the gas.

 

Are these helpful? I’m cheating a bit because I’m wearing boots today which gives me a wider footprint but I can do the same in any shoes. Basically if I have the ball of my foot on the edge of the brake(but not so close you’ll slip off of course) and my heel against the trans tunnel it puts the outer right side of my foot in a decent position to blip the gas. You do need somewhat dexterous feet I guess

 

2018 Pro MT - Mine
2017 GMC Yukon - Her's
2007 Acura MDX - Our's

 

@jasmits1 thanks for sharing. They're helpful, I'll give that a try too.

 

I'd turn in my driver's license if I was forced to own only automated vehicles.