New 2020 Auto vs Manual Transmission???

There's a hill above the King County courthouse to I-90 that I swear is 45 deg. Would not want to try to hill start that loaded up.

 

I dont find this truck to be a chore or think it has a dump truck feel at all either, i can flick all 6 gears without even taking my elbow off the arm rest.

 

I agree. I use my wrist most of the time to shift, it is quite nice.

 

The truck is a dog. There is no getting around that in the stock condition. No I have not read all the responses.

For sure MT.

Then a tune

Then regear.

It will cost you. But man you will forget those 4 cylinder vehicles.

 

Damn, your truck must be really quick with a regear and a tune. I mean, i never really had issues with the power in my taco. I actually think its quite fast off the line and on highway speeds. I just installed borla exhaust for an extra 50hp too . Love the sound man.

 

One you start driving around with ect mode on or the s mode on , aren't you defeating
The m p g arguments for the auto

 

If you ever drove a Miata you would not say this Tacoma has a nice shifter.

 

Even if I had driven a Miata I wouldn’t tell anyone I had! ..

lol I’m jk those things are pretty amazing track cars, gotta give em credit!

 

Some claim S mode nets better mpg after upsizing tires. I don’t use it but I will say ECT makes it harder to achieve your normal mpg. Typical commute I’ll use ECT to pass or in situation getting somewhere is more important than fuel consumption, then I switch it off to save gas.

 

That gearbox on the Miatas, at least the early ones, was amazing. It was like moving into a notch with a flick of the wrist. My wife bought a used '90 but we sold it in '94 when we moved to Germany. Ended up buying a first-year '96 Z3 there in Germany - with a short shift kit that transmission is almost as smooth as the Miata's. I'm still pushing the Z3 through the corners...but I bought an AT Tacoma so maybe I'm just slightly obese and lazy.

 

I know that hill! Having hill start assist brake hold is one of the reasons I went with a TRD Sport instead of a TRD Offroad. That feature gets a heck of a lot more use for me than a rear locker.

 

Part of my decision in going with the Tacoma over the Ford Ranger with the more modern power plant (2.3L Turbo four-cylinder with a ten-speed auto) was that I hold onto my vehicles for a long time. My last one was over ten years old and I got the truck because I needed AWD/4WD and wanted more space/utility. There's a good chance my next vehicle will be electric which precludes a manual transmission. I figured this may be my last chance to own a new manual transmission vehicle. Maybe if I have more space by then I'll keep the Tacoma as a classic.

 

If you ever offroaded a Tacoma, you would not say a Miata is a good offroad vehicle.

Apples and oranges. Seems like an unreasonable standard to hold the Tacoma gearbox to. The 3rd gen 6 speed is the smoothest truck manual I've ever driven. Haven't tried out the Gladiator though.

 

Totally agree. Its a body on frame truck that can tow decent amount and does great offroad. Not sure why people compare it to miatas or small japanese/german cars.

Might as well compare it to 1990 f150 with a 4 spd.

 

Since when has any 3rd Gen discussion had a basis in fact or been based on a realistic comparison? C'mon, this is 3rd Gen isn't it???!!

 

Difference is no one has ever claimed the Miata was a good off-road vehicle. While 3rd gen owners seem to think its the greatest vehicle on Earth with an R154 like transmission.

Spoiler, but my first gen tundra was a much better truck than this.

my manual Lexus is300 was 100x more fun to drive

and even more fun than that was the drz400sm I had before lifting the truck

and I kick myself every day for selling them to buy a third gen.

 

It was just a crude example outlining that a Miata is a meaningless comparison.

I can understand the argument that a manual is fun in a performance car but less so or not in a truck. I don't feel that way, but I get it.

 

At the end of the day you’ve got two people buying the truck for two reasons. People that want to use the truck to get from A to B to do the next fun thing or to do some kind of work, while others want to make their life more “fun” while giving up some convenience.

cars are just like guns, you can’t buy one and expect it to do it all. So I figured I might as well get the “best truck” while I will save up for the “best car” and the “best motorcycle”, rather than hoping my Tacoma which goes 0-60 in 7 seconds is as enjoyable to drive as a built STI.

 

Bottom line for me, is that I preferred the 3rd gen Tacoma with a manual over the auto. All the other things you mentioned played no role in that decision.

 

this guy Would argue no one has ever said Miata’s are good off-road lol!