Which Models come with manual transmission?

Yes, I will wait. I'm not ready to make the purchase anyway. I do get anxiety about Toyota discontinuing manuals in Tacomas.

The Ridgeline is tempting though. It's a nice caruck. Not really a truck, kind of a car.

 

Caruck

 

Yep they had it in whatever they called an Access Cab 4x2.

 

I thought the OR was the best config ever?

 

2016-2017 ACLB SR
2016+ ACLB TRD Sport
2016+ DCSB TRD Sport
2016-2019 ACLB TRD Off-Road
2016+ DCSB TRD Off-Road
2017+ TRD Pro

 

There was no MT AC OR after 2015 unless you go to Canada.

 

yea

 

Wait, this in 4x4 models only right?

 

Right there were no MT 4x2 in the 3rd Gen.

 

X-runner 3rd gen version would be sweet.

 

Those were pretty cool trucks, l think they continued in Hawaii a few years after they got discontinued elsewhere.

 

Because the whole island owns a Tacoma already. hehe....boy do I miss home!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI8O0DcwZ8Y

 

They were. I barely see them around anymore, most of them were crashed im guessing. I see a ton of 2nd gens here.

 

I think a V6 MT SX with a E-locker would be the best platform for all the guys here.

 

the xr was an awesome truck; i miss mine. kinda bummed they never made a 3rd gen xr. the sport i have now is envisioned more after the xrunner than the off road i had previously.

 

Toyota does weird stuff like that for some reason, you could get that combo here on the 1st and 2nd Gen's but for whatever reason not on the 3rd Gen.

 

No disrespect to my fellow Taco Brethren here, but I consider the Taco to be more SUV (or car) then a truck. I mean that in a nice way, what I'm trying to say is my Taco but doesn't feel as capable doing 'truck stuff' (hauling, towing) as my other trucks do. It just feels a bit 'light duty' to me, however my Taco is filling a nice niche in my life right now, I'm just glad I didn't sell my Silverado when I bought my Taco.

The fact that I have the DCSB probably has a lot to do with my opinion since I keep running into things which don't fit in the bed (my Honda TRX450R is too wide to fit between the fender wells, but my TRX300 fits fine, with the tailgate down). In a few weeks though my girl and I are going to take my Taco on it's first out-of-state road trip; 1,000 miles carrying a dual-sport MC, some light-moderate four-wheeling and lots of highway. It's a trip I would normally take my Silverado on (and I probably would this time too if I were towing something) but I'm hoping the savings on fuel taking the Taco make having to deal with taking the smaller truck worth it.

FWIW A good friend of mine has a Ridgeline and loves it. The only hauling he does with his is carrying his dual-sport MC (and sometimes mine if we ride together) on our monthly rides up to the mountains or out to the desert. A Ridgeline was on my short-list when I was shopping for my Taco but the lack of a true 4wd system, a low tow rating and arguably weak auto trans made me pass on it. That said my GF is a year away from needing a new SUV and I'm trying to convince her a Ridgeline would be good for her.

 

Isn’t the towing capacity of a ridge line the same as Tacoma?

also all the reviews I’ve watched and read show the all wheel drive system is pretty capable. There was one review where they took a Tacoma, ridge line and Colorado over some rough terrain going really fast. Tacoma and Colorado blew out their shocks. Ridge line was fine.

 

The towing capacity's are close, but the Tacoma is rated for ~6,400 LBS, the Ridgeline ~5,000 LBS. Plus I've heard the Honda's have a weak auto trans which doesn't hold-up well to towing. I rarely tow more than 4,500 LBS however every time I do it generally requires me towing over a summit (depending on where I'm going it can be a 4,000' climb over the Cajon Pass or an 8,000' climb if I'm headed to the mountains) so a little extra capacity is a good thing.

As far as the off-roading goes, I do a fair amount of driving/exploring on 4wd Fire Roads. An AWD would probably be fine most of the time, but there are times when having an actual Transfer Case (and in my case a rear locker) comes in handy. If all I did were snowy roads or easier roads AWD would be fine.

Have you got a link to the article where the Tacoma and Colorado 'blew-out' their shocks? Considering the Ridgeline uses Struts at all four corners and the Taco doesn't I'd like to hear how they managed that. I do know that many years ago one of the car mags (I think it was Car & Driver) ruined the Struts on a Ridgeline which they took over a washboard road at high-speeds. I've not heard the same complaint about the other trucks you mentioned.

If all I did was 'Mall Crawling' I wouldn't have bought the truck I did. For my purposes the Taco was the best choice, but everyone's needs and wants are different.