2025 EV Tacoma thread.

For the price of a Mach e, before the mark up you can get a well equipped F-150 2.7 3.5 or 5.0.

 

People forget, or have never experienced, how stinky old pre-emission car were. I had an old truck that got evicted from the garage because it stank of raw gas and half burned fuel. On the other hand I had to explain to my wife that it is perfectly ok to warm the Tesla in the garage with the door closed. Decades of warning about carbon monoxide evaporated in a second as she thought about it.

 

I don't need 2 trucks tho. I also don't pay the markups or over MSRP.

 

So... Because you didn't open the garage when the vehicle is running, it's the vehicles fault?

 

Like when you’re looking at a picture of a stream in Montana or adirondacks or Alaska and it looks so pretty, and someone says what you don’t see are the mosquitoes, black flies, chiggers, gnats and horseflies.

 

:shrug: I'm happy with my R4P. EV around town, no worries about charging speeds when on the road.

 

How big is the gas tank in the RAV4 Prime?

Just looked at the Ford Maverick stats and the tank is 35% smaller than the Tacoma. But with around the same percentage improvement in potential fuel economy.

Save on gas but with the same number of visits to the pump and the same miles per tank.

 

14 gal apparently? EPA says 96 MPGe and 36 MPG (gasoline), I've found that @ 80mph that drops down to about 30 MPG but you know, the EPA is testing at 65mph or something.

The hybrid system on the hybrid 2wd maverick should be pretty good around town.. but it's a) 2wd and b) city

 

“Toyota appears to be exploring the idea of using manual transmission (MT) systems for modern electric vehicles, at least based on several patents with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Toyota’s manual transmission patents hint at the company’s next move in the electric vehicle market. “


https://apple.news/AzkDtkMUcRKy6cprGfQPU5Q

 

I doubt this will happen but interesting.

 

https://youtu.be/4TCtDkBYQ0g

 

Weird, broken link asking for permission to open apps on my computer, gotta say no to that dog.

Reading the headline about using a manual transmission with a modern electric vehicle make me think this belongs in the WTF forum. But, we are talking about Toyota and lately they've be wack-a-doddle about anything not resembling an ICE.

 

I think they are simply 'peeing' on the patent territory for future use - just in case. It would not make much sense to add gearing to a plain EV. The 15-20,000 rpms on electric motors is quite suitable to a passenger vehicle.

It may be useful for a crawl though...

 

What I was told from a brief discussion with EV West is that a single electric motor in the engine bay (e.g. EV conversion) mated to a 3 speed MT (1st, 2nd, 3rd) would be a very good combo. A 5 or 6 speed MT is likely overkill but you don't have to use all the gears either, I don't use all 8 of the forward gears when towing in my bro-in-law's freightliner b/c 1 and 2 are pretty beefy and we are almost always starting on flat ground.

I could see how it'd be slickest to have 4 electric motors, one at each wheel but with a 4x drivetrain I could also see benefits to a single electric motor in the engine bay, more like a traditional ICE vehicle. In that situation you might potentially get some efficiency gains (however small) with a minimalist transmission if it were only 3-4 speeds. I mean, it wasn't that long ago (my childhood) when an AT meant 3 speed for economy vehicles.

For crawl, for max efficiency at 80 mph, for towing, and maybe for maximizing MPG's in town, it may well be an attractive option. Best part is, you could probably lock it out in the middle and make it safe to drive for the non-MT aware driver, best of both worlds, yeah?

 

Houston, and I'm sure other similar cities, used to have a straight up smog dome around it. I swear it cleared up within a decade of the emissions stuff

 

The Porsche Taycan uses a 2 speed transmission, but it's not a MT. And leaving the transmission in a conversion car can make sense because of the compromises required to fit a fork lift motor into a VW. They could put an AT in there, but it just seems wrong. Electric motors are a beasts. Maximum torque at 0 rpm and power all the way to 20K rpm or more. With a 4 motor configuration wheels can be controlled in ways that a traditional single engine / transmission / transfer case / differential truck couldn't even dream of. (thinking of Rivan's tank turn party trick) Not to mention that all those moving bits are potential failure and energy waste points.

I agree, the only logical reason for Toyota to patent a MT in an EV has to be "peeing" on the idea.

 

Here's a working link: https://insideevs.com/news/566896/toyota-electric-vehicle-manual-transmission/
TLDR - Toyota fixes a problem where one doesn't exist by creating a MT to simulate an ICE in an EV.

I don't even know what to say. Maybe next they'll play recorded engine sounds so it will sound like an ICE too. You know what's engaging? Having torque and horsepower that responds instantly to the touch of your foot. Has anyone at Toyota ever even driven an EV?

 

I told my brother he needs to make an app to make engine noises for ev owners. I think this would complete the void.

 

Porsche does this in the Tycan EV

 

I saw aftermarket mufflers that fit under a Tesla and produce exhaust noises.