I went for a second test drive and I love the truck, but.......

The Maverick isn't a truck its a unibody crossover with a bed.

 

Well I can say is my Tacoma is impressive to me . I'm on 315/75/16 , stock gears , I am tuned , and the truck weight is 5400+ lbs. Went on a road trip early July ,167 mi one way . I stopped at local dot scales and I was 6100 lbs on truck and 1240 lbs on trailer. Do the math Tacoma was little heavy . During trip was able to maintain 60 to 75 mph . I was expecting truck would go slower with that weight, but I was I'm impressed.

 

Man, you want it all. No vehicle can give you everything so quit looking.
Try to park your F350 in a regular parking space or try to take it in the sand.
Try to put five adults in a Tacoma.
Try to pull a trailer with a Maverick.

Point is, they all give you something and suck at other things.
Choose.

 

Did I get 23 mpg hell no. Did I fear my truck was working too hard hell no. I monitor trq temps, tranny temps , coolant temps , and a few other parameters. Everything was good

 

You joke but the F150 Lightning does 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and has 430HP/775 lbs of torque at all times with no power curve or gear hunting and gets 70 MPGe .......

 

If you're looking for raw power, massive towing capability, and exceptions MPG, then look no further that the 2.7L. Trust me.

 

@clydesdale, thank you for taking the time to actually test drive the truck. Many of the fanboys here but the truck then proceed to bitch about the finish, lack of power, inability to comfortably sit, lack of heated seats and a bunch of other things.
As you have found, the Tacoma is not for you. No need to keep looking at it, it isn't going to get better if you keep a stock truck.

Enough said, good bye, unsubbed.

 

Same. I would have ripped this thing in my twenties and early thirties.

Neat.

That rolls off the tongue a lot better than "truck"

 

So then keep the powerstroke and buy a Stinger GT or an Elantra N. Fuel economy, fast as hell, roomy and fun.



There's no cake and eat it situation I can see. You can't run a dump trailer on anything less than a full size. You can't get fantastic mileage on anything that pulls a dump trailer. So you either need two vehicles or you need to compromise on your wish list.

 

Let’s not get ridiculous. 12,500 towing capacity with these specs would be sufficient.

 

HP numbers are close, Tacoma at 278, Ranger at 270. But Ranger spanks Tacoma in torque. 310 vs 265. Not only more torque, but it gets that torque 1000-1500 rpms slower. Not to mention the 10 speed transmission which keeps you in the powerband. I've been driving an Explorer with the same engine/transmission for a year and 1/2 now. The power is amazing and I'm getting 28 mpg hwy.

My brother and neighbor have 2020 Rangers. They are averaging 25 mpg combined city/hwy. And with a truck with 50% more payload (1500 lbs vs 1000 lbs) and 1000 lbs more tow capacity

 

I see no problem…

pic as of today.

 

Well, I may look at the Ranger then. Damn CRV struggles with a quad and an aluminum trailer. Thanks guys. I love the truck. Just no for me.

 

SwollenGoat, please explain how the hell you are getting those numbers. Mods?

 

Completely stock, except for a topper. Drive like an old man. Slow take offs, roll to stops. 245/70 P rated tires. 95% of my driving the roads speed limit is 55-65. Only drive the interstate if I have to.

Just turn 16K miles, and the mpg has improved a bit as the engine breaks in, was getting a solid 21.5-22.5 before. Probably going to loose those gains this Thursday when I toss on my 265/75 Yokohama Geolanders.

 

The 3rd gen Tacoma is capable of decent MPG numbers, but you won't see those numbers if you're driving 75+ or towing a trailer and definitely not if doing both. If you summon 100-150 horsepower on average you're going to consume fuel accordingly. It doesn't matter if you're driving a full size V8, mid size V6, or compact I4. If you only summon 40-50 horsepower on average, you get MPG numbers like my Tacoma sees. I don't think you'll find anything that meets your demands for pulling power and MPG, other than possibly the diesel Colorado ... but do you really want a diesel Colorado? I think your best bet is to keep the powerstroke.

Also, the Hybrid is not the answer. Hybrid technology recaptures energy when braking and can shut the engine off when it would otherwise be an air pump/heat generator and those functions aren't needed. Hybrid technology won't help you on the highway. The Hybrid Tundra gets worse MPG Highway than the regular Tundra. Hybrid tech doesn't help you when you're already driving a steady speed under a load. It actually hurts you because of all the extra weight.

And you don't get to make more power and use less fuel, that's not how it works. With sufficiently sophisticated technology, you can sort of get one or the other with the same vehicle, but you won't be getting 20 MPG in the same vehicle making 200+ horsepower all the time. You can get 20 MPG making 70 horsepower or you can make 200 horsepower and get 7 MPG. That's what you need to keep in mind.

 

Just keep the diesel. I’m glad I did. Sold the f350 7.3, kept the 07 f350 because it’s a dually and will handle any towing needs I have. Bought the Tacoma in 2020 and have a happy 101k miles on it. Have more miles on the taco than the dually. But I bought it for ease of use. Way easier to run to town in the little truck.90% of the time, I’m alone in the truck. Mileage difference between the two is a wash. Diesel, 16-18mpg unloaded, with trailer 12-14. Tacoma, 18-20 unloaded, 9-11 with a trailer. Basically. You need both to meet all your criteria.

 

And costs over 80k and are selling in the real world for 100k out the door...there's no point in comparing. They're legitimately two totally different classes of vehicles and income brackets to afford one. You could buy a Tacoma for 50k less. Think about that. You will NEVER recoup the added cost of the Lightning because it's a plug in. Electricity isn't free either, so you're still paying to "fill it". At this point in time with energy cost and costs of the F150 Lightning it makes no sense whatsoever to buy one unless you just want to piss away cash.

Yes, the stats are impressive but you're talking Corvette money. Those Lightning stats become a lot less impressive when you compare those two.

 

No kidding! I always thought the Ranger was a better option. I can’t imagine how small the Ranger back seats must be knowing how small the Tacomas are….

 

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