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

If you do a lot of highway driving, the Taco aint for you!

You could hold out for the EV Taco!

 

Think most people would be better off in that with a small utility trailer. The 5’ bed on the Taco DCSB is all but worthless, rear seat legroom is ok for toddlers and not much else.

If you don’t like minivans there is the Highlander. My stepfather has one, it is very comfortable, rides better down washboard roads than my Tacoma.

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/buy-a-toyota-sienna-not-a-highlander/

 

Lol, I am glad you mentioned that bed of the Taco. I wasn't going to go there. It is "cute". But, I was going to overlook that if the towing, ruggedness and suspension were all tough and truck-like, until we got to the fuel mileage.

 

A lot of guys complain about the Tacoma DC back seat….. it definitely isn’t cavernous or luxurious, but very functional. We just did a day lake trip - 5 hours driving/riding with my 6’4” driving and three high school offensive linemen. My son was the shortest and smallest at 6’2” / 240 lb. No problems and no complaints - we were NOT “packed like sardines”.

 

Lol bro what, 20 years? You won't even be able to buy a ICE vehicle in Europe after 2035....That's 13 years..

 

"I'd rather have a real truck" And then immediately mentions a Maverick that isn't a real truck but a unibody crossover just like the Ridgeline he's bashing. You can't make this shit up, ignorance is bliss.

 

We need a modern version of the AWD Astro/Safari van.

 

Yeah let's all agree to meet here in 13 years and see how well that little piece of bureaucratic idiocy holds up to reality.

 

I know the Ranger has more torque but it does not feel like it. I should have clarified.

 

The industry is clearly moving that way with or without legislation forcing it. Do you think Ford, Toyota, etc. are investing more or less into BEV's YoY? Ford has announced doubling production on the lightning alone twice now and we are are seeing them go for $80k+ when they are $40k MSRP trucks simply due to supply not meeting demand. The F150 lightning at 40k shits all over anything Toyota currently offers and does everything better aside from long distance towing, which the Tacoma is also relatively garbage at as well.

https://electrek.co/2022/01/04/ford...-per-year-by-2023-600k-bevs-annually-by-2024/

 

The *** will hit the fan when these early adopters get smacked in the face of reality of a $10k+ charge to replace their failed Lithium Ion batteries or find them impossible to adapt to whatever technology replaces it. The governments are the one either shoving this garbage down mfrs throats, not the consumer, whether by overt legalisation or backdoor threats.

I have no problem with EVs as an alternative, but selling them as a ready-to-go replacement for ICE is an intellectually dishonest marketing ploy.

 

following!

 

Batt700, easy with the "ignorance" stupidity. You misunderstood. I'd rather have a real truck, if the fuel mileage is like a Ridgeline. Ridgeline gets same crap in town mileage and only marginally better on highway. The maverick is supposed to be 30mpg on highway. That is a whole lot better and then we can overlook some truck features.

 

I have a new Tacoma and 1k miles in I find myself reassessing my decision.

These trucks just don’t make enough power to justify their poor MPGs. I’m averaging 15.5-16.5 mixed driving, and they really drive like a 20 year old Tacoma did.

My previous truck made 450+ HP with a twin turbo 3.5v6 and got 14.5-15.5 MPG and had all the passing power you wanted on tap.

I was fine moving away from the reliability of the Ford, but really expected to see better MPGs or better drivability than I get.

Also, I have a Cummins diesel I use as my designated tow rig, so tow ratings and ‘real’ truck arguments are moot. I just wanted a truck as a daily driver and weekend off-roader. We spend every weekend in Big Bear, trucks sees a lot of mountain highway driving.

 

I wonder how much the battery disposal fee will be when you have to replace your battery. Or how much will ths salvage yard charge you to dispose of the battery?

What country would be willing to buy recycled batteries?

 

The Lightning Pro does everything perfectly as long as you don’t need to do it for more than 200 miles. Add in cold weather, loaded bed or towing and that’s going to drop substantially. That would work for my commuting but not got my weekend activities.

 

It is by definition not a truck. That would be like calling a bicycle a motorcycle. It is a unibody crossover, like the Subaru Baja was.

Uh, you must not have gotten the news in 2019 when the US D.O.E opened the first lithium-ion battery recycling R&D Center: "ReCell" Oh look they had a massive breakthrough discovery in just 2 years time...

https://www.anl.gov/article/breakthrough-research-makes-battery-recycling-more-economical

 

Nearly half of all Tesla vehicles produced last quarter are already using cobalt-free iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries. the current LFP batteries have much longer lifespans than Lithium Ion batteries or ICE and can last 12k discharge cycles 300 miles x 12k, you do the math. These batteries will far outlast the vehicle or any ICE counterpart... When they switch to LifePo4 batteries within the next couple years we are talking millions of miles, welcome to the future.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesm...-year-4-million-mile-battery/?sh=540846d172f4

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1945-7111/ac67b5

 

If you are getting only 15.5 - 16.5 in your new Tacoma you must be driving like my wife - full throttle (nearly) as soon as the light turns green then slam on the breaks at the next red light. My 2022 DCLB is thus far getting about 19.5 in entirely city driving with a stop light or 4 way stop every mile.

 

I agree, the one place BEV's are lacking right now is range while towing or doing real work, they just can't cut it. In every other category they shit all over ICE alternatives.