Under powered

Having owned 3 third gen Tacos: Keep it stock, including the tire size and load rating and you'll have plenty of power as a daily driver.

 

The more accurate term I think of is laggy. Like really laggy until your foot is buried into the throttle. Even after a tune. I’m in a fourth gen now as I couldn’t stand the 23 trd sport I had. Though my biggest gripe was comfort. I even had the premium w\ a 10 way seat. Had it about a year and a half and I was never comfortable in it.

I’m much happier now!

 

They aren’t underpowered at all, some people just don’t like the way the ECU is tuned from the factory.

I didn't like it, got it tuned, and that was the end of that.

 

The problem is that people were very used to the 2nd gen 4.0 and where it made it's torque in the RPM band [torque moves things] as compared to the 3.5 3rd gen that made it's torque higher up in the RPM band. Now it's not as bad as some claim when you look at it ON PAPER but the buttometer told a different tale, especially since the transmission gearing was very poorly configured and it wanted to shift up even before it got into the ''power band'' of the engine.

Anytime you replace an outgoing engine with a ''new'' engine [for the model] it will be looked at pretty severely, same for the transmission. And the 6 speed had a lot ahead of it to be as good as the A750 was even though it was reasonably archaic by it's end of life. And just because you have more gears, that doesn't mean it's ''as good'' as one with fewer gears but properly configured to match the engine output.

 

Tell that to my tiny AC 1990 Mazda b2200 with like 95HP that barely made it up any hills. Even 3G feels like a spaceship compared to that little truck, makes up the hills with absolute ease. There is no comparison man.

If for some 200HP is not enough to get around then the problem is not the vehicle...

 

We are talking about 600RPM difference...

4.0L makes peak torque at 4K RPM
3.5L makes peak torque at 4600 RPM

Both trucks make peak torque up high...

Zero issues with 4.30 gearing in my MT truck, gets up and goes when I ask it to.

 

But 6.8 seconds from 0-60 is way too slow for some

 

People are spoiled today.

A fox body Mustang GT 5.0 did 0-60 in 6.4 seconds. The Tacoma is not slow by any means. If you wanted more power you should have bought more truck (Tundra 5.7, Ram Hemi, Ford EcoBoost).

 

Waaaaay too spoiled.

Most folk nowdays need a 16' infotainment screen and a heated steering wheel just to get around... Its sad, really.

Speaking of fox body Mustang GTs... Man i saw an absolutely mint convertible one yesterday, MT too. I absolutely love fox bodies. One day hopefully I will own a black Cobra Orrrrrr a black IROC-Z, love them both.

 

They can always "convert" ...

 

Both Taco generations offer plenty of power for almost all mid-size truck duties.

If you want to gap/smoke other new cars then perhaps look elsewhere.

I am a little disappointed that the top of the line new Tacoma is over 1.5 seconds slower 0-60 than the top of the line Ford Ranger (their factory tune upgrade for the Raptor Ranger brings it down to 5.3 seconds.) Not that I'd open my wallet wide enough to buy either new off the lot.

 

The good ol’ days!
I think the GT sounded much better (that 302 was sweet) than the IROC…..but the IROC with T tops was a beautiful car. My dream car as a kid was the same era Trans Am.

 

Those are beasts, the only thing is that ECO boost with the dual exhaust sounds like a hoover vacuum haha.

Yes, I would say that 302 sounds better. Its a very distinct rumble, i love it.

Buddy had 1990 Camaro RS with a V8, it was torquey off the line but didn't have much balls in higher RPMs. In high school I owned an 87 MT camaro with the 2.8L haha! Surprisingly it wasnt bad at all, even chirped tires when shifting from 1st to 2nd when flooring it. Could do brake stand too, one tire fire though... It was the biggest piece of shit I've owned, like everything broke on that car.

Trans AMs are sweet. Cars used to be so cool...

 

@OP...I love mine. It has plenty of pep for me. I was happy with my 2.7L's, and this 3.5L is better in every way. Just my opinion......

 

Ha, I encountered this subject often among my colleagues. When peeps asks, I tell them my truck has plenty of power especially durability (speaking from gen 2 & 3 experience).

Our company had an 19’ Chevy Silverado transmission kept overheating during an avg 5k lbs pull. My taco came to the rescue all the time. Unless your trying to pull 5th wheeler home or drag race, I believe the Taco TRD rocks.

Plus, you got many different tuneup options, depending what the owner’s end goal is.

If I may suggest, do some test driving and create a pro & con list. This is what I did when deciding my truck purchase.

 

The Raptor R that was pictured, on the other hand, has a supercharged 5.2 V8 making 700+ HP. It sounds really nice

 

Ah. My bad.

Yeah im sure that V8 sounds badass

 

Shoot, 200K in 21 months. Your butt must be sore!!

 

Neither of my previous Rangers made it to 200k.

 

My previous ranger (07 mazda B4000) Had 165K miles when I sold her 7 years ago, still ran like new. I wonder if its still on the road. I miss that truck dearly, wish I could have kept it.

Was a very reliable machine, never let me down.