Just rode in my buddy’s 4th gen. Impressions

Current 3rd gen 23 TRD Sport 6MT owner and loving it.
My buddy has a white 24 TRD Sport automatic with the RTS lift kit and a kick a$$ wheel/tire setup. Impressions:

1) Exterior is sick. Really awesome looking design. Looks like a rolling storm trooper. A+ on design
2) Interior is equally sick. Wow what an improvement over the 3rd gen. Seating position, comfort, headroom, you name it - Toyota knocked it out of the park. Just the interior and comfort level would sell me on this gen.
3) Tech, screen size (14 inch screen) is gorgeous. Another amazing redesign that makes my 3rd gen look geriatric. He did say he has some issues with car play and having to reboot it. The digital instrument display is amazing. Compared to mine, well, the 1990s called and wants my instrument display back, lol.
4) The ride quality. Leaps and bounds better as well. Smooooth
5) Power output seemed pretty decent, acceleration was super nice. but since I have a 6Mt and his is an auto, it was hard to tell. I don’t have a comparison with the 3rd gen automatics but it seems like the 4 banger turbo holds its own. I still missed the smooth sounds of the V6, you can definitely tell you’re in a 4 banger. Some strange whining noises from the turbo too at times.
6) Here are a couple issues I didn’t like too much. The hood vibrates, common issue I’m told. And the speakers and audio - big disappointment! The location of the removeable JBL speaker up at the top of the dash makes the music seem like it’s coming from just the front, even if I adjusted the balance towards the back. The sound just seemed like it was coming from a cheap speaker. My 3rd gen has much better audio, and I don’t even have the top of the line JBL setup.
7) Rear seat room was about comparable to my 3rd gen.
8) Minor issue… the TRD Sport stickers on the back sides look like crap. Way too small
9) Fuel range, he wasn’t too impressed. His tank was pretty full and the range was showing around 285 miles. I’m guessing it’s due to the RTS lift kit and big Nitto Ridge grapplers, plus the smaller tank size.

Overall impressions… great job Toyota and if my 3rd gen got totaled tomorrow (God forbid, I love it), I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a 4th gen 6MT. I would definitely have to modify the speaker/audio system. But overall I was pretty impressed. Enjoy your new rides 4th gen’ers!

 

Rare to hear something good about the 4th gen from a 3rd gen owner. Appreciate hearing your honest review of the truck. Were you able to drive it at all or did he just take you for a ride?

 

No, didn’t get to drive it, just rode in the front and back seats. I would like to test drive a 6MT some day so I can do a true comparison.

 

But is it worth the $ ?

 

I'd say so for me, the comfort and premium package made it worth jumping from the 3rd gen.

 

I commend you for taking a ride in the back seats. I sat back there once to see what it was like and I sure am happy my seat is up front behind the steering wheel.

 

Interesting impressions, thank you.

Personally I dislike the exterior styling and I absolutely loathe the interior styling. But that's just my weird taste in things.

 

good write up, I would like to test drive a new 6MT. I wish the frontier offered a manual still.

 

.............To each his own I suppose.

1. I find the 3rd gen exterior styling decidedly more handsome than the 4th gen truck.
2. Mine is a 2022 Trail edition. Bare-bones truck you might say. So, I have cloth seat covers, but I am an older, single guy, so my truck doesn't get abused; inside or outside.
3. Personally, I am glad my display screen size is no bigger than what we have in the 3rd gen. Don't need a big screen TV in my truck.
4. With 'E' rated KO2s, my ride quality isn't likely to impress an achy bone structure. But I am happy with my rougher ride, and barely notice the ride quality.
5. Mine has a V6 and not tuned up like some guys have done. But when I step on it, she goes. Doesn't take much to impress me.
6. Glad, we don't have any hood vibrations.
7. My rear seats stay permanently folded in.
8. Mine had no stickers on the back exterior bed. I put 'Trail' stickers post purchase.
9. I only get about 260 miles on a full tank. But I am an old guy, hardly likely to wander too far from home.

 

And there it is. But yes, to each their own.

 

I like to shout this whenever I can. Absolutely no reason to put E rated tires on this truck! I made that mistake before, thinking I'd need it for sharp rocks in CO. Not once have my C rated tires failed on a trail.

 

My buddy who is my mechanic also just got a 24 off road a few months ago. He loves it so far. He added a lift right away and also bought my SCS wheels Gen5’s from my 23 4runner Pro cause I bought a new set of SCS Wheels. He also has 285/75/17’s on it. Looks great and he told me to take it home for a loaner when my vehicle is do to be brought back in.

 

I installed the Beat sonic amplifier. It helps liven the basic non jbl system.

 

You guys dont get it...
MSRP on a new 24 tacoma sr5 isnt that much more than msrp on a new 2023 last year....
Maybe $1k more...

Couldnt give me a 23 now that ive seen & had a 24....
23 looks like a rounded outdated POS...
Amazing little truck!!!
Coming from a guy who repaired ford engines / master tech or 32 years.....

 

It's the gauge software, not the range. I get about 22 MPG which means with 18.2 gallons, I have a range of 400 miles. Sure, when I fill up, it says 325 or so, but it's obviously off. I was getting about 415 miles with my 3rd gen, so about the same range. Hopefully Toyota will push a software update that fixes that problem.

Hood flutter? Yeah, with the Sports, or so I hear, but I have not seen it with my OR in 4,000 miles.

 

I don't care for the exterior styling either, IMHO the 3rd gen has a cleaner look. I bought mine for the power train and I'm not disappointed so far. Love the get-up-and-go (had a 2.7l pre-runner before).

 

Went from 2019 OR to 2024 OR (base model except heated seats), almost everything is better. No regrets so far, I'm amazed at how much tech is standard now.

 

I wouldn't expect them to change to distance to empty calculation much. If you were Toyota, which complaint would you rather deal with.
"I still have lots of gas left when it tells me 'low fuel'!" or
"It said I had 50 more miles but I *%&#$** ran out of gas and got stranded, then got attacked by Lord Humungus and his followers!"

 

I'd hope they would deal with the accuracy. They can't fix stupid. My truck got a software update yesterday, and my fingers are crossed that I see a major bump in my range estimation on my next fill up. But I'm probably dreaming.

 

He’s been averaging 14-15mpg since new. light footed driver too. I really think it’s the lift and tires.