Tacoma & 4 Runner sharing same interior

Just saw that Toyota incorporated the same the interior dash on new generations Tacoma and 4 Runners. That should same them on inventory carrying costs. Always looking to shave a $.

 

Good. That means any aftermarket mods will have a larger and more vibrant market

 

Wait until you hear about Toyota and Lexus sharing the same parts.

 

Yes, and it fits their history in a few ways. 4Runners are rooted in their pickups. Toyota makes a lot of different products on a few platforms. The strategy helps with engineering challenges, costs and quality. They also have a perfect strategy if you don't want to shave some costs or want a more grown up or conservative look - the new 250 Land Cruiser (Prado) platform.

Even when a gen 3 4Runner was sort of a fork from the pickups it was easy to see things in common.

 

The 2025 4Runner has the same engine, transmission and frame as the 4th gen Tacoma too.

 

All the trucks are basically the same in one way or another, major cost cutting.

LC250, GX, LX, LC300, Taco, Tundra, Sequoia, 4runner

Used to be just Prado family but now its all one big family with 2 engines.

 

They were hoping nobody would notice

 

If only it had the same stickshift, too.

 

You're implying that's bad. Why do they need to be different? What purpose does having 47 different configurations serve when just a few will do, particularly within the same brand. For all intents and purposes, the Tacoma/4Runner and Tundra/Sequoia are just the latter being the former with a long roof, a hatch, and extra seats. There's no reason for them to be different besides that. Shared parts means economies of scale, lower prices, and better parts availability for everybody.

 

Analog instruments need to come back and the iPad dash tumor needs to go away. I blame Tesla.

 

This is the part of Kaizen called SKU reduction.

 

When the nice thing is the same as the cheap thing no one wants the nice thing anymore.

 

Yes is this really all that surprising? The 4runner is the SUV and the tacoma is the truck. same base.

wait til you hear how many vehicles have the same frame platform.

 

You get analog representations of the instruments. They seem to work just fine. What's the difference? If you're going to say they're cheaper, I might wonder if you've looked at the price of a dash cluster in the last 20 years or so. They've never been cheap.

The giant dash iPad is there because their focus groups tell them that customers want that sort of thing. Blame the average buyer for that. If I'm going to have it, I'd rather it was up higher so I don't have to take the entirety of my vision off the road while using it. Having to look at the floor to poke at a screen is no bueno.

 

Exactly. This seems like a course correction after a long history of doing things wrong. I know some folks will interpret shared interiors across product lines as cost cutting or a bad thing, but when you step back from the initial reaction it makes a lot of sense. Beyond aftermarket part availability, it means that there are efficiencies in OEM part supply and availability also. In my utopia, that means that maybe a little of that cost savings ends up back in our pockets or negates the added cost of other mandatory things (even though sometimes it doesn't seem like it). Or, when we need service or there is a TSB, the process is faster, more efficient, and the techs are very familiar with the install resulting in a better procedure.

In the new reality of an era where the decades long stability of the supply chain has been tested multiple times, companies have to be rethinking how they approach this stuff. What Toyota is doing here makes a lot of sense to me.

 

I’ve just never run into a digital cluster that is as visible in all environments, situations, and lighting vs analog. White analog with black lettering is best. That’s it. Being able to see shit is no longer important.

The iPad is a distraction and they are putting more and more features that should be hard buttons into it. I don’t like taking my eyes off the road when I could be turning a tactile knob where I know where it is.

We now have retards making cars for retards and nobody has thought about what this means.

 

You want your mind blown... Toyota Matrix and Pontiac Vibe, it's the same car. Sort of... It was a joint venture. Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix: Are They the Same Car? - The Car Guide

 

So, a few things:

1. I haven't yet run into a situation where I couldn't easily read the cluster in my Tacoma, even in direct sunlight. In fact, I can't say as I've ever heard anybody complain about it. Further, I've had cars with black-on-white gauges. They're harder to read in direct sunlight than white-on-black due to the fact that the whole face ends up so damned bright. There's a reason why 95% of gauges have black faces.
2. I'm there with you about hard buttons being relegated to screens, but you'll be happy to know that trend is shifting back the other way. People agree with you.
3. I get what you're trying to say here, but you might want to reconsider your use of that word. It's derogatory toward people with developmental disabilities who are the way they are through no fault of their own.

 

That's gone on for many decades, look at a Geo Prism, it's a Toyota Corolla.