Colorado vs Tacoma vs Frontier

i'm not a street truck guy. i use a truck as a TRUCK. i haul things, tow things, hunt, fish, dirt roads, fields, all over the place. i know alot of people buy trucks and they never see this kind of use.

i have several friends that are chevy guys, dodge guys, ford, and so on. what i have learned over the years is the manufacturers carry on the same traits.

chevy is great on the street, but any offroad stuff (dirt roads included) will cause the truck to rattle, and while the interiors are nice, they fall apart with rugged use.

dodge is better, but front end problems with offroad use, rear end problems, transmissions that don't hold up to hard use (except diesel versions).

ford is actually pretty good, i've owned several. the newer trucks tho are having problems with the small things, abs sensors, ac condensors, ecoboost turbo problems (known from experience with my 2013 eco).

toyota has always had a solid rep for offroad capabilities, and reliability. my "new to me" 07 has 130k miles and 0 rattles. interior is in excellent shape. the truck is solid and has and will be used as a truck.

with the newer models, if your going to use the truck as a "car" just about any will fit the bill and serve well. however, if your going to use a truck as a TRUCK do your research and choose wisely. it's no secret that over the last 30 years the same problems with each manufacturer are still present no matter how old/new the vehicle is.

 

That lower piece is for extra MPGs and is advertised to be easily removed if not wanted.
If the Tacoma ever gets a redesign expect the same, as they will have to get the MPGs up for new CAFE standards.

 

Video is down, anyone have another link? I can't seem to find it on youtube.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbqnSZBvBeA&feature=youtu.be
This what you are looking for?
http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/co...AID=10364102&mktid=cj260233&mktcat=affiliates

 

I was against my better judgement really considering a new Colorado. I didn't want to buy a first year model with teething issues but I was almost ready to take that chance until I found out last night what I found out. The new Colorado in its first year will be equipped with a 6 sp auto. Ok, that will work out fine but 2nd year units will be the new 8sp tranny. That would basically cause the resale of the first year truck to shit the bed. Kind of like the Ram trucks just before they came out with the 8sp in those. The model year previous will not have the resale value due to that upgrade. How many percent loss, I have no idea but it has to be sizeable.

BTW, I guessing the performance specs of the new Colorado with the V6 should be about a half a second to 3/4 of a second off the Camaro with the 0-60, 1/4 mile times. My guess is 6.8-7.4 seconds to 60 and 15.4-16 flat in the 1/4 mile with a 4x4 weighing in at 4300 or so lbs. we will see those stats soon if anyone gives a hoot.

 

^ isnt that on par with the current (or "outdated) Tacoma on 0-60 and 1/4? I realize that the taco is 300#'s lighter but it looks like with 25% more hp and only 9% more weight, it should be much faster. What size rear end does it have?

 

http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/08...ado-gmc-canyon-on-deck-for-8l90-transmission/
Top End Vehicles only it looks like to me. Top end Colorado at a premium price?
Probably will not see it in all Colorado's for a few years.

 

Like others have said, can't take to much from that video. The Colorado is new and should offer the latest tech etc. if it didn't GM would have a major failure on there hands, if the 3rd gen Tacoma doesn't Toyota will have failed. One thing I do see on that new Colorado I dislike is that the windshield washer nozzles are within the cowl vs. on the hood like the taco. My 05 Colorado had them in the cowl and they always froze up with snow/ice..my Tacoma's nozzles on the hood do not since the engine heat radiates upward and keeps them clear.

 

3.42 axle ratio but mated to a six speed transmission.

 

I thought the 3.42 was for 6 spd manual 4banger, all other configuration get a 4.10 ratio.

 

Drive a vehicle with the ZF 8 speed. It's magic.
It also comes with a 2-3mpg bump.

I am disappointed toyota didn't go with one.

 

Aisin makes an 8speed.

 

4banger gets 4.10 and all others get 3.42.

 

That's to bad then, say the new engine is the 3.5 lexus engine with the 6speed and it gets 18/26 mileage like the Colorado.

An 8speed would be 20/28, with a quicker 0-60.

 

Tacoma and Frontier are going into their 11th year of the same thing. I truly hope the Colorado digs into Tacoma's sales big time and maybe we can get a redesign every 7 years like the full size trucks.

 

The vast majority of mid-size truck buyers don't off road their vehicles and don't really need the extra clearance the Tacoma affords.

 

not me. not until they prove that it's a reliable vehicle, and that will take a few years at a minimum.

 

http://www.bankrate.com/financing/cars/all-new-cars-not-a-problem/ says that new vehicles and major redesigns do not have fewer problems than older designs that have undergone incremental improvements. My 07 Prerunner is a case in point. It has been less than trouble free, having replaced a rear axle bearing, 3 times on the inner seal, one u joint, computer reflash to get the the trans to shift correctly, rear spring TSB, a brake bleeding for the mushy brake pedal feel (unsuccessful and still mushy I might ad) all under warranty. Now with 110K miles another rear wheel bearing because of another rear inner seal failure, a front wheel bearing and the looming rusty frame issue which for some reason Toyota excepts Iowa from the list of cold weather states. Those are my items there are plenty of others listed on this forum. This forum alone has two vendors supplying front wheel bearings at very reasonable prices I might add compared to OEM parts so if they keep busy with this then there might be a problem here? I don't buy the Toyota superior dependability myth, my Tacoma has been no better, no worse than my 92 Ford Ranger in my experience. Is it a nicer and more capable vehicle than my Ranger, yes but no less trouble free.

 

After watching that video all I can think is, I love my '08. Wouldn't trade it for an updated/redesigned anything, not even a '12+.