A 2nd gen owners thoughts on the 3rd gen

My 09 is waiting for a new frame so I'm in a 17 for the next 6 to 8 weeks. The 17 is owned by a local rental company and has about 8000 miles on it. I'm sure whoever has used it in the past has not tried very much to take care of it since it seems like it's been a rental it's whole life.

After driving it for about a week now I have some thoughts and questions about it.

Initial thoughts:

1. it is much quieter around town, toyota definitely improved the noise isolation BUT on the highway there's a loud wind noise from the drivers side. The first time I heard it I had to check if both side windows were up all the way. It sounds like the drivers side window or rear window is partially down, it's pretty loud and definitely from the drivers side only. Is this typical? I really don't think it's much quieter on the highway than my 09 but I'll have to wait until I get it back to really compare. I'll probably take a video of it and then video my 09 and compare that way.


2. power: after reading people's thoughts here and in other reviews about the new engine I was fully prepared for a turtle, it's really not as bad as I've read about. Yes, especially around town there are times where it needs a bit for foot pressure than my old guy but its just a matter of how quickly you press the pedal. I really don't understand why there was so much fuss about the "lack of power", IMO it's WAY overstated and a non-issue.

3. Entune: compared with my apple carplay kenwood unit entune is antiquated and slow. Sure, it will play my text messages and technically do most of the things my kenwood does but it's all much slower and much more difficult to do. This is what I miss the most, why can't toyota just go with the flow and adopt Carplay and android auto? SOOOOO much easier to use. Don't even get me started about the useless ScoutGPS system.

4. Gas Mileage: In the week I've had it I've done a tank full of gas with a mix of city and highway driving. On the highway I'm generally going 75-80. I'm getting an average of 21 mpg right now compared with 18 on my 09. Not terrible but I really expected better, I'm surprised this is the best toyota can do. Seems like with a tank of gas I should get around 400 miles, does this seem about average for you 3rd gens?

Overall it's nice but not THAT nice, definitely not worth the upgrade IMO. It doesn't do anything my 09 can't do except for that slight increase in MPG's. I usually drive about 300 miles per week give or take. In my old guy that's a tank per week. An increase of 3 miles per gallon gives me maybe 150 extra miles per tank which in my 09 would be about 8 gallons or roughly $20 extra per fill up. That would save me maybe $1000 per year on gas? So I guess if I did sell/trade in my 09 I'd need to keep my new tacoma for years to recover that gas savings?

My main point in this thread is to hear from recent 2nd to 3rd gen people. Are my experiences typical or is my rental 3rd gen unique? Does anybody miss their 2nd gen? FWIW my 09 has 130,000 on it and will be paid off in 10 months, I bought it used. It's getting the new frame and related parts so it will definitely be in better shape than a typical 130,000 tacoma.

 

Reasonable review. I don't think the "wind noise" is typical..... maybe rear end whine would be.

Anyways, I've driven both and I do like the 3rd Gen much more than the 2nd due to the quietness and the creature comforts. If I had a second gen in your position, I wouldn't upgrade yet either. A good vehicle that's paid off beats a car note even if the vehicle is a little nicer.

 

I miss the Sirius radio in my SR that I'd gotten used to in my 12.

 

Does sirius not come standard for the entune system? My rental has it, doesn't work since it needs an active subscription but it's hooked up and ready to use.

 

In before the lock.

 

I'm hoping you're joking, why would me asking about the 3rd gen and giving some opinions get locked?

 

I could swallow the first 3 points, but you're seriously not impressed the new engine is getting 17% better MPG? 21MPG going 75-80MPH on the freeway with city miles mixed in? That is seriously impressive for a 5k lb brick. What were you expecting?

I would say just keep your truck. Sounds like you've got a good 2nd gen, so just keep driving it. No need to post this to make yourself feel better. You already know your own financial situation. Keeping your truck seems to make sense for you.

 

I think you might be doing the math wrong? 18 to 21 is not a 17% improvement unless math works differently for me where I live. And wasn't really asking a question about whether to keep my truck or not, just stating some basic facts. Why so hostile?

 

Because any thread asking the difference between 2nd and 3rd Gens eventually turns into a shit show, I thought everyone new that.

 

I see it didn't take long.

 

Yep, now I see your point.

 

Sorry, bro, wasn't trying to be hostile. Your review was fine, except for the points I highlighted. Read more like jabs and unnecessary. Why would anyone buy a new truck based on a break-even point? That will never happen, especially comparing it to a new truck.

As far as your first point, yes, math must work different where you live.

This is the correct way:
https://www.skillsyouneed.com/num/percent-change.html

 

I am from the same area as you and assure you a 3 MPG improvement is 17% better than the 18 MPG you see in your truck. Well, 16.67% if you want to be more precise.