3rd Gen V6 plus OV Tune or 2nd Gen V6 ?

I'm going to make this post in both the 2nd and 3rd gen forums. I'm 59 years old, looking to retire soon. I don't care about all the electronic gizmos except that I like my phone to work hands free. No serious off roading, I just want a 4x4 to let me get to some fishing spots I can't reach in a 2wd. And we plan to do some travel in a couple years after I retire, and would probably use this Tacoma.

I'm looking at the 3rd Gen Tacos. On paper they look great, but many of the reports and reviews say otherwise. But it sounds like most of the issues can be fixed with the OV tune, and possibly 4.88 gears. I'm too old and crippled up to row to work, so it will have an automatic.

3rd Gen Tacoma
+OV Tune
+4.88 gears
Big investment, and it may still suck.
Is there any reason not to get a low miles 2016-17 Tacoma if you intend to do the OV tune?

or just get a 2nd gen and be done with it. I had an FJ Cruiser with the 4.0 drivetrain and it was awesome. And my son has a 2008 Taco 4x4 DC, so I have some time on the 4.0 setup. I like a torquey motor, low end torque.

I'm scouring Autotrader and other sites, and am really leaning toward hitting the road to find a clean, low miles 2012-2015 Tacoma with the 4.0

Learned something the other day, Tacomas with VIN starting in 3 were made in Mexico, VINs starting in 5 were made in Texas. I'm going to pass on anything made in Mexico.

 

Please do yourself a favor and test drive an actual third gen and get a feel for it yourself.

 

Have you ever test driven a 3rd gen?


Get whatever you like and can afford.

Good luck!

 

Want a 4.0 and not all the gizzmos then go get a brand new 2019 frontier PRO-4X.? You could get one this time of year for under 30k easy

 

quality first post..

 

That's tempting, and has been in the back of my mind. I just wish they weren't stuck in the 1990s.

 

I love my 2019, and I'm not in the anti 3.5 auto crowd that's so vocal here. That said; based on this comment alone, there's a very good chance the 3.5 3rd gen is not for you. Cleaner running, more fuel efficient engines of today, seem to be moving away from off idle torque, and requiring upper band of RPM range to do the heavy lifting.

 

I'm driving a Nissan Titan now, 2017. The motor is a beast, but you have to rev it up. The previous generation of the Nissan 5.6 had far less horsepower, but much better response and felt like a muscle car. This newer 5.6 is more like a race car, it'll go but it needs RPMs. Luckily it has an electronic shif buttons on the column shifter. If it was a 4x4 I probably wouldn't even been looking at Tacomas.

 

i'm also of the opinion that your easy way forward is a clean used 2nd gen. predictable. and you know the motor.

one more thing... lots of folks say to test drive the 3rd gen before buying. although i agree, it's not so simple. when i test drove it i knew it was a dog. but i planned to mod the drivetrain from the beginning and fix all the factory shit problems and compromises. i mention this because it's possible to make a 3rd gen awesome, but it can take a lot of work and it doesn't look like that's your zone anymore.

 

^^^100% right. Myself I really like the 3.5V6 and auto, but I haven’t put a bunch of bro-bloat on my truck so it’s still fairly light and nimble. If large tires and a bunch of steel armour is in your future, you should plan on a regear if you go 3rd Gen.

Having driven both models extensively, if I was offered a zero miles 2G and a zero miles 3G in the same trim, for the same exact price, I would go 3G. The 2G tacos are just not as capable for my uses, or as nice in general.

 

I've driven a used 3rd gen, don't remember the year it was probably a 2016-17. It seemed OK, but all I did was a short test drive. I need one of those 24 hour test drives to see how it will do in a variety of conditions. We have plenty of steep crooked roads around here to test it on, but none near the dealer.

 

My 18 with OVtune is actually far more responsive than my 13 was.

Same tires, same armor, etc.

 

Thanks for this useful post. I have owned 7 Toyota trucks, including an FJ. And all of them were solid trucks and I had no complaints. Just want to make sure I'm making the right decision.

 

Look for the clean low mile 2nd gen, why bother with doing the tune and gearing, all the BS- just to maybe have a truck that you'll like. Get a 2nd gen and put some beefy tires on it, you're all set.

 

2nd gens also require a regear to run well on 33’s, at least in my experience.

 

Absolutely. I all but lost 5th just going with 33s. My 18 still goes into the OD gears without any trouble except on long climbs.

 

Did you regear?

 

Dude. I am 56 so don't give me the "I'm too old" crap.
Have you even driven a new Tacoma yet? They drive just fine. I owned a few 4.0 4Runners. I owned a few 3.5 Tacomas. Both are essentially equal. You don't need OV Tune nor 4.88 gears to drive like a normal human. Stock works just fine. Just give it the gas and it will go.

There is absolutely no quality difference between US and Mexico period. This has been discussed, intelligently, many times here. Remember the same group of engineers (Toyota) runs both plants. Both plants have a lot of people and a lot of robots. The materials are the same. The processes are the same. The product is the same. With that said, each plant does not produce all model variations. You might have to eat your pride of go buy a Ranger... oh wait it's produced all over. Maybe buy a Chevy... oh wait... it is produced all over as well. Maybe a Jeep Gladiator or a Honda Ridgeline. Those are the only two I think that does not produce out of the US.

 

I'm running 33's no regear perfectly man. I think like 95% of the guys running 33's on their 2nd gens aren't geared.

 

If he wants torque buy a full size diesel. Or my Tundra.