About to buy, MT or AT?

There are no advantages to owning a manual in 2020 and several disadvantages. If you just want to enjoy the driving experience then a manual can be fun. If you want a toy, buy the MT. But if you're going to actually use the truck for any hauling or towing the AT is a MUCH better option.

Old school engines developed torque at much lower rpm. My old Ford trucks with manuals had about the same torque as a 2020 Tacoma, but only about 1/2 the HP. But it was a MUCH better towing/hauling vehicle with the manual transmission. The reason; the Ford developed it's torque at 1600 rpm. The 2020 Tacoma needs 4600 rpm to put out the same torque. 1st and reverse in the old Fords was also lower than a 2020 Tacoma.

In a nutshell todays engines are designed to work best with the torque converters in an automatic transmission. You are working at a pretty decent handicap trying to get a load moving when you have to hit 4600 rpm to get a load moving with a manual.

 

Those were my two reasons for buying haha

Agree with everything else about the advantages of an AT in a truck

 

Not really.

 

Again, had both, MT with 4.3s felt good, could easily bark tires into second and even third on occasion, it felt torque-y and sporty honestly. AT with the 3.9s felt so much smoother, but never ever felt fast or sporty to me, it was boring. Its not the AT thats boring either, its the combo in the Tacoma. Now Im in a Pro Tundra, 4.3s, AT, and its a blast, especially with tow haul on. Its no race truck, but I've left a number of BRZ/FRS questioning their choice in "sports cars".

I feel like most with experience towing with the MT here will disagree with you, up until you talk about reverse.

 

100% honest truth right there.


... So where's the 2wd lo mod..

 

I wondered how towing/hauling would be in a MT

 

It's fine.

 

If you are even thinking manual transmission do it.

 

you get to pick your own gear, man. that's so valuable.

I love having MT in the mountain passes where I'm going around turns, up and down hills and I can keep the truck in 3rd the whole time. With an AT, it'd be shifting all over the damn place, up to 5th for downhills, then 2nd for uphills. Think about how many times an AT will shift when an MT won't. That wear and tear doesn't make for longevity.

 

on the a/t, we do have the option to switch as well. when i go up hills, i will put mine into "3" on the gear selector and it just stays there

 

c'mon bro it ain't the same!!!

 

It caps it in 3rd, but if throttle loading is high enough it will drop down, which would be fine in this case anyway.

"S" mode was the only way I would drive my AT when I had it. The truck would be in 6th at 35 otherwise. Any acceleration attempt would drop it to 4 and then lower if needed, it wasn't great to be honest. Obviously the MT completely rids the driver of that nonsense. The AT felt so off to me, having to be in a manual select mode to cap the gear, having a lower gear ratio, constant shifting on any slight grade. Just putting it in S mode made me think "why didnt I just get the MT", since I was trying to select gears anyway.

I still do it in my Tundra now, but theres only one choice with the Tundra.

 

Yeah. 15 years of owning Tacomas. 2MT and 1 AT. Zero issues towing through the White mountains regardless if it's a trailer full of toys, the bass boat and about another 700lbs of gear In the bed with about 300 more in the boat, full payload worth of yard material. It's a non issue.

My daily drivers for work have been 3500hd, 350 super duty, 250, 2500...

To try and pin towing abilities between the AT and MT and say one is actually better is a joke. I prefer towing with the MT for a bunch of reasons. Yes, reverse up hills can be challenging but I willing trade that for the other positive characteristics.

The folks trying to argue a towing difference are just clearly showing they've never towed with a real truck before. The Tacoma is one big compromise. It's OK at a bunch of small different things. But let's not act like the delta between the two is like jumping to a one ton.

I've had mine freighter with a full welder gen set, full job box and materials up ski resorts no problem.

Just thought I'd lay that to rest.

BTW in reality the truck starts Making power in the band at 3400-3600 which 1st gear has no issue dropping into that range when going to seconds. So we can drop that "4600" narrative too.

 

That’s what I say too, manual has 4.30 gears and makes a difference down low

 

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