Time for real talk: TFL and the war on Tacoma

Ok, I know these bumbling fellas are the likeable “dad I never had” to some of you. I find them enjoyable to watch, even if I do not find them impartial in the slightest. However, I can no longer ignore the short shift they repeatedly give to the Tacoma. It’s to the point where I suggest they might be compensated for making the other brands look good. I wouldn’t call them shills but it might be a reasonable description based on their last video. Like.......if it’s gonna be a Ford ad, just make it a Ford ad. Stop with the nonsense.

My statement:

Im not an Tacoma MT fanboy and I drive and enjoy a Ford in my working life. Ford makes great trucks and their turbo engines are fantastic. I agree the Tacoma Pro is just a trim package, and also know that most any Jeep will beat any Tacoma in a face-to-face off-road challenge.

However: In this video the MT Tacoma is not given any chance of a good showing because the guys refuse to even bother to learn the most basic controls, while demonstrating a deep knowledge of the off-road features of the other two trucks. It seems to be on purpose to make the Tacoma look bad. No one can argue that. The guy driving the Tacoma did not spend the same time to learn to use the Tacoma’s off-road features as he did the other trucks.

The Jeep: twin locked for the challenge from the start.

The Ranger: Locked and in Trail Control mode for the challenge from the start.

The Tacoma: No Atrac engaged / No locker engaged (on first attempt) / eventually yeeted up the hill at 6000RPM by a clown than can’t drive standard.

Anyways........you be the judge:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BExI326rdt0

 

I'm always amazed that their videos get so many views. They make some of the lowest quality car/truck content on YouTube, IMO. I feel like they just make up opinions on the fly.

 

I have a 2019 F150 as a work truck and have found two short comings that piss me off to no end

The dash is badly warped on the passenger side

The driver side seat belt is a huge hunk of shit. I've never owned a vehicle where i've slammed the seatbelt in the door as many times as this F150.

With that said the truck checks a lot of boxes if I needed a full size half ton, but these two issues would have my looking at what GM has to offer.

 

Who cares what some joe schmo says. Drive what makes u happy and don't look to the zietgiest for confirmation. If the Tacoma makes u happy and checks your boxes, who cares what someone else puts in the internet

 

Yeah all the videos I’ve seen by them have been pretty bad

 

This. They're trash, and there are many many other better channels out there. I don't even say this due to any Tacoma bias (I think the chubby Canadian guy likes his Tacoma), it's just that they're just not good. Like grifter level not good.

Maybe if they turned over the entire channel to the son and yeeted the dad into the sub, that might make things better. Or not, who knows.

 

I hate the son.

Fact is they have a formula that works and gains a lot of hits.

 

9 times out of 10 they don’t know what they’re talking about

 

Yeah hahaha I kind of hate that kid too.

 

“Power wagon don’t care”

 

Because it’s fun to discuss the world.

 

I love TFL's ike gauntlet. Lately, their offroad comparisons seem to be biased to Ford, for some reason. If that Tacoma was an auto (not that I have anything against manuals, but they clearly um... seem to lack the offroading clutch skill in a manual), had been locked and in CC it would have beat the shit out of the ford. The Jeep isn't a fair comparison, not to mention that its a fucking bus and will suck on anything tighter than a double wide trail.

 

They find Toyota trucks boring because they're really popular in Colorado. Everyone has one. Because of that they have no interest in them so they dont bother learning about them.

In one of their videos comparing the 4runner to the Land Rover Defender, there was an fake TRD Off Road. It was actually an sr5 but it had the trd off road badge on the side. Only a Toyota fan like me would recognize the difference. Because it was a fake, it had no rear locker so it struggled and made it look real bad. The 4runner in that video was owned by the Land River owner's wife. I think the owner doesnt even know they have a fake trd off road, and of course tfl couldn't spot it either.

 

Classic. This is what I mean. These guys are ‘experts’ until it comes to Tacomas.

 

I'm not defending them here but in the past couple videos with the gladiator, ranger tremor, and trd pro manual they have clearly stated that the gladiator is there just to set the bar high and that a manual against auto isn't a fair comparison. These series of videos are just showcasing the Tremor and it's abilities against other similar (but not equal) vehicles they had on hand at the time of filming.

 

Yes. They say all that, but to not use Atrac or the locker on the Tacoma, and compare it to the Ranger locked and in Trail Control, and the Jeep locked, is not really any sort of comparison at all. It’s like comparing three archers and giving two of them arrows and one of them darts.

 

I couldn't watch the OPs linked video...I tried and just couldn't do it.
Not to say I haven't watched one of their videos before...that said...why I have different vehicles for different purposes.
2016 JKU Rubicon, lifted on 35's, toy
My 2017 TRD Sport AC, camping, sometimes work trips out of town, and to carry gear for Jeep off road trips.
The wife has her TX Pro because she only likes to drive a truck, likes to fish and it carries her and friends kayaks.
A 2012 Impala my daily driver for the 43 mile one way commute to work.
I don't care much for Ford's in general and have seen one 4x4 EcoBoost fall apart under 100k miles. Junk
I really dont care what a couple YouTube video dudes think..

 

So you realize all you’re doing is increasing their hits right?

 

In the world of general audience truck reviews, I like the Edmunds guys the most. TFL is pretty much what if you knew nothing about off roading, didn’t bother to learn, then bought this vehicle.

https://youtu.be/jWPHJVy8TTA

 

I never even watched, I venture to say a good 90% of car content on YouTube is click bait shit