Rented to Test Drive 4 cylinder Access Cab

My local Enterprise surprisingly had a 2022 4 cylinder Access Cab 4x2 on the lot, so I rented it for $96 to give it a real test drive that I wouldn’t be able to do at a dealer. Drove the roads I usually drive, able to merge on to highway & try passing vehicles, and drove at night to see if I miss fog lights and how head lights from behind and front effect me. Only thing couldn’t test was driving on wet road.

Coming from 2011 regular cab 3.7 V6 4x2 F150 I did notice less acceleration on highway and going up over passes and bridges. Also, didn’t notice speed easily creeping over 70 mph unless I really put foot down on pedal. I drive mostly in city and on rural paved roads with mph between 40-50. So high speed acceleration not a deal breaker. The engine noise didn’t seem to bother me at higher speeds, and I will have radio on anyway. Wind noise fine. With AC on, it all blended together. By the way, AC was cold, and radio speakers were loud. I have read some say stock audio on Tacoma not good, maybe they are talking about hearing it from outside truck. I had volume up to 50 and very loud inside. Only change I had to make was fade some to rear speakers. In city between 25 and 50 mph, drove great. Some bumps in road felt better in the Tacoma than F150. Acceleration from dead stop was fine for my driving style. Handling on turns and around bends were good, no roll over feeling. Seemed like the side and rear view mirrors were better positioned and sharper than my F150. . I do miss the fog lights. No issues with headlights from seated position in Tacoma. Funny how my F150 roof is higher, but the Tacoma had more ground clearance, as my 84 year young Mom had a hard time getting into it. The seat in Tacoma reminds me of a lazy boy recliner, as you sink/fall back into it.

The on screen read out said I averaged 24.9 mpg, as I drove about 60 miles, 50/50 split city and highway. When I was on the highway going 65 for about 10 minutes it looked like the bar chart showed 30mpg. I was looking to average 20+ mpg if I got this Taco. I average between 17 to 20 now on F150 depending on how much highway driving. All highway I get closer to 22, when new got up to 25.

I think I would be happy with the 2022 4 cylinder before they update on 2023 models. Glad there was no engine stop start on this model, and I like using key to start up, all I need is fob to lock/unlock. The back seat to store stuff, rear camera and touch screen, protected bed soft drop tail gate, slightly narrower to park, and the 4 cylinder reliability outweighs the acceleration issue and fog lights. I didn’t even mind the steel wheels. I know I can add the fogs and change wheels afterwards. Not even sure if I want to test drive the V6, and don’t need 4x4, so looking to save money. The question is, what type of price will this Taco sell for once dealers get inventory maybe by end of summer? I believe last year this model had a sticker around 28-29K depending on if it had step bars and mud flaps as options. Last summer a couple dealers in my area were not adjusting price 2 or 3 K, but added $700 extra protection BS. This year same dealers had 2K+ adjusted price on few models they had in stock. Fortunately my F150 still runs, so I can continue to wait it out for sticker price or less if things get bad this Fall.

 

Just got the same truck. I have a first gen Tundra too,It runs perfect. But with hyper inflation coming if you can find one at MSRP buy it!

 

The 2.7 is a fine engine with adequate power. It will serve you well

 

If you like what 4 cylinder Toyota engines do for you, they are AWESOME.
I definitely wouldn't have wanted the 6 cylinder.

 

Three weeks ago I got a 2007 Access Cab. I went backwards.. traded in a newer SUV. Took a financial hit, but well worth it IMO. I find the 2.7L to be just fine, and 50% of my commute is on backroad hills. Mine is a 5 speed manual.

Although I wanted a manual, I will admit modern automatics have improved and rival manuals for fuel economy. Glad I found mine though, they are extremely rare in the price range I paid.

 

My 22 SR5 DCSB 2.7L Tacoma got delivered yesterday.. Took 34days from order to get a " Rare SR5 2.7L " that's what the dealer claimed at least.. Straight MSRP no mark up or unwanted Stealership add ons with the exception of what I added," the SR5 appearance package" $685 ( alloy rims and painted over fenders) which is a bigger sized rim and tire and "paint protection film" $618..$31,898 with the $1,215 delivery fee and options included..just add local sales tax, tag , title etc..about $34,500 total out the door..I haven't had time to pick it up yet to get exact numbers..Seen some 22 SR Access Cab Tacomas with window stickers of $27,600 35 days ago but they had the " utility package " subtracting $1700 ish off the MSRP of a normal Access cab by deleting body colored trim and bumper paint and a few interior features, like Access cab rear seats etc..more commercial customer oriented model then average customer..

 

Congrats on the new Tacoma! That actually seems like a very reasonable price for a brand new Tacoma. I've seen several that are a few years old going for that price or more lately.

 

Congrats - you got a very good deal on a great truck. Don’t get discouraged the first 1500 miles - this engine starts very sluggish while the transmission is adaptive “learning”. After 1500 to 2000 miles it will perform very differently (better) than the first 1000 miles. The following recommended tire inflation pressures made a noticeable difference / improvement in truck handling and ride comfort - 35 psi front / 33 psi rear