I went for a second test drive and I love the truck, but.......

Problem is that the current trend of "economy" style turbo charged 4 cylinders, aren't designed as turbo charged engines. They are 4 cylinder NA engines retrofitted for turbos, and alot of them have problems.

 

Lol, the 02 Powerstroke ain't for sale. I drove it today and briefly thought about this thread. In 2002, this was having the best of all worlds. You had the fuel economy, power, reliability, and size. You just paid the up front premium and your were set. At that time, in NY, diesel was $1.06 and gas was $1.09. Diesel and gas have been pretty much on par until the last few years or so. Now, diesel is a premium, so the economy has taken a hit.
I am hoping Toyota will do to the Tacoma what Honda did for the CRV. We have a 2013 and a 2019. In just that one generation, they gained a few miles per gallon, more power and a bigger back seat. Toyota does not even need to increase the size of the back seat, just fix the damn cab so that the middle does not have a hump or the center console in the way. The room behind the driver's seat was fine for my 200 pound 5'10 19 year old. My 16 year old was fine behind the passenger seat. They both agreed they would kill someone if they had to sit in the center. The truck doesn't need more power, it needs more fuel economy. In this day and age, I am sure they can figure that out. Everybody else is. Honda did it by going from a 2.4 to a 1.5 turbo. I just did a 9 hour trip yesterday and averaged 34.5mpg. The older 2.4 would have gotten 30-31. The newer one is faster and quieter. Honda also has the hybrid option. I am not ready for a hybrid yet. I only need 2-3 more mpg and fix the damn center seating area! I am sure Toyota will deliver on this. But, waiting could result in losing the manual transmission. Let's see as we get closer.

 

Toyota is not one to make big changes and think outside the box anymore. They want reliable and don't care about much else and some of reliability has suffered. If you want a manual I would order one now before they get phased out. As far as making the back bigger, it won't happen. The mpg will get better but probably in the hybrid option which I personally am not one to be a guinea pig.

Rarely does the first year of a vehicle result in excellent quality. Im sure you remember the 6.0 and 6.4 or the older 6.9, they had alot of bugs

 

Taco Rider, you make a great point and one that I have thought about as well. Do I really want the first year of a new motor? Not really. Do putting on bed caps often help with these? I was going to cap it anyway for security reasons. Toyota lists the highway mileage at 24mpg on their website for the "sport". That was the package I was going with. But, people don't seem to be getting that.

 

Yes and no. Semi trucks are purpose build and are not cheap to maintain. Ask a truck driver that owns his own truck and pays for his own maintenance. The cost is huge. My boss has a ford 6.0. Great truck. On its second turbo and been in the shop multiple times for turbo related problems. Mostly cracked pipes and air leaks some fuel delivery problems. The big turbo engines are absolutely not maintenance free and taking a small car motor and putting a turbo on it so it can perform like a larger engine does nothing but shorten it’s life. Even more so for the off-road guys. Again my guy I’m not bashing on your 3.5 it’s a good little motor and does a really nice job. Especially in a Camry.

 

Most “real” trucks have turbos. The Ford 7.3 gas Godzilla makes peak torque at 4000, while the 6.7 Turbo Diesel does it 1600.

My buddy’s F350 7.3 gas has to scream the hell out of it when loaded down pulling mountain grades. And that is a truck engine in a real truck. Our Tacomas are glorified cars with a bed. NTTIAWT.

Haul or tow often, you want a turbo.That or a shit ton more gears, our Chevy C70 dump was a NA Gasser, 5 Speed with a 2 Speed rear end, towed and hauled great, wasn’t the fastest thing though.

 

Wasn’t directed at you personally. Just some on here complain about it being a car engine…they always had car engines. Seems fine to me, though I get what you’re saying. Not sure why Toyota never offered the 4.7 V8 in the Tacoma, yet the 4Runner got it.

Would prefer diesel, but ya know that will never happen. 310 ft/lbs @ 1400 rpm yes please. Me being a grumpy middle aged man who likes to sit back and cruise, would be perfect. Though the minivan engine does cruise at around the same RPM for majority of my driving.

 

Hey, I always wanted a Camry engine in my Tacoma. It’s fantastic!

 

I mean that's as close to a Camry as is NASCAR's "Camry".

Still cool tho, I guess.

 

Same engine, one tuned for car, one for truck. Remember, Toyota states in the owners manual the Tacoma is primarily a passenger vehicle.

 

Diesel and gas motors are VERY different.

 

ALL pickups are passenger vehicles.

Only some really HD types that are platforms for tow trucks and flatbeds classify as trucks if the gross weight goes over 36,000.

 

They have different sources of ignition, but same 4 strokes. A gas engine can be made to take the rigors of forced induction. Also, not all diesels are heavy duty. Remember the olds 350 diesel.

 

It’s like telling your wife or girlfriend I love you But!! I banged someone!!!