Any 24 Tacoma buyers X-shopping Gladiator?

I was looking at the ZR2 Bison, and Ranger Raptor and was like those trucks have front and rear lockers why doesn't the Tacoma? I was convinced the Bison is the best OR 4x4 midsize out of the box, but the Raptor has a turbo 6.

I was thinking no midsize has a V8 or SFA, then I thought about the Gladiator and the 392 from Stellantis. They could build a V8 Dakota midsize version of the Ram Power Wagon with a solid front axle, on a modified Gladiator frame and out do the entire 2024 line up of OR MS pick ups. Why did they not do this?

 

Dakota might still be coming back… maybe.

 

The number of people who will ever use a front locker out of need is vanishingly small.

Stallantis didn’t build a midsize SFA v8 pickup because that’s a niche that won’t drive sales at all

 

No jeep for me, but I am heavily considering the new GX.

 

It’s not a hybrid (for now) unlike the new Prado LC they’ll sell here.

More reason to get one.

 

Eww David…

 

Stellantis could put a V8 in the Gladiator very easily. Not having a Dakota at all in production makes sense as to why they don't build one. They have plenty of Ram products if you want a truck. They already have a Power Wagon, that has a V8 and SFA like all of their other 25-3500 trucks. There's the TRX, I don't think that's a sales leader, I don't think the Gladiator is a sales leader. Stellantis has their performance V8 coupe and sedan, not a sales leader either. These vehicles do have a good following despite not selling like crazy.

I don't think it would be practical to build a new body just to build a Gladiator based Dakota with a SFA, if the parts were already their that would be another story. Don't forget Gladiator won best in class 23 midsize for initial quality from JDP.

Toyota is also marketing the Trail Hunter as a rock crawler, and over lander which has IFS and sway bar disconnects, I also heard them say the hybrid delivers V8 like torque. Toyota wants to compete with Jeep in that department.

 

Front lockers nowadays are mostly for spec-sheet bragging rights, like tow rating numbers on midsize trucks. If Toyota installed them, it would increase the sticker price for a feature that most people would pay for, and never need or even engage. Basically, we’d all indirectly finance the development costs for the six people out there who actually make practical use of it.

Besides, a TRD Pro or TH will take most off-roaders well beyond their comfort zone, as-is.

And for the purists, there’s still the Gladiator, so long as you can tolerate the on-road antics of a solid front axle & floppy steering, not to mention its reputation for unreliability.

 

EV technology is already driving up the cost for people who aren't buying EV. Yeah I'll agree about front lockers being nothing but bragging rights. How many people actually need what any manufacturers halo pick up offers, TRX Raptor, Pro, ZR2-AT4X?

If Ram built a midsize pick up that could offroad like a Jeep. The competition wouldn't have a chance.



The Jeep Wrangler will out offroad any midsize pick up out there, it's built for offroading. Midsize pickups are built to handle small tasks on pavement.

 

Yep, Wrangler remains the most off-road dedicated vehicle.

And if I were considering specifically a Gladiator for off-roading, I’d probably be thinking more about my break-over than whether or not the other midsize trucks I’m considering have a front locker.

 

My sister just bought a Wrangler. She signed up for a beginner day at Rausch Creek through the Jeep dealer and took her boys. I took it out the other week and enjoyed the drive. It's a nice vehicle.
I don't remember Toyota offering OR days anywhere. Curious, does anyone's local toyota dealer offer that?

Anyway, to touch on the direction of the thread....No, Toyota doesn't need to add-on upgrades or beefier components to cater to the .01% of owners who might occasionally use it. And for those people to assume it's crazy for Toyota to not include it, tells me they're a little out of touch w/ reality.
I'm confident the new models will be more than sufficient for almost every owner.

 

I'd say this is true for most truck owners, regardless of brand. Pickups have become the "soccer dad" vehicle of today. "Soccer moms" have minivans and SUVs; "soccer dads" have crew cab pickups.

 

I'd disagree.
I don't see pickups up here in the northeast being used in that capacity at all. Maybe in the south or central part of the country. But not up here.

And if we now have SUV's, mini-vans, and pickups being identified as some parenting vehicle, what vehicle is left for people to own without being labeled? A sedan? So everyone should be driving an Acura or Lexus?

 

It’s not about accurate labels, it’s about making oneself feel superior to others.

 

Here's the deal.

Someday you'll only need the tough stuff for use on someone's personal land or possibly some form of commercial use (park rangers?), because all the off roading in public lands will be forbotten.

So the prime need (over 80%) for 4wd by the masses will be snowy paved roads. Even then, AWD is just about as good, especially with winter tires.

Therefore, there is no need for OEs to crank out big power heavy duty units.

The market today wouldn't support it anyway and the market of the future will be practically non existent.

 

Hi there. It was a joke...

 

You should have leaned into a bit more and trolled harder before announcing that it was a joke. Now they smell weakness.

 

I’ll remember next time.

 

YOY sales, the Gladiator is dropping in the US. Additionally, the Gladiator is being discontinued in Europe. I give this model 2 more years in the US before they discontinue it. It's a weird vehicle.

 

Fixed it for you....while I am sure that the TRD Pro for 2024 is going to get up there it does not take much to put a Rubicon over $60k