Just my opinion after having driven an F150 (3.5 V6) and Ram 1500 (Hemi) vs. my 2.7 Taco

My work truck is F450 with 7.3 gas, single cab 2WD, 6 speed slush box, I don't hate it.

 

First let me say I love my new little Tacoma. But I don’t know what Ram you were driving. I previously had a 2019 5th Gen Big Horn Hemi and a 2018 4th Gen Big Horn Hemi prior to this truck and they were both rocket ships compared to my 3.5L V6. I knew what I was getting into with the Taco so I’m not disappointed. My wife also has a 2.7 automatic Tacoma so I knew I definitely wanted the V6. But both of my Ram’s were completely different animals than my Tacoma. Way more powerful. And I didn’t even know my little skiff was behind me when towing it with either Ram. Now I definitely know it’s back there. As far as out of the box off-road ability and reliability the Tacoma is amazing. But if I need to get out of a sticky situation on the freeway(I travel for work) I miss the Ram every time. If anything, driving the Toyota has forced me to be a much more conservative driver. LOL Nothing wrong with that!!

 

way back in the 90s i had a 89 civic hatch. i had some aftermarket wheels with some low profile tires performance tires on it. that thing was like driving a go-cart. not super fast, but it would handle.
I passed a Trans am with a v8 in some twisties because he had to tap the brakes when i could just keep my foot down. of course once the road straightened out he blew past me.
power isnt everything.
here she is. Old scanned pic, pre digital camera days.

 

I used to want one of those CRX hatches. They looked like fun.

I get made fun of constantly because I look like Wreck it Ralph trying to shoehorn my way into this car. I don't care. It's a laugh riot when I pop the clutch around a turn.

 

The taco floats like a big fat bumblebee. Most trucks drive TERRIBLY. Even the Taco. They [trucks] just ride and drive better then they used to. Drive a reasonably sporty car that is low to the ground, then hop in pretty much any newer truck. Bleh!!! Wallowing, weaving, bloated, heavy, vague steering, sloppy soft in the front and hard in the rear with mismatched shocks, and so on. I understand a lot of it, it's a vehicle designed to either carry a load and maybe go off road some plus a DD for a family or a commuter. Terrible perimeters to try to design to.

It's why I really don't DD trucks and don't put many miles on them, they suck to actually DRIVE. I like to DRIVE. People are just used to how trucks drive because they haven't driven a lightweight decent handling car in a long time.

 

Coming from my last truck 2010 single cab base model 4x4 silverado that i drove the wheels off of(200k+ miles). To a 2.7L base model tacoma I have to say this: I miss the power of the 326cui of the chevy and that's about it. I have always owned a v8 truck all of them gm's. The tacoma to me is like an old school truck with a few modern extras of which I don't personally use. I never towed very much in my driving career, so this truck was perfect. I drive the thruway to and from work.... currently getting 24mpg with the sr at 70mph. These new trucks today IMHO are merely pimped out vehicles and are more of status symbol to me. The silverado I had for 13yrs served me well, but I don't miss having to park it, work on it or clean snow off of it in the winter. The tacoma is a breeze to do all of that. And at young 60yrs old I will take it, yes I get passed a lot on the thruway, but I usually see those that passed me at the exit ramp waiting for the light to change.

 

Lightweight is FUN!!

I went to a 75 280z in 1984 and ran hooligan circles around all the American crap [and much of the non Japanese stuff] on the road then from the mid 70's to new. It was so bad, heavy, no power at all, [even the vette had what, 145 HP or so?] handling was laughable, brakes, Oh God, remember the chevy citation and similar brake mess? And reliability? That was too much to hope for, one just prayed it started in the morning. And ''engineering?" Who could ever [want to] remember the 5.7 Olds diesel, loud, zero power and a life span measured in months if you didn't baby it. I think those gave toyota the hint that head gaskets could be a consumable just like an oil filter.

The one big plus was IF you liked ''floaty'' rides, the American automakers could hook you up with a crushed velour couch on wheels that could eat a foot deep pothole and never slosh the coffee in the cup you were holding because cup holders were still back to the future stuff.

And yes, I still have a 2100 pound car that loves to go around corners. Power nothing [but brakes] but you can feel a BB rolling on the road without it feeling harsh.

 

Totally agree. My wife has a tuned VW Golf Alltrack with 6sp manual. Total smile machine!

 

Depends on the type of driving that you enjoy. I have a 1989 Nissan Silvia that is super fun to drive because of the lightweight, RWD platform, 5 speed with a baby turbo, lowered a bit and on sticky tires, 13.8" steering wheel, short shifter. It's not overly fast in a straight line, but it's a hoot around corners.

My Tacoma is a 6MT so I still get to row gears, but everything is more comfortable in comparison and I really like how "trucky" it rides, even on 33" E Load tires. Driving the Tacoma offroad for the first time and eventually out in Moab, low speed 4wd wheeling, picking lines, airing down, locking diffs is just as much fun as the sportscar on a track is for me, albeit completely different experiences. Both have contributed to my joy with vehicles immensely.

As a DD, the Tacoma wins hands down.

I'm with you as far as full sizes go. Too sloppy as a driving experience, too big to navigate in tight spaces, and I can probably count on one hand how many modified ones I've actually liked.

 

It was this ride:
2023 Ram 1500 Crew Cab
Big Horn Pickup 4D 5 1/2 ft
Hemi V8 eTorque 2WD

LOL looked it up by the license plate but it was a 2WD Hemi etorque and I'm sure it was wayyy faster than my taco I just meant it felt mushy as in it didn't feel very fast. Kind of like if you're in a Cadillac and everything outside is numb where my Taco is more like a go kart where you hear/feel everything. I mean the hemi etorque was 395 hp that's bonkers compared to my lowly 159hp.

I will say one shocking thing that Ram V8 2WD got 20mpg over a full tank I drove down to the florida keys and back 400+ miles... so if you bought a taco to save on mpg... well...

and to the other guy, yeah the tires were goodyear but crap...

That said still love my taco as I'm never going back to a boring ride again. Life's too short =)

Mine's a 19 2.7 SR with the SX package. I feel like the cheap suspension is more sporty though as it's rock hard and I literally feel every bump. Of course it's not a sports car but I feel like Ace Ventura when he was in the Land Rover... haha

Side note, what do you guys recommend for a cheap fun RWD sports car? Was thinking a Miata or a GT86 used maybe even a Boxter. Something under 10k for a toy.

 

The Tacoma has more “road feel” for sure. And gas mileage is definitely shocking compared to my Ram’s. Really the only things I feel like I truly gained with the Tacoma is being able to park anywhere, reliability and ease of maintenance. For example, the 100k mile transmission service on that 8HP75 transmission can run anywhere from
$1200-1800 depending on where you go. The filter is built into the pan, the special SKF fluid alone is ~$600, there is a plastic conduit that needs to be replaced to insure that it doesn’t leak after service. Loads of problems are popping up with the e-Torque system as well. I just felt like it was a time bomb ticking away. At least on the Tacoma there is almost nothing I can’t work on. Short of rebuilding a transmission or engine, I’ve done just about everything else on my trucks since I was in high school. The Ram’s are the only trucks I’ve ever traded in out of fear of something major going wrong.

 

Plastic conduit? Not that I’m aware of. I dropped the pan and installed a new pan at 113000km’s, and am getting ready to do it again at 244000km’s. the fluid looked to be in good condition, the filter also looked good, and the magnets in the pan had definitely done their job. A new pan cost me $400 through a Nashville dealerships eBay store, and 8 quarts of Mopar transmission fluid cost about $200. That’s in Canadian dollars. The ‘16 has been a very reliable vehicle. The only non wear item, non consumable I’ve repaired is a faulty wheel speed sensor. I’m more wary of my ‘24 because of the etorque, but I wanted to have the last year of the V8. I didn’t want to find myself shopping for a new truck in a couple of years, with no choice but to go forced induction. I’m hoping though that the new one treats me as well as the old one has.

 

‘16 has an 8HP75?

 

Might be the difference. The 2016 is 8HP70. Was your Ram at DT?

 

the 2.7 is a joke. it never should have been offered in the crew cab configuration. I fell for the hype and bought one for reliability and gas mileage. 33k miles and it has a weird tick(think AC compressor going out but its not the compressor) that none of the others do and dealer says its normal and gets like 19mpg and runs at 5500 rpm all day long on normal hills and overpasses. I guess i'll hold out for end of year sales and get another 2500 or maybe get lucky and find a decent deal on a gen 2 raptor. i can't with this $hitbox.

 

DT? I had an ‘18 4th Gen Big Horn 4X4 and then a ‘19 5th Gen Big Horn e-Torque 4X4. The ‘19 had the 8HP75.

 

DT is the 5th gen Ram. I have a 2016 Outdoorsman, which is an option package on the SLT, and a 2024 Sport, which is a stand alone model in Canada. As far as the tube, from what I remember, it was part of the pan. You just had to line it up with the tube on the bottom of the valve body, and push it on. If it wasn't lined up, the pan wouldn't seat properly. It's pretty fool proof, and I say that as someone who is not particularly mechanically inclined. The hardest part was getting the job finished while the transmission temperature was within the service range.