2016 Tacoma SR5 long bed/ Open question

This is an open question.

I had an 08 V6 Tacoma with a few mods and enjoyed driving it alot.
I traded it in on a 16' Tacoma 3.5L V6 and have been cussing Toyota ever since! From lack of power when i need it to the tranny constantly shifting (annoying as F#$%) to the howling and super stiff ride ( could be my tires ) ( probably is my tires) BFG KO2's 10 ply's and a little stiff but still...
For the first time in my life i'm considering buying a car just because i've had such a crappy experience with this particular Tacoma. Things to consider: i haul a dirt bike from time to time.
i rarely haul anything. i've used the bed of my truck as a shooting bench.
So i guess what it boils down to is this, Do I keep the Tacoma in hopes that someday i'll need a truck bed? Or do i save myself some gas money and get a car?

 

Hopefully they will have a flash soon for the tranny issues.. As far as the stiff ride, you are driving a lifted light truck with very heavy ply tires..You have a very nice truck,stick it out while longer and see what Toyota plans to do..

 

If you are complaining about the transmission, try driving a Hyundai Sonata. Thing takes like a second to shift between gears.

 

Keep the truck ... you'll have more friends. (friends always need stuff hauled)
IMO, the tranny works fine ... its all about the fuel economy ... I get a consistent 20 / 24 MPG everywhere, city or highway.

The engine has the power, its just suppressed by the tranny.

 

Save yourself some money and find a Gen1 Tundra. Maybe someday Toyota can match that truck, the 2016 Tacoma sure doesn't. Chassis ground clearance alone the Gen1 Tundra beats the 2016 Tacoma by 1.5 inches.

 

I never met a homeowner who didn't need a truck now and then. My 4X4 SR5 V-6 D/C L/B has the stock suspension, and I find the ride just great on pavement and off road. It has plenty of power, and it shifts just fine. But if it didn't I have some options...ECT, Sport shift mode, manual mode. That's a heck of a lot for a truck.
My truck gets me thru flooded streets, curbs and to where cars there not go.
Sounds like you maybe having somewhat of a mid life crisis.
If so. go ahead and get that sports car, the Tacoma has great trade in value. I like the Lexus IS 350 myself. I went thru that myself already and strayed away, but now I'm back in the saddle again and I know you'll be back!
Cheers!

 

Seems like the Honda Ridgeline might be the perfect ride for you.

Should be a better riding vehicle than a Tacoma.

 

Ask a bunch of strangers on the internet , then do whatever you think is best .

 

Winner

 

Flash won't do anything to help power. The power issue is from small displacement. .5 liters is significant between the two gens.

 

Lighter tires, better suspension. I've never gotten better than 16mpg. In my opinion Toyota should have done a little more R&D with the engine tranny combo.

 

I have an SR and I swapped the suspension with a trd off-road before I lifted it and it helped a lot. The SR and sr5 have a stiff suspension

 

As far as power push that ect button. The power is definitely there

 

Having a 4L and the 3.5. The 3.5 has plenty of power. It just seems like the power curve is higher in the rpm range than the 4.0. The 4.0 has more of a low end grunt. Wife drove my truck for the 1st time last week and commented on how she wished hers would "get n shit" like mine did. Guess it's all relative.

Personally if you could find a tuner that could write a new fuel map/trans program. I'd imagine it would be a whole new truck. Thanks Obama and friends for your bull shit fuel economy mandates

 

Ya I don't get why my mileage is so bad? Even if I keep my foot out of it I still get bad mpg. Is anyone remapping the 3.5 yet? Yes the ECT button helps but it still doesn't start making decent power until about 3,500-3,700rpm.

 

Not that I've heard of yet. Give it time and tuners will start hitting it if there is a market. And I'm sure there will be a market with how much everyone bitches about the power they make

People talk shit about the .5 loss in displacement. They should be batching about how toyota has to neuter these motors to meet epa standards. What would be nice is a single turbo kit for them. Could you imagine the 3.5 ecobust f150 power in this little truck?

 

Buyer's remorse can set in quickly . I was getting aggravated myself. The new 3.5 is an Atkinson cycle engine (like the prius) for better use of fuel. Very different from the typical Otto cycle engines. The 16 SR5 is super quick, same 0 to 60 as your old 08 and still faster than the 11 to 15s.

Sounds like the low transmission fluid on a tow package. I took mine in at 1100 miles for the fix and notice less shifting at highway speeds and a smoother transfer from reverse to drive. My engine seems to idle lower also. Takes most of the day to get checked / filled, but should calm you down.

 

I know on paper the 16 has a really decent quarter mile and 0-60 compared to the 5-15, but this video shows a short looking sprint that favors the 2nd gen. Most of us don't mash the pedal for 15-16 seconds straight so quartermile may be irrelavant for real world. Probably does not help that this unscientific test was done at 1 mile above sea level.


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

 

Watched and get the unscientific feeling myself.

I was referring to the SR5s with RWD only. The TRDs have different ratios and are slower in general in all model years.

Vehicle drivers could account for the video test results. A lame driver can easily make a fast car leave snail tracks.

 

That TFL drag race was silly. It was a short distance. Naturally the lighter trucks with lower gearing will win that. For all the crap I talk about the 3.5 it has way more highway power than the other Tacomas.