2nd Gen fanboy tries a 3rd gen

Not really... we weren't given a food license!!!

 

I bought a 2012 DCLB SR5 new and it was the biggest piece of junk I've ever owned. The thing would ping for octane like a diesel with 87 fuel. Some pings the OCD drivers might only notice. Anyone that got in my truck asked what was wrong with it. Toyota acknowledged it but had no fix at the time and I traded it in after 10 months. Swore I'd never buy a Toyota again. Later on Toyota reflashed them and corrected the issue according to the other complaintents. It might have just been a bad year as my buddy's 2014 ran great. It took the 3rd gen to lure me back in to the Tacoma. Drove in friends 3rd gens and loved them . Way more refined imo. Have my 2022 TRD almost a year and aprx 7k more miles than I had on the 2012 pos when I traded it in. No complaints so far.

 

3rd gen is in general good, and in most ways better than the 2nd gen. The transmission programming is awful though and anyone defending it is simply wrong, worst behaving conventional automatic of any vehicle I have driven - ( '96 Tacoma, '08 Tacoma, '02 Ram, '12 Ram, '11 Sonata, '14 Camry, '16 4Runner, '04 C-class, '97 Silverado, '19 Camry, '18 Impala, '22 300, '19 Fusion, '18 F550, '12 370Z, '15 Silverado, '16 GS350, '15 FRS, '08 IS250, '16 IS350, '16 228i, '18 M235i, '16 Mustang GT, '19 Ram, '22 Tundra, '13 Pilot, '08 Accord, '01 F150 the list goes on and I am tired of brainstorming...)

 

Shocker

 

They both suck! 2.7 inline 4 or bust

 

I keep hearing how these 3rd gen transmission's are bad. I totally disagree. I've got one and it couldn't be any better. Maybe the ones complaining never broke these automatics in correctly like I was instructed to.

 

Guys just cant handle the 3rd Gen , that's really all there is to it

 

I'm glad you had a fun trip with the wife op.

I've never driven a 2nd gen. My 4runner had the V8; would have been fun in a Tacoma. 3rd gen Taco feels slower, but I don't rip it.

 

I have both too, a 2012 and a 2023. The 2012 has almost 200k miles and has been very, very good to me. Time will tell on the 2023 but so far the only complaint is the constant shifting on the highway, particularly when in cruise control above 70 mph. I do find it a lot better when using "constant speed" instead of radar controlled.

My 2012 is a champ on on the highway in cruise, set it and I can go hundreds of miles without a shift.

 

Coming from owning all Jeep products, including an 8 year stint with a Fiat product at the end (2013 JKRU) and now owning my very first ever Toyota (2020 DCLB) I can safely and assuredly say the 3rd gen Taco is a very decent, capable, modable and overall great truck.
Mine has driven admirably and taken us every single place I've asked it to go, all while towing our 2000lb off road trailer. It has its oddities, but it's a VERY nice vehicle IMHO.
Nothing is perfect but I can tell you from pushing my first Toyota/first 3rd gen that the reliability and overall quality is worth suffering those oddities.
Strangely, for me the transmission shifting isn't really that big of a deal for me and drives fine, even towing up hills, I just use it out of "D" and usually end up in 3 or 4 when towing up hills.

 

Nissan's VQ series engines impress me the most in the class.

 

I only considered the taco when adaptive cruise control became available. It's a Tacoma that's late in it's model lifetime, giving Toyota the time to work out the kinks. more torque, less torque, frequent shifts, infrequent shifts, whatever. Does it get you off the beaten path, carry bikes and lumber and have ACC? If yes, then I'm in.

OP, was there a difference in how the ACC worked in the taco compared to your 4runner?

 

Maybe, but the fella who drives it is most definitely a king.

 

I drove a 2004-built, 2-Gen until 2022. Best truck ever. I sold it and got my 3-Gen. I think the 4.0 engine is the better, more solid of the two. But I am really enjoying my 3rd gen in Sport 2WD trim. Sometimes it chases gears, always in the same strip of hilly road of my daily commute. I don’t pay attention to it anymore.

 

Wow this post blew up a bit. Been hiking like crazy the last 3 days and haven’t checked this site.

One note after a couple hundred more miles in this truck. The gas mileage is really good. Noticeably better than my old 2nd gen and my current 4Runner at home. Really impressed with that.

 

Everything in life is a trade off. My 2nd gen was a great truck for 14 years.
I love the better milage my 3rd gen gets.
Still has enough power for me.
I don't race from red light to red light.

 

I just rented a 3rd gen off turo for 2 days to try it out. I'm coming from an 07 with the TRD S/C that I totally enjoy driving and coming up on 17 years of ownership. I'm no fan of the 24s turbo 4 engine at all. Not wanting to miss out on the last v6 I'm really considering getting a 23 before its too late. For stock its not as bad as I was expecting it to be. Trans shifting logic is a bit different then the 07 but not unbearable. Tune is the easy fix. If I do purchase it would be getting the mag s/c, smaller pulley, and a OTT or yotawerx tune right away. Interior is a nicer upgrade but I much prefer the 2nd gen TRD seats lots more side bolstering. They honestly are very similar to the recaros I have in my supra.

 

I just returned from a 2-week trip out west in a 23 OR, auto. Totally stock. Did a mix of local roads and freeways. Everything from mountains to flat desert. My last truck was a ‘96 F150, 4wd, “big six” & MT I bought new. IMO this Tacoma does everything it’s supposed to and more than well-enough. The trans downshifting is functional and does what it should, the 4wd tech is amazingly efficient, and I was predisposed to not liking it. Toyota quality is tops. Gas mileage is very good for a truck. I experimented with different speeds in different geography and got as high as 24 mpg. Open plains running 75 was high 19s to low 20s. Impressive. By comparison my old Ford got 13 mpg no matter what - loaded, empty, pulling a trailer - 13 mpg, and more weight with less TQ/HP than the Tacoma. Loved the old beast but zero complaints with the Tacoma.