About to pull the trigger on a 2020, looking for advice

I'm about to purchase a 2020 TRD Off Road. I'm leaning toward a manual transmission, due to what I have read on here about the automatics. Am I wrong? Or has Toyota solved the previous AT problems for 2020? I look forward to the feedback. Thanks!!

 

Go drive an auto first, it's not that bad

 

Solved, and welcome to TW!!

 

I am a MT fan, almost every vehicle I have owned has been MT, for the taco I went with an AT so I could be lazy (offroading and in traffic). No issues with my transmission. It hunts a bit but it doesn't bother me. Do an extended test drive (overnight if you can) and see what you think of it.

Note - I have heavy 33" tires so my truck hunts for gears more than a stock truck and it still doesn't bother me but everyone and their acceptance levels are different. Good luck with your purchase/new truck.

Edit - I have a 19

 

I have a 2018 AT and don't mind it.
It is a bit underpowered for a truck due to gearing and tune, but if you are going to mod it (increase weight, tire, etc), you will probably going to regear anyway (unless you don't care for it hunting gears). After re-gearing you may want a tune. Not necessary though.

 

Had a17 automatic zero problems with transmission, it's the gearing and a high rpm engine that makes the transmission work more than it should have to. Have a 19 manual now and it's geared pretty good for the engine. Personally I like the manual better but nothing wrong with the automatic either.

 

Try em! Before you buy em! Unless you know you you want a manual.

 

OP, just to be clear, the Tacoma had some updates in 2019 and 2020 to the ECU. The engine feels more powerful and the trans shifts better.
I own a 2019 and I had a 2020 rental for a week. The 2020 felt even better than my 2019 as far as shifting and felt power. I think they did something extra with the programming in the 2020 models.
You should probably ask only those that have driven both a 2020 and also a 2016-2019

 

The Aisin AC60F 6-spd automatic slush box is pretty bulletproof. I feel that my 2019 AT shifts just fine.

 

I have a 2018 TRD OR AT and haven't had any issues with the transmission.. Drive both and then decide which one you like better. Good luck with your decision.

 

no problems with my 2019 OR AT. The real issue is an underpowered engine with not much torque at the lower end. The gear hunting you mentioned is the transmission trying to compensate for the lack of engine power. With the MT you can control this to your liking and it also comes with a lower geared rear so that helps a bit. I don't think anyone can decide for you. Test drive and decide. Me... if I had it to do over, I'd still go with the AT, especially since a good deal of my driving is in town and I like to eat and drink (soft drinks and coffee) while I drive.

 

Buy a low milage second gen. Much better vehicle

 

I had a '16 AT for 3 years. A lil bit gear hunting here and there.
Now own '19 for 8 months, 4k miles. No hunting at all.

 

I love my MT. But it sounds like the AT has been fixed for the 2019-2020? Like all have said test drive both. I think that will be the only way to really decide what will be best for you.

 

The 2020 refresh makes a difference. My 2020 is definitely an improvement over my old 2017.

 

LOL!

 

I've driven manual trans vehicles for the better part of 3 decades and love my 3rd pedal. I hunted down a MT TRD Offroad at a dealer 30 miles away and after looking at that and an identically specd (apart from trans) AT TRD Offroad on the same lot, I went with the AT.

For me the decision came down to a few things:

Smart key entry/exit. This is not available with MT, while the AT comes with it (at least on the TRD OR.) Not having to fumble with keys and being able to just touch the door handle to lock and unlock is super convenient especially when having to wrestle with kids or dogs or bags. While it might sound dumb or petty, after getting used to the convenience of having this on other vehicles it was the primary difference that pushed me to the AT.
Push-button start. Not as big of a deal as the entry/exit for me, but again a small convenience to not have to worry about digging my keys out of my pocket or satchel.
Remote start. It's cold in the winter and hot in the summer where I live, and I wanted the ability to easily and cheaply add remote start. Can be done with MT, but is more costly.
Gas mileage. The AT was rated at slightly better MPG than MT.
Crawl control also seems like some pretty cool tech - I'll be interested to see how that actually performs but haven't had the opportunity yet on that front.

I was also a bit concerned about the AT given what I had seen in past reviews and such, but after driving it and after having had it for several weeks now, it has so far been a non-issue for me.

 

Thank you all for the feedback and taking it easy on a Taco rookie. It's much appreciated!! I'm a hardcore Land Cruiser guy and learning about Tacos... I'll give the AT's another look. They are certainly more readily available. I was going to have to order an MT., none in my area.

I'll be building the OF for an expedition run to Alaska next year, so regearing isn't a problem. Though, learning Tacos is a bit of a learning curve!

Here's a pic of my latest Toyota build...

I'm sure I'll have many more questions in the future. Thank you for your patience!

Cheers!

 

I absolutely love driving my 2020 AT Pro. No issues with the transmission from my perspective.

 

Sweet looking Land Cruiser and I forgot to mention welcome to the forum!