Advice for someone potentially interested in a new 3rd gen

Mat Wilson knows. You forgot about him (not that he's your average forum member, obviously).

Your other statement about driving the same on day 1 as day 1000 is not entirely accurate.

I'm not bench racing, I've run both the original M/T calibration my truck came with (04B10) and the subsequent update released by Toyota almost THREE YEARS into the production run (04B13). There's a huge difference between the two, and the truck's response changes as you put mileage on. Yes, even the M/T does this. I know you don't want to believe it, but it's true.

Toyota HAS been improving their code, no doubt about it. Nope, most people aren't OVtuned. I'm glad, because there's no way he'd get anything done lol.
Broken record time here... How many complaints WRT driveability does it take for Toyota to respond? You don't know and I don't know. What we do know is they responded. I'll wager it was more the 5K complaints.

 

I’ll admit I’m biased somewhat because I just bought a ‘19 Offroad Doublecab with Automatic.

But leading up to my purchase I test drove both a ‘19 Manual and an Auto. I also drove a Certified ‘17 Pro Auto as well as an Certified ‘16 Offroad Auto. I would encourage you to do the same.

After reading messages on the board I assumed the Auto would feel underpowered. It actually feels fairly peppy. I just took mine to Tahoe and the trip is fairly hilly with average mountain climbs. The truck more than kept up with average traffic speeds of 65-75mph. It won’t pull like full size Diesel—but it it was surprisingly strong for a 3.5L 6-Cylinder.

My final comment would be not to choose based on what anybody in the message board writes. Choose based on what works for you. Here in urban California—traffic can be a fact of life, so manuals just aren’t as practical anymore, unlike they were 30- 40 years ago.

 

I like a manual sports car too. But drive the manual Tacoma and change your perspective and expectations when you do. Do yourself an honest solid and drive it purposefully, not trying to get through the gears as fast as possible, but rather deliberately and firmly. Drive it like a truck. Slow your roll just a little, and enjoy what the truck was meant to do: be the most utilitarian mid size pickup package available.

Once you set your expectations, you can honestly enjoy the different experience. If you’re always comparing it to your ‘other ride’, you’re going to be disappointed. Sometimes, I even drive my Cayman like that. It’s a different feeling. You’re a little more in touch with life vs the vehicle. Yeah, I wail on the flat six sometimes too though.

I had the pre Tacoma access cab way back when. 22RE engine 4 banger manual. Slow roll for sure, but honestly it was huge fun.

 

I love my 2019 TRD Sport. I didn't even consider anything else except maybe a Tundra. I've owned three 4Runners and now, 4 Tacomas.

I love my new truck, it's an A/T and it works perfect. Push the go button, and it's a bit more peppy. I'm fine in the regular mode.

I love my new truck. Don't buy one.

 

Maybe do what the overwhelming majority of 3rd Gen owners do...step on the gas. I never owned a 1st or 2nd Gen Tacoma, and wondered why there was so much hate from 1/2 Gen owners for the 3rd Gen. I thought it was was fine, not a rocket ship, but OK for a 4200 lb. truck with a V6.

Then the opportunity came to drive a 2nd Gen 4.0, the awesome torque monster!!! Yeaaaaahhh right. All I can say is you fuckers most be smoking some damn good weed. It has a little more bottom end, but does a parachute automatically deploy above 60 mph? I was worried I might get rear-ended by an Amish buggy

 

Please post in 2nd Gen sub-forum. They deserve it.

 

So true. The kick the 3rd Gen has when into the upper rpm blows away any 2nd gen. Off the line for a fraction of a second is about where it ends on 2nd gen.
2nd bogs down at higher rpm/speed for sure.

 

Most people can’t answer the question. There aren’t very many 2019 owners here

 

Anyone who posts bragging about the torque a 4 liter makes has never driven a V8. Or we can talk about it's 4 cylinder level of hp...

 

I've never heard the argument that a 2nd gen is faster. My truck is like a terd on wheels. The common argument is that a 3rd gen spends more time at the dealership than being driven

 

The 2019 feels better because Toyota improved the tune for more usable power and better feel.

Someone made a thread about a week or two ago, quoting an article where a Toyota engineer revealed this information.

 

There are second gen owners who had to wait almost a year for new frames. I'm thinking those that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

That being said my truck has had a few sleepovers at the dealership...

 

The biggest annoyance for me is when I get out on the highway for an extended drive. (over 5-10miles)
Bopping around town isn't too bad because you EXPECT it to be dancing around from gear to gear.
What gripes my ass is that I cannot hold 5th or 6th gear at any reasonable speed on the highway. The first 50% of the throttle is just mush. Run up a slight grade or into a headwind... and the truck slows enough that it has to downshift because you 'gotta keep pushing the pedal down to maintain speed.
The ONLY way I can hold a speed (up to 80-85mph) is by pulling the shifter into 4th gear S mode. Putting it in Drive is just a futile and frustrating experience on the highway.
If there were a way to completely disable 6th gear I would do it. It's utterly useless... and 5th isn't much good unless you are going 85mph and get the RPM's up enough to hold a speed.

 

That’s all but a 33” tire you’re running. Might be hurting performance a bit too.

 

I'm sure it's hurting things... but it should not be this bad. Even with stock rubber it was a problem, just not as exaggerated.

 

It's the same with 2nd gen, I have to downshift every hill and cant use cruise control with 33s.

 

No Ramma Lamma Ding Dongs. I have a 2016 Meg Cab Quad Cab 4x4. Junk Junk Junk.

Outstanding to drive (I regularly did 600 mile trips in mine) but in two years it’s spent nearly 6-weeks in the shop with steering issues. It’s now going bye bye. Unfortunately my friends have had similar issues with Powestrokes and GMC’s.

If you have the money to burn it may not matter but it’s really frustrating spending $75k on a vehicle & upgrades and not knowing if it’s going to break down. I never had that issue with my Land Cruisers (13yrs old) or my Tundra (8 years).

My wife and I just recently picked up our Tacoma and 4Runners because we plan on letting our youngest ones use them in 6-8 years. My wife’s 4Runner is nice, but I enjoy driving the Tacoma more. Someone above said it—if you drive with a heavy foot it works. The 4Runner isn’t as peppy to me. Ironically it could be because my wife threw 285’s on it. I’m comfortable enough with my manhood that I only added it little more rubber on the Taco in the first pass (265/75/R16’s).

 

you can, to not use 5th and 6th gear drive with the ECT on and in S4 mode all the time. that is what I do now after the advice of a bunch of the members here. truck is way more responsive and doesn't hunt for gears all the time. give it a try. hell, driving it this way is even better than when I had the TSB done honestly. my truck reverted back to normal after about 6300 miles anyway. not fooling with taking it back in for another TSB.

 

I feel as though that is what I noticed during my short little scoot around in the 2019, it feels peppy in comparison to the '17 I tried a few years back. As others have said though I have to do a more in depth test to get a true feel for it/compare it against other offerings.

It is a truck I really want to like.

 

These forums scared me away from a great deal on an 18. That said, my 19 4x4 DCLB Sport drives great...loved my 2010, but this truck is more awesome in every way.