Consumer Reports Evaluation

What?

I live in Odessa, TX.

 

Haha... sorry. There also Odessa in Ukraine.

 

oh ok.

 

Was in the appliance business for a decade before going back to school. Their ratings for appliances are complete BS as well.

 

First...the following comments deal only with CRs claims, not any of the new model growing pains....

So... I haven't seen the mag article but I have read the online version. Their basic observation is that 1)The Tacoma drives like a truck and they prefer trucks that handle more like cars and 2) the Taco hasn't been redesigned in over a decade, so when it finally was one would expect a lot more innovation/change than we got, especially regarding safety which is always a CR hot button. I have absolutely no problem with either of these because they are true. Toyota didn't do anything to the Tacoma for a decade because their direct competition sucked. Then the Colorado got announced with some real innovation (yes, I know the downsides of the Colorado very well) and they got scared. This is the best they could do scrambling to get something out quick to counter it. Turns out they could have probably done just as well leaving it as it was. I would have loved to see (and expected to see) a lot more difference between the 3rd gen and the 10+ year old design it replaced. BUT, and this is a big but....all that being said it is still the best small truck you can get, still the best for off-road, and still likely to hold its value the best. If those things are not important to you and you want more luxury and innovation in your truck, or to tow more than 6000 pounds, or prioritize any of the areas where the other trucks excel then by all means spend the bucks on a more modernized full size.

 

I don't agree nor like their opinion so it must be false

 

If you're not me, you're wrong.

 

If you're not wrong, you're me!

 

Again ,more amusement for those who dont have a dick, OP style...

 

Rude.

 

Strange, check out the partial Pros which can be seen down a bit without subscribing. Looks good to me. They just didn't like the design ? WTF ?
I guess they wanted more gizmos and luxury it looks like.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/toyota-tacoma.htm

 

The June 2016 Consumer Reports is the issue with the Road Report review. They call it the perfect truck for landscapers and contractors. I get the feeling the typical Consumer Reports reader does not do manual labor (unless you count the gym membership).

Of interest are the numeric ratings. The Chevrolet Colorado has a Road-Test Score of 69, while the Tacoma score is only 46. However, the Colorado Overall Score is 51, while the Tacoma scores 54. The Colorado has a solid black circle (worst) in reliability, while the Tacoma has a half-red circle (second-best).

"...the compact Tacoma tenaciously holds its value. Hence, the Tacoma's cult following." I take issue with describing the top selling compact pickup as having a cult following.

Nobody seems to review 4-cylinder compact pickups, so neither Consumer Reports, nor any other review, is really relevant to me.

 

BINGO
There also was a Colorado / Taco review where they gave the Colorado a 5/10 for towing and Taco 1/10 to add in the final score. Because the model they tested didn't have the tow package. How fair was that ???

 

Agreed...

 

I have only had my 2016 Sport 4x4 Prem/Tech/JBL for a few days so I realize I am still way in the honeymoon phase but a 54 out of 100??? Thats a joke. They are not driving the same truck I drive. I have been driving the shit out of it (drove it 300 miles home and plenty city driving already) and to me it feels like its built like a tank, sturdy and stable on the road, handling is better than expected for a truck, plenty of power, suspension is awesome, Transmission shifts at the right times and smooth and has every modern convenience & tech you could ask for (except for power seats!).

I bought the Toyota Tacoma over Chevy twins and waiting on the Ford Ranger (which was my prev truck for 11 years) because 1) The Tacoma is a time tested proven reliable truck 2) BEST Resale value of any truck out there 3) It LOOKS like a REAL truck IMO way better exterior appearance vs other midsize trucks and MILES ahead better interior design than any other midsize.

Yes you can get a NISSAN Frontier a lot cheaper. It looks weak. The design is so out dated.

You can opt for the Chevy twins. NOT a proven truck yet for reliability. Low clearance and jacked up back end and IMO uninspired mundane exterior & interior design. I suspect resale value not to be on par with the Tacoma either.

I suspect the Consumer Reports from the old days is not the same as the Consumer Reports of today. They are supposed to be unbiased on their reviews but I suspect with everything nowadays in our world big money is playing into their reviews. Hell you cant even get a honest critic movie review anymore. I just came back from seeing "Hell or High Water" and while its a good movie majority of all Rotten Tomatoes Critics have it scored at a 98. Higher than movies like Pulp Fiction, No Country for Old Men, Shawshank Redemption. Its not in the same realm as those movies. I have suspected for a long time movie studios pay off critics for reviews to get people in the seats, I don't doubt auto makers playing a similar game with Consumer Reports. Toyota probably doesn't play the game because they don't need Consumer Reports because they have built a crazy loyal following by building RELIABLE and GREAT trucks for YEARS.

I know a lot of people on here have had plenty of issues with their new Tacomas and I don't want to take anything away from them because a lot have legit issues and only time will tell if I end up in that same group. For now though I LOVE the truck.

54 out of 100???? What a joke. (Hopefully these words don't come back to haunt me ) I don't see it happening though.

Thats my rant for the day. Peace out.

 

tl;dr

 

I'm willing to bet you don't read much of anything.

 

Correct!

 

Jalopnik reviewed the Tacoma 4, and they dont like it much, just an opinion piece, hardly a numbers crunching review... who the hell is Jalopnik anyway?

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-4-cylinder-toyota-tacoma-is-completely-pointless-1724669002