I apologize for calling my Tacoma underpowered

In day to day commuting I find the Tacoma struggles or works a bit harder to merge or keep up with traffic than other vehicles. I've been driving half ton V8's for almost 20 years so I'm used to the low RPM, no need to downshift, lazy nature of displacement. I also have a history of large displacement motorcycles so my expectation of effortless power is skewed.

I'm in the middle of a road trip with the family and driving to the destination requires some highway and I did find cruising at 80 a bit tiring due to the higher RPM than I'm used to. Passing cars and downshifting on 2 lane highways requires more planning as it makes noise but doesn't really accelerate. Once we got to where we're going the Tacoma seemed like it was more in its element.

We've spent the last 2 days in the Texas Hill Country which is nothing but hilly and windy 2 lane roads. Lots of downshifting for blind lower speed curved. Occasionally I find myself downshifting 2 to 3 gears to hold a speed up a steep incline. I realized once I'm away from traffic and trying to keep up, going at my own place, this truck is adequate and fun as hell.

The PRO suspension is far from a sports car but does just fine out here and keeping it in the right gear at sane speeds I'm having a blast shifting and driving. Even the wife commented how fun and engaging it looks. I still want a supercharger but am surprised that being in an area where I'd rather be on my motorcycle actually made me enjoy driving the Tacoma!

 

Yep. The Taco is bad at pushing wind. This is because, well, physics.

Note that The wind power increases with the cube of the wind speed. - In other words: doubling the wind (Taco) speed results in eight times the wind power (resistance).

Tacos are not aerodynamic. I don't enjoy pusing the Taco. I also find it tiring - as op said - and it is pointless...

The manual in a Taco makes driving this slow vehicle slow...

 

I'm quite happy with what my Tacoma offers. If I wanted a Porsche I would have bought a Porsche.

This thing gets me where I'm going and it looks good doing it.
Plus, I can go places and they can't and I can haul 'stuff'.

My 2021 will take me to the end of the line, and my son, hoping for an early demise, will be riding in style.

 

my tacoma is faster than my sports car in a straight line.

but my sports car is far more enjoyable when the road gets curvy.

 

I’m confused about why any truck would be expected to be fast. Vehicles that weigh a lot and haul stuff should be most concerned with doing that stuff with stability and safely

 

You diffidently need a tune - $450 for an OTT tune - you will be much better off. Come on man you can't seriously compare a V6 Taco to a V8 and especially a large displacement motorcycle is a bit unrealistic IMHO. A tune will make some of the issues you are having disappear.
"Passing cars and downshifting on 2 lane highways requires more planning as it makes noise but doesn't really accelerate." I nail it in these situations and she gets up and goes - and yes she down shifts when she does it - it's a 3.5 V6 not a 5.7 Hemi.
Also all that gear hunting gets fixed - again, yes if you are loaded up and hitting a steep hill and wanting maintain speed she will have to down shift. In the mountains here in NC she will do that but maintains the lower gear not gear hunt up and down.

 

Never apologize.

 

It is tuned. It's a 6MT so I don't have the AT annoyances that many complain about. I'm not comparing the Tacoma to a modern half ton or motorcycle nor are my expectations high. Just sharing where I come from in terms of the power/weight ratio that I'm familiar with.

 

S-Mode really makes a difference...even without a tune.

I've got OTT: Mild Drive-Spicy ECT.

I don't use it often...but when I do, there is a significant difference.

Put it in 4Hi/S4/ECT to launch and see what happens!

Of course, if you're worried about MPG, don't do this too often. lol

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll ramble about it again. My reason for calling the Tacoma lethargic is that a similar truck that is consistently cheaper also consistently beats it in overall seat of the pants feel and get-up-and-go. My Frontier just overall performed much better. You dropped it to 3rd for a pass and it just really moved along. Drop the Tacoma to 3rd and it’s still quite lethargic, especially on the manuals. Passes for me feel really slow, and always have.

The apologists with the notion that “it’s a truck, why should it be fast” don’t really get it. It’s not about it being fast or not, it’s about being good at what it does. It does okay, that’s about all. And why would the truck being faster be a bad thing? It’s as if people think it should be intentionally slow/underpowered BECAUSE it’s a truck. Which doesn’t make any sense to me.

All that said, trucks are not 1-dimensional, power delivery is not the only characteristic and so overall I ended up with the Tacoma for longer now and higher mileage than my previous 2 Frontiers combined. I like the truck a lot; that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be vastly improved in several areas, though.

Sadly, tuning doesn’t provide me what I need. It does not “make it drive like it should,” like so many say. At least not in my mind. Tuning offers various improvements without a doubt, but it does not make me all of a sudden impressed with the truck at all. There is nothing that will get rid of the pesky computer throttle limitation where it basically gives the engine very little fuel at low speed in 2nd gear. I get why it is the way it is, to prevent lugging, but nothing else I’ve ever driven is like this.

 

Uh, cart before the horse? Was the title the apology? I power skimmed the post and didn’t see much sorryness all. It’s like when my wife wants me to apologize and I end up just complaining about the same thing again. Which works GREAT.

 

OK - just saying it seems I have a different experience with my AT and it's lifted with 33s and armored up and it accelerates just fine with it's OTT tune. Now does it accelerate (or handle) like some of my previous turbos and Kommpressor (supercharged) German sedans - of course not - nothing close but I never expected that type performance.

 

This 1/4 tonne pickup with the 3.5 V6 along with the 6 speed auto is adequate for this 3rd gen. They’re really rock solid and reliable overall.

However, the combination of drivetrain gear ratio selection, torque only available in the upper RPM range combined with frustrating end user software engine management to save as much on emissions, increase MPG’s and ensure best traction seems to be the biggest issue.

I’m sure the engineers had very tight parameters to work with for emissions, MPG’s, off road capabilities and safety (VSC/traction control) for the 3rd gen. This was the result. It’s really quite extraordinary how they walked a fine line to satisfy all these needs. Yes, it’s a comprise in the end. I’m sure they could have made this Truck and it’s 3.5 rip in the manual or auto but that would sacrifice emissions, mpgs, safety and perhaps longevity.

I agree, heavy city traffic and staying competitive in a crappy daily commute can be frustrating. I don’t know how many times someone has cut in front of me because the truck lagged momentarily to keep up when I suddenly press the gas pedal. Not a great daily driver if you are quick to get pissed off with all the asshole drivers out there. If you are patient and are content to suck hind tit and hang back you will easily get by in a crappy daily commute I suppose. I’m too competitive for that. Can’t help myself

On the other hand, sleepy back country roads or back country mountain FSR roads with almost no one around is such a pleasure with this truck. In my opinion this is where the truck truly shines.

 

Man, you touched on a road condition that can bring out the worse in daily drivers.

I leave enough room for the vehicle in front of me and that’s just an invitation to knuckleheads who have no patience and merge right through.

Giving a reaction to said knucklehead is what I avoid since they just pulled a knucklehead move.

I’ve learned to adjust to this sort of driving behavior because being surprised by it does not reduce the impact of knucklehead decision.

I do get annoyed by any vehicle who overtakes because their conveyance has the HP and loud pipes to do so.

This truck will stay with me as long as I’m working. Heck, I plan on keeping her forever!

 

I owned a 4L 2016 4x4 frontier and I own a 23' Tacoma Off Road now and my seat of the pants feeling matches the actual test numbers.

.01 seconds difference, I can't feel that.

 

Ummm, the OP doesn't have "S-Mode" in his TRD Pro. Why? Because his Tacoma, like mine, was built with "3-Pedal-Mode", and all such Tacomas so built do not have any such thing as an "S-Mode".

 

Idk, is this true??? My DD is a Lightning and at 6300lbs with 4 wheel independent suspension, 0-60 around 3.8 seconds and a 12 second 1/4 mile time trucks can be fast, it tows 10k too…. Just saying

 

Out of the many annoyances I’ve expierenced with ownership of 3rd gen tacomas I would rank the power delivery has my least bit of concern. Plenty of power for what I use it for. Automatic/v6

 

Yeah some trucks are fast this is true. I guess I should have said I’m just not sure why they need to be. Hopefully the stopping distance on that lightening matches its acceleration performance. It’s not like this truck is dangerously slow. I also had a 2016 Frontier and I too feel like it is very similar.

 

Ooooop!

My mistake.

Carry on...as you were...I'm being a wise-guy, since I'm creeping back into my A/T Taco. lol