I went and test drove a 3rd Gen..

Why did I waste my time reading and now responding .

Sorry OP, you seem like a 16/17 yo with too much time on your hands. Good luck on your car buying

 

Why did you respond then? In one post you accused me of being underage while acting.. underaged. Sick.

 

No manual trans on the 4Runner. Plus the 90's called and want their interior back. LOL.

I don't care what you buy, it's your money. I enjoy driving mine, and it's plenty peppy for me if you flog it a bit.

I will take issue with the frequently quoted phrase "it's a car engine". Sheesh. It's an engine, it doesn't know what kind of vehicle it's in. Last I looked a lot of truck engines were shared with cars, like the Ford Raptor engines which originated in the Mustang and the Chevy Z71 engines which started life as Cadillac propellers. It's not the engine, it's the application.

 

Proper discernment there. We are in a time where engines with characteristics may better suited to cars are being adapted for trucks. More rpm less displacement I guess? Idk.

What don’t you like about the interior? I sat in a nice one the other day and I kinda thought the same thing. Tons of knobs and dials lol

 

LOL you got these guys so worked up. Yes, this truck is slow. I like a more performance oriented drive. I knew getting the Tacoma it wouldn't be fast, but honestly and naively I thought it would drive very similarly to my wife's 16 T4R, boy was I wrong! This engine and trans independently are very good, however paired together with the programming that Toyota used they are terrible! Toyota said "screw drivability, we're going for the +3mpg!".
This engine makes good power but all in the wrong places. Gearing helps but doesn't cure it, especially most of us want to throw bigger tires on anyway, effectively reducing the gearing.

For these reasons, I'm anxiously awaiting the OV Tune TT kit and have their tune on the way right now. I gave this thing a fair shake over the past 1.5yr, I need more from it and don't want a FS truck.

 

People forget that these "car engines" make this the most powerful Taco to date. Fastest 0-60, and highest tow rating of all three generations... also the best fuel economy and most off-road capable of all three gens.

 

Ah another performance enthusiast and not an unpaid brand ambassador. Nice.

I think we’re probably in the same boat. I don’t like full sizes. I don’t need one. I like Tacoma’s. I just like going faster than I know and understand it to be. I am anxiously waiting the TT and the SC kit from URD myself.

I’m glad you’re moving forward with yours. I’m a couple months out from a purchase AT LEAST so I’m in a great spot to see what happens next.

 

What makes you say most capable off-road?

 

Stock vs Stock, 3rd gens have a major advantage with brake limited slip on all 4 wheels (i.e. MTS or Crawl Control). That may be the only significant advantage, but it's huge.

edit: i stand corrected... 2nd gens also had ATRAC, BUT, they didn't have different terrain modes or off-road cruise control, lol.... whatever that's worth.

 

Here is my gas mileage update over 1,300 miles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdMog5ireM4

 

Kekistan is pretty stupid...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhelSuCKlMs

 

Same 0-60 time as 2nd Gen but better passing times. Once off the line it's faster than 2nd. Use ECT mode or get pedal commander to change response if it bugs you.

 

Yeah it was funnier when it wasn’t popularized by internet soy boys I just haven’t changed it

 

I don’t know why but my 2019 TRD sport V-6 auto has plenty of power and well lay you back in the seat from idle up to 6000. I even let it shift into second gear and then nail it and it still pulls very hard. I have no complaints about power.

 

I drive an auto, I was pretty unsatisfied with the throttle response. Then I noticed that if I gave it a little extra gas at the beginning of my drives, the truck kinda "understood" that it was go time and was much more responsive.

If I'm driving in the commute, light on the throttle, it's laggy on the go and more economical. I think the majority of "turd" gen owners just don't really understand how the truck needs to be driven to get it on the same page as the driver. I chalk that one up to new/too much tech in the new trucks. If you drive light on the throttle, the truck will notice and shift accordingly. If you're heavy on the gas, it'll learn that too.

 

Dang, these threads never go well. People get all bent out of shape lol.

Not sure if it was mentioned but for what it’s worth there’s a video where TFL raced the taco with a V8 tundra and it wasn’t a staggering difference. Which I found interesting since people always say to get a tundra. It’s a truck, and yeah it’s slow, but I think it feels slower than it actually is.

Beyond that I think OVTune will solve most problems, and after that a re-gear. Definitely a bummer that these trucks need some help with a Tune or gears but it’s a solution. The other options would be dealing with the lack of grunt or just not getting a taco.

All-in-all, Im happy with mine.

 

It's like i came in and slapped everyones mother before the thread got going lol.

 

I think your right. I always have a heavy foot and since i filled it with Shell V-power 93 it runs much harder. We have lots of hills where in live and i use ECT a lot and like the way it runs on hilly roads with a lot of turns.

 

To be fair, there’s an abundance of threads on the 3rd gens lack of power.. like waaaay too many.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/gen-3-slow-acceleration.614007/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wow-this-thing-is-slow.562951/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/slow-throttle-response-solution.480071/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/slow-reaction.626167/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/possible-solution-to-slow-off-the-line-complaints.422335/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/laggy-response.515643/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/slow-as-hit.625538/

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/no-power-sluggish.495342/
(Yeah I know, I had some time to kill)

So I think people have PTSD by now. Calling a 3rd gen slow is almost a trigger word for the 3rd gen forum

But I do disagree with people getting bent out of shape over it. Just buy the truck if you like it man. These things have a huge aftermarket and if you don’t like one thing, there’s probably something you can purchase to fix it. And if you can’t see your self spending the money on mods but still want a taco, then go 2nd gen. Can’t go wrong either way.