Manual or auto trans for new Tacoma purchase?

Fine if you use the parking brake. They have a parking pawl recall.

Really the least important part of any automatic transmission.

 

I wouldn't agree completely. With my auto taco 5.29 gears (33s) I have nearly identical take off power as my former 5.0 f150 (33s) stock. And the 6 speed is similar to the 10 speed after shortening the gears. The only issue is I have to go about 10mph slower to feel similar at highway speed.

I have no opinion on manual vs automatic. I like both and have both.

 

If my Tacoma starts shifting funny it means I probably started drinking again..........




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I've had several manuals, cars and trucks, from 4spds to 6spds. I'm totally satisfied with the MT in my 2019. People often complain about stop/go traffic. I don't have any complaints about that either. I sit in my kids' school car line 2-3 days a week for about fifteen minutes both in the morning and afternoon....no issues. First gear actually creeps along pretty well less than 5mph. You don't have to constantly ride the clutch.

Like a previous post said, plenty of people with the AT wish they had the MT. That's just not the case the other way around. MT owners aren't desperately regearing and tuning either.

 

If you get the MT in a TRD Sport you also get hill assist. Which actually freaked me out a bit at first because I wasn't expecting it. I had read on here folks saying Sports had it then others saying they didn't so I forgot about it.

But along with other things in this Tacoma that have been pleasant surprises I'm really happy with it!



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It's posts like this that keep pushing me to MT. Now I just need to give one a test drive to see how it feels under me. I did this with a 4runner and absolutely did not like it. Glad I did. That was one clunky ride. Sluggish, slow, everything seemed outdated on the controls. Yeah, it's nice, but not for me.

I think driving an MT around the block will really be the deciding factor and I think I'll also regret not going with the the MT from being in an AT and not liking that transmission searching gears. With the MT I'm the gear searcher and will just need to learn to he a better driver

 

Like others in this thread, I fall in the camp where I wouldn't own a Tacoma if a manual transmission wasn't an option.

 

If you are wanting one this will probably be the last year you can get one in a Tacoma unfortunately.

 

I've read, well read speculations, but I've not seen next year models will not include MT. If anything I think it might be more limited in which models will have the option..?

I'm looking to buy one this time next year. Is there a thread on the 4th gen anywhere? I'd like to read something that isn't a BS opinion article from someone thats never drove a Tacoma. At least I'd like to hear an opinionated post from a Tacoma driver

 

/thread

This should be stickied, and should be an auto response any time this question “Should I buy a MT” comes up.

 

Also, OP. All of my cars have had a manual transmission. I’m not a “truck” guy, but I had an obsession with the Tacoma.
1) If I was going to buy a truck, it was going to be a Tacoma.
2) If I was going to buy a Tacoma, it was going to be manual.

When I bought it, I did not immediately “love” it. I was driving home and wasn’t blown away by having the MT. I hadn’t expected it to be a sports car by any means, it just didn’t give me the “wow” feeling I was hoping for. I think this was because I was nervous about the coming days commuting to work - a) driving this up steep hills of bumper to bumper traffic, and then b) parallel parking this in Hoboken, which is like NYC street parking.

The next day came, everything was fine. Now, half a year later, #NoRagrets. I do love it. I would not trade it for an automatic (I would probably by a Tesla or something if I wanted an automatic vehicle). Enjoy the manual while we still have it!

 

Yeah, driving a new purchase is a bit nerve-wracking at first. It would take a day or so for me to adjust again. I've driven standards in the past, they're a fun way to drive, and doing the slightest offroading, to me, is more fun/challenging.

We have a few steep hills, and even drive way for me to have some hilarious and embarrassing stalls for the first few days.

Thanks for inputs! Quick question, any reason you went with the sport vs the off-road? To me there's not much of a difference, except for maybe the price by a few hundred dollars

 

All i hear from a buddy with a new frontier is how great this truck is, nothing like the ill shifting pos trd he traded in.

 

I’d give the Ranger a close look as well. Fortunately, my MT should last a while. I figure it might end up being the last ICE I buy. Time will tell.

 

I've come to the conclusion with these automatic transmissions in the tacoma, you either get one that works very well, or you get one that doesn't. Seems its a crap shoot with these autos. Idk if its the way owners break the truck in why some end up working the way they should, or these tacoma's are just manufactured inconsistent, but one thing is for sure, there are a lot more whiners on tw.

 

I had a couple manual toyota 4x4 pickups before the tacoma came about. Never would i buy a manual again. Their clutches don't last like an auto.

 

Can’t speak for early Toyota pickups but my 98 4Runner clutch lasted 300k miles.

 

So did the auto in my 01 tundra. I never had any issues with automatics in other compact toyota 4x4 pickups. I think towing trailers with the manual really shortened the clutches life. I never got 100k miles out of either manual pickup owned before the the clutch would chatter badly.

 

I am a fellow manual enjoyer. The manual is more about a statement. It says you're better than the automatic boomers. Elite Manual Users, such as myself, have a meditative experience while driving. The poor, weak automatic drivers eat cheeseburgers and jerk off instead. Idle hands do the devil's work. It's your choice though. Manual drivers are happy with life and not suicidal at all. The same can't be said for the automatic lepers.

 

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