Newbie Here. Is this Tacoma really "NEW"?

Well new engine on the v6 and trans and the bodywork, sounds like a new truck to me. Which i dont like by the way.

 

If you dont think there is a HUGE difference between my 2005 and my 2016 you are sorely mistaken. The refinement and modernization is astounding!

 

Dat denial

 

ummm....ya

 

Good my brother, admission is the first step to healing

 

You're all right, 2nd gens suck, 3rd gens are terrible. Shoulda left it where it was in 04...

 

You dudes crack me up.

 

http://touch.toyota.com/tacoma/

Some good information here

 

Why do we need adaptive cruise control, lane departure assist, blind spot monitoring system, back up cameras, wireless charging etc etc. I gotta tell ya'll my 2014 Santa Fe had EVERY bell and whistle and I went from that to my archaic 2015 Tacoma, and I don't miss a damned thing about all those extras. We're creating a society that in ten years won't know how to fucking drive because their blind spot monitoring system doesn't work and they have forgotten how to shoulder check.

 

I already forgot how to drive and what's a blind spot?

 

Meh...back up camera was necessary for me. I still back into parking spaces and drive in reverse just fine in my patrol car and other cars without one.

They're just features to make driving safer. People who actually check their blind spots will continue to do so, even with the monitor. The monitor will just make the people who never checked in the first place 5% more aware of their surroundings...hopefully

 

Funny to me how the hard core 2nd gen fanboys can not stay off 3rd gen forums

 

That's cause I live on a rock!
Actually I didn't even bother test driving it. I traded a '14 4Runner 4x4 limited in for it, so it's not a huge change for me

 

Wah wah someone doesn't like my generation of truck wah wah

 

Yeah, I haven't driven one so i can't comment on the operation of the engine or tranny yet...BUT, the pre-release foreshadowing by Toyota really seemed to point to an effort to 1) match the outgoing 4.0L engine while 2) vastly improving fuel economy to best-in-class. Instead, the engine is roughly on par for power (while better up high), while fuel economy is just on par for efficiency versus the main competition. If I was a betting man, $5 from me says the 2GR-FKS and tranny combo did not produce the anticipated or desired efficiency levels. Oh well, the mpg isn't "bad", and most of the truck is improved.

I call it a win overall. Don't care if it is labeled a new gen or not...that is a huge list of new/updated parts which "fits" in the same foot print and I haven't seen many (any?) objective measures yet where the 3rd Gen does worse than the 2nd Gen.

OP - you should not give two shits about the validity of a "gen" label. Look at the specs, the tests, and drive one. Then figure out if it's different enough from a 2nd Gen to matter for YOU. Everything else is bullshit noise.

 

I think in general people were expecting more from Toyota after 10 year in the making. I think the biggest disappointment is that Toyota sold the new powertrain and transmission as being more powerful and more fuel efficient then the 4.0L and although it is, it seems just enough to say that it is. I saw a MGM TRD Sport at the dealership the other day and thought it looked great on the exterior but the interior didn't do much for me. I like the 'cockpit' feel and Toyota seems to be going with a 'shelf' like dash layout. Same reason I like the dash layout of my friends 2009 Highlander more then the 2016. The tech stuff in the new Tacoma doesn't excite me, as I said, I had it all in my 2014 Santa Fe Sport and in my 2009 TSX Tech. That car made some of todays cars seem behind with their technology. Most everything could be controlled with voice. CD and CD track, fan speed, volume, Nav, etc.

Anyway, if I had to do it all over again would I get a 2016 over a 2015, which I purchased in June so it's not like the new truck was nine months away, the answer is 'I don't know'. I drive a manual so the engine anomalies some are mentioning might not apply to me. The main reason for not getting a 2016 was because I didn't want to deal with potential first year problems.

I don't think I've ever seen a new model year that I liked at first glance because it's new and different. Toyota aired on the side of caution with the exterior sheet metal and if you didn't know Tacoma's like most of us do, at first glance you might not notice the differences. What would the reception had been if Toyota came out with something that looked like the Ridgeline as the new Tacoma....why mess with a known recipe.

In the end, as I said above, maybe it's just not different enough. How much different could it have been and still been a 'Tacoma'.

BTW, I love my 2015 Tacoma and have no regrets about not having waited. Why? Because the new Tacoma isn't head and shoulders above what the 'old' Tacoma was.