Opinions need on 6 speed manual or automatic on new Tacoma V6

I am biased toward manuals, so you can take this with a grain of salt if you want. But, I have had automatics for the past 20 years due to having kids and wife all sharing vehicles. Now that the kids are gone from the house, I was free to choose either when I was going through my purchasing decision over the past 6-7 months.

I took both an auto and a manual for multiple extensive test drives (had to go to multiple dealerships . Thanks to some good (but overbearing) advice on this forum, I sorta knew what to expect. The auto was OK. It is definitely different from the automatics that I have been driving. It is tuned for gas mileage vs. max acceleration. But, I found it workable and I could have lived with it...particularly knowing that it would get better if I drove it aggressively. I did find that if I punched it hard, it responded as I wanted. And, I knew i could always buy a new tune for it if need be.
On the other hand, the manual was immediately a fun driving truck. It has an ever so slight hesitation when punched, but definitely better than the auto. Overall, I just fell in love with the 6 speed and it took my 55 year old driving self back to my 16 year year old driving self...so, yeah, it made me feel good.
After the test drives, I settled on the manual...I was always inclined that way anyways, but the test drives did reinforce it. Other plusses to the manual are friends don't ask to borrow my truck too much and (so far) thieves have avoided it like the plague. I have now had it just over a month and still love it.

 

^ that's great to hear!

 

What's triple cone synchronized mean?

 

Cept that fvckin' reverse lol...cheers bro!

 

LOL, yes sometimes my truck flat out refuses to go into Reverse.

 

I test drove both, liked them both and decided on the manual because I have had automatics for the past 15 years or so. Still loving it. Drive em both and pick your favorite.

 

You can help keep the manuals alive by buying every Manual Tacoma that you can. This 6MT is joy to drive and buttery buttery smooth.

 

MT hands down. Change the intake and the exhaust and you will have a smile on your face every single time you drive it. I would recommend the magnaflow cat-back exhaust.

 

I have owned over 35 vehicles in my lifetime. Only two were automatics. I hated them both. Manuals are much more fun to drive. You have much more control over what the vehicle is doing. There are times when you really need to be in second gear, and an automatic is in fourth. Besides, the "check it out" factor is a big plus when people see that 6-speed stick in there. And ... like another poster said, less people will want to borrow your ride. Before we left the US, my last car I ordered was a 2007 Cadillac CTS 2dr 3.6L V6 six-speed manual trans. Whenever anyone looked at the car their first comment was, " Wow ... it's a 6-speed!" The car was Infared with a charcoal interior. When we moved to Colombia, I sold the car to my son. He still has it. He told me that many people want to buy it, but that he will only let it go if I want it back. In my mind ... NEVER GET AN AUTOMATIC IN A 4X4 TRUCK. Decision is yours.

- JAMES

 

The auto is ... fine. It's my first automatic since I was 16 (which was way longer ago than I care to admit), and while it isn't as fun to drive as the MT version, it doesn't destroy my soul like others here might have you believe.

I guess in the end it's about what you use the truck for, and what you want out of it. For me, I wanted something I could point and aim toward and in the mountains, and I wanted an AC OR, so no third pedal for me. No regrets.

 

I've had an '11 auto and currently own a '13 manual. I'm really happy with the manual and I'd do it again and again. It's not so bad off road, you'll probably kill it a few times but that happens to everyone. In the end, get what you're comfortable with. There are plenty of times I've missed my auto, especially in traffic, but don't let anyone sell you something you're not 100% certain about. Good luck and happy hunting!

 

Manual for sure!!

 

I already had the decision made when I went to pick up my 16 TRD sport. I live in a place with minimal traffic jams, open highways and dirt roads. Truly I should've went with the OR instead of the sport because of the rear locking differential but I'm very satisfied with my 6spd DC TRD Sport.

 

manual definitely felt better, but I got the auto so I can have my wife taxi me around

 

A lot of manuals are like that though due simply to design. If you have the gears aligned just right and you are completely stopped sometimes you could have difficulty. Let the clutch out in neutral and try again.

Also the synchronized reverse means you can shift into reverse while moving forward (albeit slowly) without grinding. I do it regularly, when changing directions. Never have problems shifting to reverse if you do that.

 

I sit in an hour or more of traffic on 95/93/495 daily (for any of you from Boston you will feel my pain)...and I am still glad I got the manual. That just wasn't enough of a deal breaker for me. Actually kinda makes it more pleasant and smooth if you can keep a constant speed and use engine braking instead of the brakes.

 

But how's your parallel parking in the hills of Worcester? Haha


+1MT.
I'm sure the automatic is fine. But I enjoy driving my truck every single day.

Plus 6 out of 5 ladies say they admire a fella who drives a stick. Trust me. It's science.

 

Nooooooooo!

 

I drove a long way to test drive a new manual 6 speed. It was a Sport Access Cab, but what a pleasure to drive. I was shopping heavily for a certified manual and I came across a U.S. assembled and loaded Double Cab TRD OR SB w/ an automatic. 2700 miles on the odo and it had been sitting on the lot for almost 2 months. After 2 hours of haggling, I had a deal on the table I couldn't turn down.

Now, with almost 22,000 miles on it, I'm mostly happy with it, as either I've gotten used to its quirks or its gotten used to me, but it's an excellent daily driver and with BFG AT KO2s it WILL go anywhere you care to take a nearly $40k truck.

The Crawl Control and the Multi-Terrain Select should not be selling points when considering a Tacoma purchase though. After almost a year with mine, I've used them exactly 3 times, and honestly, that was only when trying them out. I originally thought they were a little gimmicky, and after nearly a year with the truck, I have now confirmed it The rear locker on the other hand is what I wouldn't give up, and it comes with the manual along with A-Trac.

I miss the control of which gear I'm in, especially when I want to accelerate on the highway at all, and instead of shifting from 6th to 5th, the auto tends to dip instantly to 4th or even sometimes I swear all the way to 3rd; when in reality, all I needed was just a little more skinny pedal in 6th!

Had this Certified truck not come along, I would've gone to a giant dealership in northern Maryland and test drove all day, manuals and autos back-to-back, and probably ended up with a manual, and complained about it 4 or 5 times a year when I'm stuck in traffic, and grinned about it 4 or 5 times a week when I realize that I get to choose the gear, not the computer.

I do love the truck, with the factory moonroof and heated seats. The backup sensor is ok, but unnecessary with the excellent integrated backup camera and screen, the blind spot monitoring makes me a lazy driver and I almost forget to check my blind spots when driving my wife's car now. The dual zone climate control is seriously useless in a truck this size, but my wife still messes with it on a trip sometimes.

My opinion, drive the exact same truck back-to-back with an auto and manual that way you don't second guess your decision. Buy the manual and with the money you saved, get a Tacoma with the Premium and Tech package w/ TriFold Tonneau cover, and get the dealer to throw in a rubber bed mat and switch out the grille for one from an SR5. Also, the Toyota all-weather interior floor mats are decent and maybe the best factory Toyota mats yet, but stick with the WeatherTechs. Much better for same money.

 

my wife was desperate to get her [required] SUV for her and the 2 kids in a manual. her last was a Subie wagon with a 5MT.

of course there's no such thing any more when you buy new.... i looked everywhere and the current Subie options were sucking, so she got a Tiguan/slushbox (great chassis but crap trans).

she's a dedicated MT lover but she still hasn't given the truck! with 2 kids she's just not giving a F nowadays.