Second Thoughts?

This depends on what you are coming from and what your expectations of a truck are. I came from a 4 cylinder 09 taco, to my 17 v6 sport. It's about your perspective.

 

Resale value on Toyotas says it all

 

I've never owned or ridden in a Tacoma before I bought mine. I never even owned a Toyota. My lineup goes '93 Chevy Cavalier > '98 Jeep Cherokee > '00 BMW 323i > '12 Kia Forte5 > '17 Toyota Tacoma. I literally decided on the Tacoma OR, got a good price new, and bought it. The sales guy was pretty surprised I didn't even want to test drive it or know anything about the features.

The only problems I have noticed with my Tacoma is:

1) Headroom - I'm ~5'9" mostly torso and I guess my driving posture is great because my hair rubs the headliner. I notice myself slide my butt down the seat a bit or kind of hunch over to avoid it. Annoying but livable.
2) Creature comforts - There's some little odds and ends that I feel like you get in other vehicles that you don't get in this vehicle, especially considering the price. Nothing major or decision changing IMO.
3) Shifting - I don't feel like mine searches for gears as much as it feels like it doesn't have enough gears. When I need power in the 50-70 MPH range it always seems to have to drop lower than expected to get it. ECT button helps.

That's all the complaints I have. I love everything else about this truck. I have no doubts in its ability to hold value, sustain demand, and rule the mid-size truck category. Granted I've only had it for 2k miles.

As much as a I love reviews and how much information they provide. I have noticed I've become review-crazy in recent times. I'll spend an hour looking at reviews for $20 garden hoses - like really? It's a habit I'm trying to break. Think about what you want and evaluate how something fulfills it. When you're confident - go for it. No ragrets.

 

I don't know, was more a general statement in that CR gets consumer reviews and they weren't good.

 

I've also noticed CR reviewed the SR5. No off road, pro or sport.

 

You can read reviews all day long, but I find that feedback on enthusiast forums is far more useful. I don't want someone's influenced (re: paid for) opinion. I want the opinions of those who put their hard earned money where their mouth is.

You don't know the qualifications, motives, or backgrounds of these professional writers, just as you know next to nothing about anyone on TW, so treat their input equally. So what if you read 3 posts on here that say Tacomas suck. We know hat they've been the best selling midsize truck for decades, hold their value extremely well, have huge aftermarket support, and have a track record of quality.

I ordered a WRX as well as my Tacoma without seeing or driving them because I was that confident in my purchasing decision. Go buy your truck!

 

Consumer reports griped that the 4runner step in height was too high, and the WRX clutch was too stiff. No shit, a 4wd truck has higher ground clearance??? And a sports car has a stiff clutch???

Buy your tacoma, get a shift sense pro, enjoy.

 

I come from the land of V8 power..... All tacos are wimpy in that respect.

Still, the Third Gen has plenty of power for what I need.

 

The 0 to 60 times of the 2nd and 3rd gens are close to one another. And to 70 mph? I think the 3.5 with its high RPM power will do just fine also.

Aren’t those the legal speeds at which most of us drive, most of the time?

It doesn’t have a lot of low end torque, but the 3rd gen is hardly a slug.

Cruising along in 6th gear and lightly pressing the throttle at low RPMs on most vehicles won’t get you a lot of response from the engine unless you get the transmission to shift down a few gears.

Or, you need a high torque at low RPM turbo or supercharged motor if you want some great throttle response.

Use the ECT button, flick the shift lever over to the left into S-mode to keep the transmission in the 1st to 4th gear range and step on the gas!

 

Nah. The Ridgeline was probably broke down in the driveway and couldn't get to Lowes.

 

No one will know the REAL reasons why. But look at the trucks that get positive ratings. They are the ones with cushy suspension and interiors more like a mini van or sedan. They aren't testing for off road capabilities.

 

As Mahk says, what about the "lasting quality" award

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSBsq6HBBzw

 

But 3rd still tows quicker than the 2nd gen, equal in 0-60, and much faster passing times than 2nd gen.
Only thing 2nd gen is a second or two difference off the line.
That redesigned motor has almost 20% more hp and you feel it.
I sold a second gen for a 3rd and have 0 complaints. Miss the 8 track tape deck though.

 

I think that a lot of owners don’t know that you can manually shift the Tacoma automatic transmission up and down thru the gears and have total control over what gear it’s in using S-mode.

You don’t get that feature on every automatic transmission vehicle out there and I don’t think people realize that it’s a feature on the Tacomas 6 speed automatic.

It’s always interesting to hear about how it has no power because of its combination of poor 3.5 engine and sluggish 6 speed transmission.

You’ve really got to try it out.

Accelerate from a stop manually in 1st gear and then shift manually to 2nd gear and hold your speed at about 25 or 30 mph and step on the gas.

Then continue on past 30 mph while upshifting as you desire. You’ll feel some power and noise at slightly higher RPMs than you’d normally be running at, but you’ll be closer to the power band and it definitely won’t feel like a slug.

Try using some of that 278 Tacoma hp in its powerband! The redline of the engine is over 6,000 RPM.
It’ll run all day over 3,000 RPM if you want, and it’ll be just fine.


New Tacoma owners. Try it, you’ll like it.

 

Is this thread still alive? How?

 

My truck lives at 3K. Loves it. Every second of it.

 

I would guess most guys would probably rather hit the ECT button rather than shifting thru manually. But am sure if someone is really needing to move out then they could do as you recommend.

 

Yep, just to see what it can do.

 

The body rust threads are starting to make me regret buying a 3rd gen a little. I don't live in the rust belt, so fingers crossed.

 

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