Tacoma Hybrid is Possible: 31MPG

One possible option that Toyota might use in the next Taco might be from the new Lexus 200T. It's got a 2.0L turbo 4 banger rated at 235hp/258 ft/lbs. That engine with the 8sp already in the IS might be an optional power train combo that would be effective with the correct gearing. It's not the optimum choice for our off road crowd and no mention if a manual trans will ever be hung off the back of it. The damm turbo is integrated into the cylinder head for reduced lag and thermal efficiency.

I have no idea if this would be all that much better than the current 4.0l in terms of mpg,but with the 8sp trans, if it were correctly geared, would be a better overall performer than the 4.0.

 

---

I suspect the writers of that article dont know much about automotive engineering.

First off, why do they think Toyota would want to build a Tacoma, even a hybrid one, as FWD? There is a reason why 2wd trucks, save for the Honda, are always RWD. Its not simply for traditions sake to put the drive wheels under the payload - its to make them drivable. Trucks are nose heavy, and our plastic bed Tacomas make that even worse. Ive read in reviews the DC 4x4 is 55% front/45% rear which is damn good for a truck, a reg cab 2WD is probably more like 60-65% front / 35-40% rear. Put all the drivetrain up front and add the weight of hybrid gear and you are probably giong to be pushing 70% or more front (unless they stuck the battery under the bed). Thats undrivable, the rear end would get air over bumps and you would be spinning out all over the place.

Not to mention that the Lexus 300h drivetrain is a transverse mounted engine. They would have to significantly redesign the front end to replace our existing longitudinal drivetrain with that. I cant really see it making sense for them having a design that would take a transverse engine in the hybrid edition and a longitudinal in the conventional. Which means itf they did it, the new truck would have a Honda Ridgleine like drivetrain, FWD biased with a power takeoff to the rear end on '4wd' editions.

 

Something is not quite right here...

 

Hybrids are just that , hybrid , not fully electric

That would be like this , Formula E

http://youtu.be/IptBVdys-mo

 

A hybrid Tacoma that provides reasonable performance when used like a truck and is priced advantageously for consumers is obviously still in the distant future. When they build it, i will come(insert joke here).
The Tacoma is a slug in the city anyway, so just enough power to tool around is really all that is necessary. That said 31 mpg isnt exactly an earth shattering figure. I imagine thT figure suffers greatly when the truck carries moderate weight.
I will be sceptical for some time.

 

I like the idea, but doesn't that full-size dodge v6 diesel (allegedly) get 40mpg? Shouldn't a smaller hybrid truck do better than 31mpg?

Wonder how a hybrid would work in the woods....

 

My last unit had a Ford Fusion V6 hybrid on lease.

Handled great, plenty of pickup, and got above 38mpg combined on various road trips to different campuses. People tend to walk out in front of you in parking garages because it was eerily quiet.

Having said that, you can pay up to $8K or or $10K more for the hybrid than a 36 mpg 1.5L, which is about a third to a half again over the cost of 1.5L. That's a lot of gas tanks for a car that doesn't hold its value all that well...

My 2014 DCSB already has about the shortest bed I can stand and still be functional as a truck. Batteries would substantially cramp it even more. They would probably need to be "in" the bed somewhere, if only to make sure they were the driest thing on a wet truck.

What we need is a diesel or a more effecient V6. A hybrid Taco would be interesting, and would let the engineers get their feet wet, but wouldn't be for me right now.

 

I think trucks could benefit more from a diesel electric drive system where electric motors drive the wheels full time and are powered by a diesel generator. Electric motors have gobs of torque and provide max torque all across their rpm range. Seems like that would be ideal in a truck configuration.

 

Weird
http://www.ramtruck.ca/en/2014/1500/overview

 

According to the article, a base tundra has less than 200hp and a 4x4 tacoma weights 3700 lbs...

 

I said "allegedly". I don't take the advertised number from the manufacturer as truth, I just remembered the commercial on TV touting 40mpg. Having said that I wouldn't take the advertised 31mpg from this hybrid as truth either since real-world numbers would probably be less. Getting 30mpg (at best) after the extra costs of buying a hybrid would make it a tough purchase considering lots of full-sized gas trucks are getting north of 25mpg these days.

 

Outside of the start stop tech.... toyota already has this... i have said it before and will stay it again... the next tacoma will have something VERY similar or identical to the toyota 2GR-FSE motor they already have.

 

Hey, makes perfect sense to me. There is that whole 6 foot bed space just begging to be filled with batteries...

 

Not sure how you guys figure the batteries would have to take up so much room

 

That's true plenty of room for sure. Another plus is maybe we will finally start getting the bigger rear leaf springs standard from the factory. Can't wait...

 

Imperial gallons vs US gallons would be my guess, since that is a Canadian website.

 

I don't know how I feel about this. I guess it's just opening the market for the tacoma even further. It's making it less of a truck since the rated payload will be a lot less due to added battery weight. Unless they beefed up everything else to compensate.

 

So I e-mailed a friend of a friend at Tesla. Roughly, to move a 5000lb vehicle with the range of 100 miles, battery only(NOT HYBRID), would roughly require at least a 24 cu ft battery. He could not give me a weight of the battery. Joked that the heat sink would need to be in the 4 to 6 sq ft range. I'm guessing the battery would be L_A_R_G_E if it was a hybrid, and there was payload beyond the weekly groceries..

 

A hybrid is hybrid , not electric only , hence the term hybrid

 

*160hp