Talk me out of the 4th gen

Talk you out of it? Easy - 4 cylinder only. I've owned around 15 Tacomas, just bought my last one - a 2023. Will never buy another one newer than that.

 

What is wrong with a 4 cylinder?

 

You've referred to a lot of stuff you've 'heard'.

I think you should wait until they actually appear to analyze those points.

In the meantime, I predict an F150 in your future. Or another compact wanna-be sports car. Unless you're aging out of the F&F scene.

 

go buy a half ton pickup truck.

 

Because 4 is less than 6.


Honestly, the same HP as the 3rd gen FKS with 50 extra torques, plus the option to add a 50hp/100tq battery booster on top of that. There are a lot of things I don't like about the 4th gen, but I have to admit that I'm interested to see how that powertrain does in the real world.

 

Biggest issue is going to be price I'm afraid.

 

Fully agree - based on personal experience:

I bought a 2nd gen Honda Ridgeline in its first year -2017. The iconic 2-way tailgate failed within the first month, all 6 fuel injectors needed replacement in the first year, and many owners modded the rear doors so they'd open fully- a design flaw rectified on newer models. 2 years later I traded it for a new Subaru Crosstrek, an established vehicle - that delivered 40K flaw-free miles. My 3rd Gen Taco is approaching that milestone.

Sometimes it's best NOT to be first. My skiing brethren understand.

 

I agree on waiting until 2025. If you buy a first year production of a new car, you need to do so expecting that you are helping beta test the platform for the manufacturer. When the 3rd gens came out there were growing pains. Axels seals were a big deal if I remember correctly and this is a truck that was a heavy refresh from the 2nd gen. Same chassis, suspension, body. Just new a new engine, trans, interior and fascias. While those early trucks had issues, my 2021 will hit 120k this week with zero problems.

In another year when my '21 is getting close to 200k, I'll take a hard look at the 2025 MY 4th gen. If the MPG makes a meaningful jump, If owner reviews on here are largely positive, I'll buy one. If the MPG isn't a big enough jump to make the 4cyl worth it or the chatter on here is very negative I'll run my '21 even longer. I do maintenance on it like I plan to keep it for 400k miles so I can have that option.

 

I think the game changer will be a better performing automatic transmission that people tend to oversee. That tends to be the biggest complaint in 3G Tacomas yet most everyone is harping on the "but muh V6 is gone!". 2 extra gears can really help out if done properly.

 

Don't forget the big one - When the 2016 debuted the locking tailgate, it was keyed differently than the rest of the truck.

Agreed. Itll be interesting to see what people complain about on the 4th gen, and whether the drivetrain is one of them.

 

Curious how you amass 60k miles a year ? You basically have to do an oil change every other month … spark plugs annually … and fill up every other day ? 165 miles per day by my calcs… so 3 hrs a day every day of the year at minimum

 

I’m a sales rep covering a good sized geography that doesn’t lend itself to flying. On an average week, I have 2-3 office days and 2-3 200-300 mile days.

Oil changes every other month. Diffs, plugs and trans every spring and fall. Tires once a year.

 

Didn't see this mentioned so I'll say it. To OP, the 4th gen I believe is going to have a lower towing capacity rating than the 3rd gen. If I'm mistaken, I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me can correct me. But I believe even though the 4th gen has better performance numbers, its still rated to have less towing capacity than the 3rd gen. Hope you find this bit of information useful in making your decision.

 

Sucks you can only buy the TRD with a hybrid set up.

 

Again thanks for the replies. I have made my decision to go with the 3rd gen... Now to answer some points brought up.

Why don't I buy a full size truck?
I firmly believe that most people who own a truck do not need a truck. I had no use for a truck up until now, so I am buying one. I only need it to take my motorcycle to the track on the weekends, not tow a camper. I live in Commifornia where the gas is sometimes $6 a gallon and parking is limited. I need the most fuel efficient truck with in reason. If the 4th gen got similar gas millage, but towed better I would want that. Said towing I would be doing, would be for cross country moves, which would happen once every three years. I must have put too much emphasis on towing in my original post, which is not a main issue for me.

Stick to, "another compact wanna-be sports car. Unless you're aging out of the F&F scene."
Uh no. Did I ever claim my Civic was a wanna be sports car or I am fast and furious? I just need a cheap reliable sedan for commuting to work. I wanted a stick shift, so I got the Si. I don't understand the hate. Is your TRD Pro with a stick shift a wanna be baja runner for those big into the Mad Max Scene?

Corvette vs Rx-7
The Corvette is better (shocker). The Rx-7 is a 30 year old car, of course a Corvette is going to be better. The Rx-7 serves looks and uniqueness from an unusual powertrain, which similar to the Tacoma, is why I think a lot of us are drawn towards them.

 

Having driven a 3rd gen for 5 years, I’d skip it and go for the 4th gen.

the interior of the 3g is a definitely step up from the 2g but the power train is a step back.

 

Have driven a 2nd gen for a year and a half, and now owning a 3rd gen for almost 2 years, and towing our 3200 lb trailer with it, I can confidently say that is most definitely false.
The second gen was a horrible tow platform in my experience.

 

Thumbs up to a road warrior sales rep. Hard work, not enough respect.

 

Depends on what you are towing, how fast and where. The 3g manual is decent towing but the auto is garbage. I was up to about 15k miles towing with the manual I had.

I’ll add the disclaimer that this was a 16 auto and 17 manual. Allegedly the factory tunes have improved in 20+ trucks.

If towing was a frequent thing, I’ll stick with my tundra over any of them lol

 

With the trails we take there would be no way we could fit a Tundra down them, nor any full size really. Our off-road trailer is just a few inches wider in track than my Taco, and we have "pinstripes" all over it, from narrow nearly single track looking trails.

The 3G auto shift patterns have always been suspect but the engine and trans are from my experience mostly bombproof.

The 2G shifted better when driving alone but was just a horrible towing platform.

Considering my 2020 DCLB set me back $39,000 spending under $400 bucks to fix the one thing that is generally wrong with the Tacoma, it was a no-brainer.