2019 Toyota Tacoma Test Drive - My Thoughts

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So there have been several threads on new/used Tacoma's over the past month and in my quest to replace the Camry and GTI with another truck I took a spin in one...

Truck in question is a 2019 Tacoma TRD Offroad DCSB that had 7 miles. Dealer listed $34K

First we will start off with what everybody hates, the transmission. Truck was warmed up and ready to go when we set off, gently taking off the transmission shifted so fast into what seemed like 4th gear by 25mph. Weird. A quick jab of the throttle at 45 it got confused, but eventually took off. Letting off it went strait for 6th. Rather annoying I say, who knows if it would get better once it learns your driving.

The 3.5 was more than adequate in my opinion. Everybody seems to say the 4.0 is better, I honestly beg to differ. It does have to rev up a decent bit to get moving, so low end torque is lacking. However, this is the EXACT characteristic of the 4.0 in my 2009, have to rev the snot out of it to get it to decently move. The 3.5 felt smoother with a bit more power. The engine bay layout was shockingly the exact same as the second gens.

The interior was top notch to me, but I'm not hard to impress. Everything was laid out well and had a decent amount of technology for the price. Lane assist, front crash avoidance, wireless phone charging, etc. Seats were comfy to me and I actually liked the seating position. There was a little bit too much going on with the steering wheel buttons, maybe once I got used to it, it would be ok. Front leg room was decent, but I'm only 5'8". If you're any taller the rear passengers will be cramped.

Handling was light years above my '09, but that's to be expected as my truck is approaching 134K and has a lift kit. It rode smooth and soaked up the pot hole ladened road. Cornering was how you expect in a truck, some body roll was expected. Nothing much else to really say about it.



Overall I thought it was a nice truck and even with the goofy transmission programing I would still purchase it. Even though I own a Tacoma I went into it unbiased as I could be. Like I said the transmission was a little bit of a letdown and I don't seem to remember an earlier 3rd gen doing this, but it's been a while. Our Camry behaves the same; trying to get in the upper gears as quick as possible. Might be the reason I don't mind it as much as others. The 5 speed auto in my truck does also act similar (contrary to what people say) as it tries to shift as early as possible. I have to keep it in 4th alot of times so it doesn't bog down.
 
On this newer truck, is it easy to put into gear and then lock out gears? Like you do already in your older truck, put into 4th to keep it from trying for fifth.
 
You can't go wrong with a Tacoma. I felt the same about the transmission. I wasn't impressed with the 3.5L engine. It's no doubt a great truck, especially off-road. The on road drivability and poor transmission characteristics are what let me down the most.
 
Originally Posted by supton
On this newer truck, is it easy to put into gear and then lock out gears? Like you do already in your older truck, put into 4th to keep it from trying for fifth.


Yes, you can put it in "sport" and lock out higher gears. It will however still shift quick to those gears, just not as fast as normal "D".
 
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I used sport mode when I drove it and it didn't do much of anything IMO.

$34k is a good price.
 
Originally Posted by buster
You can't go wrong with a Tacoma. I felt the same about the transmission. I wasn't impressed with the 3.5L engine. It's no doubt a great truck, especially off-road. The on road drivability and poor transmission characteristics are what let me down the most.


I get that, but coming from the 4.0 it felt like an improvement. I'll have to turn off the AC just to pass somebody in mine
lol.gif
Not as torquey as the VQ40 in the Frontier, but to me it was adequate. It's no GTI, but gets the job done.
 
Originally Posted by Delta
Originally Posted by buster
You can't go wrong with a Tacoma. I felt the same about the transmission. I wasn't impressed with the 3.5L engine. It's no doubt a great truck, especially off-road. The on road drivability and poor transmission characteristics are what let me down the most.


I get that, but coming from the 4.0 it felt like an improvement. I'll have to turn off the AC just to pass somebody in mine
lol.gif
Not as torquey as the VQ40 in the Frontier, but to me it was adequate. It's no GTI, but gets the job done.


Gotcha. I hear you.

Btw, the $34k was for a single cab right? Double cabs are near $38-$39k.
 
Originally Posted by buster
Btw, the $34k was for a single cab right? Double cabs are near $38-$39k.


4 door (double cab) TRD OR 4wd, tech package, towing package, folding tonneau cover, etc.

The $34K was before PA state taxes and registration fees.


EDIT: This Truck
 
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Originally Posted by Delta
So there have been several threads on new/used Tacoma's over the past month and in my quest to replace the Camry and GTI with another truck I took a spin in one...

Truck in question is a 2019 Tacoma TRD Offroad DCSB that had 7 miles. Dealer listed $34K

First we will start off with what everybody hates, the transmission. Truck was warmed up and ready to go when we set off, gently taking off the transmission shifted so fast into what seemed like 4th gear by 25mph. Weird. A quick jab of the throttle at 45 it got confused, but eventually took off. Letting off it went strait for 6th. Rather annoying I say, who knows if it would get better once it learns your driving.

The 3.5 was more than adequate in my opinion. Everybody seems to say the 4.0 is better, I honestly beg to differ. It does have to rev up a decent bit to get moving, so low end torque is lacking. However, this is the EXACT characteristic of the 4.0 in my 2009, have to rev the snot out of it to get it to decently move. The 3.5 felt smoother with a bit more power. The engine bay layout was shockingly the exact same as the second gens.

The interior was top notch to me, but I'm not hard to impress. Everything was laid out well and had a decent amount of technology for the price. Lane assist, front crash avoidance, wireless phone charging, etc. Seats were comfy to me and I actually liked the seating position. There was a little bit too much going on with the steering wheel buttons, maybe once I got used to it, it would be ok. Front leg room was decent, but I'm only 5'8". If you're any taller the rear passengers will be cramped.

Handling was light years above my '09, but that's to be expected as my truck is approaching 134K and has a lift kit. It rode smooth and soaked up the pot hole ladened road. Cornering was how you expect in a truck, some body roll was expected. Nothing much else to really say about it.



Overall I thought it was a nice truck and even with the goofy transmission programing I would still purchase it. Even though I own a Tacoma I went into it unbiased as I could be. Like I said the transmission was a little bit of a letdown and I don't seem to remember an earlier 3rd gen doing this, but it's been a while. Our Camry behaves the same; trying to get in the upper gears as quick as possible. Might be the reason I don't mind it as much as others. The 5 speed auto in my truck does also act similar (contrary to what people say) as it tries to shift as early as possible. I have to keep it in 4th alot of times so it doesn't bog down.

That is an understatement when it comes to that engine.
 
Toyota's tricks for squeezing out MPG on the Tacoma don't make sense. It's like they used a car approach on a truck.
 
Originally Posted by Reddy45
Toyota's tricks for squeezing out MPG on the Tacoma don't make sense. It's like they used a car approach on a truck.

I wonder just how much mpg is impacted by keeping it one gear lower than it wants to be. Between VVT and DBW I have to wonder if it's a minor incremental improvement to be just shy of lugging--while forcing a gear lower trades a percent or two for much improved drivability. I don't drive my truck enough to know, though. I just know it's much "better" when I pick the gears than it, and that generally means higher rpm than not.
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
That transmission would be the deal breaker for me.


It was for me. That's what killed it. I love Toyotas too.

I think because I've driven nothing but low torque, small 4 cylinder engines the last 15 years the 4.0L I have now feels so good to drive.
 
Originally Posted by buster
Originally Posted by demarpaint
That transmission would be the deal breaker for me.


It was for me. That's what killed it. I love Toyotas too.

I think because I've driven nothing but low torque, small 4 cylinder engines the last 15 years the 4.0L I have now feels so good to drive.

I hear ya. I'm not a gambling man, buying a $34K truck hoping the transmission learns my driving habits in order to improve. If it feels lousy on the test drive I pass.
 
tested the v-6 taco + it was better than my crashed 2.9 4 cyl colorado but a ride in the 4.0 fronty sold me + it was a lot cheaper!! i found a preowned 28 thou mile 2011 fronty with my preferred manual tranny+ i average 19 mpg with mostly local hilly driving + save a lot of $$$$$$$
 
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by Reddy45
Toyota's tricks for squeezing out MPG on the Tacoma don't make sense. It's like they used a car approach on a truck.

I wonder just how much mpg is impacted by keeping it one gear lower than it wants to be. Between VVT and DBW I have to wonder if it's a minor incremental improvement to be just shy of lugging--while forcing a gear lower trades a percent or two for much improved drivability. I don't drive my truck enough to know, though. I just know it's much "better" when I pick the gears than it, and that generally means higher rpm than not.


I tried reading the details of how CAFE works but got lost in the history. Anyway I suspect that any marginal improvement in the numbers is beneficial, especially when a lot of Toyota's larger vehicles are quite literally gas guzzlers (Tundra, Land Cruiser, Seqouia, etc).

Sadly I think Toyota is pulling other tricks to improve overall MPG like using thinner metal.

I managed to put 5 finger-tip size dents into the roof of my Tacoma by simply leaning on one of my hands in order to wipe down a section in the middle with a towel. I wasn't even putting my weight on it either - I was either standing in the bed and leaning over the roof, or standing on my side rails.

So now I have to find a PDR guy who can pop the dents out and it probably won't be cheap. All because they wanted to save a few pounds.
 
You can get the v6 with a manual in the TRD package , double cab short bed.
And the manual can tow 6500 pounds. Not sure how much longer they'll be making Tacomas like that, but I'll definitely be cross shopping that when / if I go to buy a midsize.
 
Originally Posted by supton
Originally Posted by Reddy45
Toyota's tricks for squeezing out MPG on the Tacoma don't make sense. It's like they used a car approach on a truck.

I wonder just how much mpg is impacted by keeping it one gear lower than it wants to be. Between VVT and DBW I have to wonder if it's a minor incremental improvement to be just shy of lugging--while forcing a gear lower trades a percent or two for much improved drivability. I don't drive my truck enough to know, though. I just know it's much "better" when I pick the gears than it, and that generally means higher rpm than not.


So Toyota does the same thing with all of their newer transmissions apparently. While not the same transmission the 8-speed in my RX 350 has been the source of much [censored] and moaning since its introduction on 2016 - upshifts too quickly, downshifts too quickly, too many gear changes and it seems to get tripped up with all this shifting. Lexus released a TSB to reprogram the transmission in July 2019 that makes the car SOOOOOOO much better to drive - it acts like a normal transmission. The part that puzzles me the most is my MPG have gone UP SIGNIFICANTLY since the reprogram. So from my POV....their original shift logic was costing them MPG and performance and drivability. Makes me think it was something that seemed better on paper but didn't pan out in the real world. I hope they update all their transmission - the car is night and day better now.
 
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