Tacoma Version or Other New Truck

I have an automatic 2018 SR5 4x4 extra cab with a shell and a drawer system in a 6' bed.  I am lucky if I get 18 mpg on the highway.  I have no idea how someone would get 22 mpg unless they drive 60 mph all the time which is never going to happen for me.  The truck drives really well, even at 90+ mph.  The only problem I have with it is that the auto trannie hunts like crazy in the hills.  Fortunately you can put it in sport mode, downshift and it will stay there.  This is my first auto trannie ever and I am not impressed.

Forrrdddd Raaaannngerrrr

Jan Mc wrote:

I have an automatic 2018 SR5 4x4 extra cab with a shell and a drawer system in a 6' bed.  I am lucky if I get 18 mpg on the highway.  I have no idea how someone would get 22 mpg unless they drive 60 mph all the time which is never going to happen for me.  The truck drives really well, even at 90+ mph.  The only problem I have with it is that the auto trannie hunts like crazy in the hills.  Fortunately you can put it in sport mode, downshift and it will stay there.  This is my first auto trannie ever and I am not impressed.

My tacoma is getting 21mpg if I drive 65mph and 17mpg if I am driving 75.  It'll go pretty fast just fine.  But I generally just conserve gas, cause I'm cheap like that.

Jan Mc wrote:

I have an automatic 2018 SR5 4x4 extra cab with a shell and a drawer system in a 6' bed.  I am lucky if I get 18 mpg on the highway.  I have no idea how someone would get 22 mpg unless they drive 60 mph all the time which is never going to happen for me.  The truck drives really well, even at 90+ mph.  The only problem I have with it is that the auto trannie hunts like crazy in the hills.  Fortunately you can put it in sport mode, downshift and it will stay there.  This is my first auto trannie ever and I am not impressed.

That's unfortunate. I had a 2004 Ram v8 auto that did the same. I had to put it in tow/haul mode to alleviate the issue, but it still was incredibly infuriating. Funny though....14 years older, and same issues. Sounds like typical Toyota trucks though; don't fix what aint broke...even if it sucks. My 2019 Ram v8 auto tranny is absolutely incredible, and it kinda pains me to say it. I never thought an auto could be this enjoyable. I learned on manuals, owned many, and currently also own a manual 93 toyota pickup. After experiencing this new automatic, I will likely never buy a new vehicle with a manual again. I consistently get around 19-22mpg in the CO rockies highways (I-70, 285, etc.) loaded up; never tracked less than 19mpg going to western slope and back to Denver. It's 1-2 mpg less on flats, interestingly enough.

Gregory H wrote:

Wingnut mod? I've always been super curious about fully removing the middle row of seats for sleeping in a 4runner but haven't found many well documented examples.

Guess its actually called "the seat bolt" mod. Not sure what gens this can cover, but i have a 3rd gen. Got me about an extra foot of room.

Nick Orticelle wrote:

Sounds like typical Toyota trucks though; don't fix what aint broke...even if it sucks. 

The fucking headlights. Don't get me started....

John Reeve wrote:

My tacoma is getting 21mpg if I drive 65mph and 17mpg if I am driving 75.  It'll go pretty fast just fine.  But I generally just conserve gas, cause I'm cheap like that.

There you go.  I am always driving at least 75 and more often 80.  I'm not cheap that way.  I figure if I am driving to the mountains it is going to cost me 2.5 tanks of gas and doing it in 2.3 tanks just doesn't interest me.  Doing it in 4.5 hours each way instead of 5.5 hours does interest me.  To each their own I guess.  As they say: Time is money!

Jan Mc wrote:

There you go.  I am always driving at least 75 and more often 80.  I'm not cheap that way.  I figure if I am driving to the mountains it is going to cost me 2.5 tanks of gas and doing it in 2.3 tanks just doesn't interest me.  Doing it in 4.5 hours each way instead of 5.5 hours does interest me.  To each their own I guess.  As they say: Time is money!

I mean, if I'm driving a couple 8 hour hitches over the course of a couple of days, then I'll often favor your math :D. If I'm trying to save 3 minutes of a 20 min drive to my local crag, I just enjoyin' the ride.

Danny Herrera wrote:

Did you do the wingnut mod too? 

I havent...it doesn't give any more room(in a 5th gen), unless I'm missing something....isn't it just for convenience? I don't find it hard to use a socket wrench for it, I have them with all the time anyways.

Jan Mc wrote:

I have an automatic 2018 SR5 4x4 extra cab with a shell and a drawer system in a 6' bed.  I am lucky if I get 18 mpg on the highway.  I have no idea how someone would get 22 mpg unless they drive 60 mph all the time which is never going to happen for me.  The truck drives really well, even at 90+ mph.  The only problem I have with it is that the auto trannie hunts like crazy in the hills.  Fortunately you can put it in sport mode, downshift and it will stay there.  This is my first auto trannie ever and I am not impressed.

Welcome to driving a 3rd gen Tacoma, unless you get it tuned it will always be hunting for gears. Best mod I ever did was get it tuned.

Cherokee Nunes wrote: I've been wrestling with Taco vs. The World truck decision and find this discussion super useful. Would love to read the thoughts from more people too. Keep em coming

Brandon Gonzales replied: Me too, and what seems like the deciding factor might be that every single dealership I've called is on backorder with an eta of 3 or so months. Used recent year tacomas are basically the same price as new ones, kind of ridiculous. 

It's been almost two years since I visited this thread, forgot I even replied to it.

I could not find a 2-door Tacoma that wasn't 6-months out in the supply chain. I wanted a 6-foot bed so 4-door not an option.I gave it up. I ended up getting a Chevy Colorado ZR2 and I'm super happy with it, plus 30k miles on it now. Out of box it is a good 4wd and the engine (gasoline v6) has the umph I need, no tranny-changing issues with this rig at all. Earlier Colorado models were notorious for reliability issues, but supposedly addressed. Mine has been utterly reliable so far, no issues at all except for an annoying rattle that developed on the passenger side compartment that I haven't been able to chase down. This rig definitely outperforms my buddy's TRD from the same year (2021). It's also got this down hill engine-braking feature that I've fallen in love with - can crawl down tough trails at super low speed without touch the brakes, it's brilliant. Can also go down the Priest Grade, for anyone familiar with the northern entrance to Yosemite national park, without touch the brakes either. Amazing.

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

It's been almost two years since I visited this thread, forgot I even replied to it.

I could not find a 2-door Tacoma that wasn't 6-months out in the supply chain. I wanted a 6-foot bed so 4-door not an option.I gave it up. I ended up getting a Chevy Colorado ZR2 and I'm super happy with it, plus 30k miles on it now. Out of box it is a good 4wd and the engine (gasoline v6) has the umph I need, no tranny-changing issues with this rig at all. Earlier Colorado models were notorious for reliability issues, but supposedly addressed. Mine has been utterly reliable so far, no issues at all except for an annoying rattle that developed on the passenger side compartment that I haven't been able to chase down. This rig definitely outperforms my buddy's TRD from the same year (2021). It's also got this down hill engine-braking feature that I've fallen in love with - can crawl down tough trails at super low speed without touch the brakes, it's brilliant. Can also go down the Priest Grade, for anyone familiar with the northern entrance to Yosemite national park, without touch the brakes either. Amazing.

Outperforms in what way? 

It's 2023 and this thread is back so I figured I'd share how my personal Tacoma vs. the world story played out.

The Lady and I were at the point where we had decided that a Tacoma was the thing and started seriously looking. This was in late October, so the used market was still absolutely bonkers. One dealership we went to had new Tacos (TRD OR) for a mere $8k over MSRP (!), or one that was 3 years old with ~30k on the odometer for the MSRP of a new one. F that! So I went on the hunt and found another dealership that was selling new Tacos at MSRP. We were one day away from making the commitment and putting down a deposit, but I just couldn't go through with it.

My girlfriend took a new job that has a ~20 mile commute each way, which was part of the reason that we wanted something to replace our 2000 Toyota Sienna. After talking about it some more, we realized it would be pretty ridiculous to buy a brand new truck and then put all of those miles on it commuting on flat land. It became pretty obvious that a Tacoma was not the answer. We realized that the answer was actually two vehicles - a Prius, and something else that we could take on adventures.

The other thing that we realized is that if we went the Taco route, we would need to buy a bunch of extra accessories to get the sleep situation to a point where anywhere close to the ease and comfort of sleeping in the van. With the Prius there to handle all of the commuting miles and for day trips, we wound up also getting a 2011 Toyota Sequoia 4wd. Due to the gas mileage, we never would have considered the Sequoia if we were only getting one vehicle, but it makes a ton of sense as a second vehicle. We unbolted all of the seats and threw down a piece of carpeted plywood, moved our roof box over from the van and we're in business. Instant car camping overland rig. More space than the Sienna, 10" of ground clearance, 4wd, tons of power. A little less capable off road than a Taco or a 4runner for sure, but wheelin' is not the primary focus so the tradeoff in that area works for us if it means that we can be more stealthy when we sleep.

We got both of the new-to-us vehicles combined for under $40k, so we're out the door for a lot less than the cost of even a lightly used Tacoma in this market. Since the bulk of the mileage is going on the Prius, the operating costs will also be less than if we had just gotten the Taco. I know that the two vehicle route is not a viable option for a lot of people, but it might be for some that are facing the same decision.

Sounds like an ideal setup for us too. What are the details on the Prius? 

Outperforms in what way?

Uphill engine performance.

Transmission auto-shifting.

rugged 4wd performance

Down hill engine braking

Roomier cab

Brian Prince wrote:

Sounds like an ideal setup for us too. What are the details on the Prius? 

It's a 2015 Prius Two with 80k on the odometer. That one is technically my girlfriends car - once we made up our minds that we would buy a Prius in the $20k ballpark I sat back and let her do the shopping. She found this one at Carmax. The thing that really sold her was the insanely clean leather interior, which we later discovered was an aftermarket add on. We love it! She's averaging in the 45mpg range. Apparently the batteries will easily last 10+ years, and the gas engines are supposed to be super reliable. I heard that in the 175k-200k mileage range they start to have head gasket issues, but other than that are known for being extremely reliable, if a little boring on the road.

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

Uphill engine performance.

Transmission auto-shifting.

rugged 4wd performance

Down hill engine braking

Roomier cab

Gotcha. Can’t disagree with any of those. Definitely why I got my Tacoma tuned (which only fixed the first 2 points). Not that I have any issues with the others, but understandable for sure. 

Gregory H wrote:

It's a 2015 Prius Two with 80k on the odometer. That one is technically my girlfriends car - once we made up our minds that we would buy a Prius in the $20k ballpark I sat back and let her do the shopping. She found this one at Carmax. The thing that really sold her was the insanely clean leather interior, which we later discovered was an aftermarket add on. We love it! She's averaging in the 45mpg range. Apparently the batteries will easily last 10+ years, and the gas engines are supposed to be super reliable. I heard that in the 175k-200k mileage range they start to have head gasket issues, but other than that are known for being extremely reliable, if a little boring on the road.

Very nice, thanks for sharing. For the other car, we have an older 4runner and I wouldn't have considered the Sequoia an option, but it sounds pretty perfect if we ever upgrade. 

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

Can also go down the Priest Grade, for anyone familiar with the northern entrance to Yosemite national park, without touch the brakes either. Amazing.

That is impressive. The Colorado is another one I've never considered. Sounds nice

Cherokee Nunes wrote:

 Can also go down the Priest Grade, for anyone familiar with the northern entrance to Yosemite national park, without touch the brakes either. Amazing.

Ah... old priest grade.  Brings back memories.  I would drive the 84 dodge van in 1st or 2nd gear, carefully braking and then coasting to avoid cooking the brakes.  

Jan Mc wrote:

I have an automatic 2018 SR5 4x4 extra cab with a shell and a drawer system in a 6' bed.  I am lucky if I get 18 mpg on the highway.  I have no idea how someone would get 22 mpg unless they drive 60 mph all the time which is never going to happen for me.  The truck drives really well, even at 90+ mph.  The only problem I have with it is that the auto trannie hunts like crazy in the hills.  Fortunately you can put it in sport mode, downshift and it will stay there.  This is my first auto trannie ever and I am not impressed.

 Don’t know if you still have a tacoma but to you and anybody else who is frustrated by the gear hunting, I recommend a kdmax tune. It basically fixed the issue for me as well as smoothed out the powerband, increased mpg, and enhanced throttle response. It feels like a lighter, smoother, more responsive vehicle post tune