Receive alerts when new cars matching your search criteria are added to our site.I’ve spent the day pawing through the 2016 Toyota Tacoma’s just-released specs, looking for something to celebrate or dump on or at least launch a disjointed rant over. Fuel economy is weak, but otherwise it seems like a decent truck for the money. Unless you buy the four-cylinder. For the last 10 years or so, the Tacoma and it’s only mid-sized rival the Nissan Frontier were both offered with two engines, wheezy four-bangers that got mediocre gas mileage and noisier V6s with downright embarrassing MPG stats.This year the Chevy Colorado stepped on the scene and actually starting raising eyebrows for how efficient a modern “mid-sized” pickup could be. That’s not half bad for a bricky vehicle with an open cargo bed. But you can only hit that in the 2WD inline-four, which you have to strangle to get any speed out of. There go your fuel savings. The 4WD V6, the variant that’s actually nice to drive, maxes out at 24 on the highway and just 20 in mixed driving.
“Meh” say those of us who look at vehicles critically. If you’re getting 20 MPG to work every day in 2015, and your work doesn’t involve loading heavy cargo or towing or going off-road, you better really love riding in whatever vehicle you have to justify that cost.The Colorado was supposed to be your “one-vehicle” for people who want a truck but don’t want the truck running costs. Sorry guys, it’s just as thirsty as a full-sized 4x4 without the optional V8.The new Tacoma, which David Tracy drove, is like the old Tacoma in that it will come with an inline four-cylinder. Actually exactly like the old Tacoma. The small-engine option in the 2016 has the same displacement and output as the 2015 except it needs a little more fuel to piss out 159 horsepower since the truck’s been saddled with a few more pounds in features. But there’s also a V6, which actually is new. It’s half-a-liter smaller than the old one, more powerful, and more efficient. And ho, there’s my favorite sentence to write!
The new 3.5-liter V6 is so dang well designed it actually gets 1 MPG better than the 2.7-liter four-banger on the highway with 4WD and an automatic transmission.That’s right, the 2.7-liter four-cylinder has about half the horsepower of the new 3.5-liter V6 and can only beat it by 2 MPG at most and the bigger engine has the top efficiency spec. Wanna spreadsheet this sucker? Take a look up close, any positive numbers on the far right column indicates the four cylinder does better. As you can see, it’s slim pickin’s:As you can see the four is negligibly better in the city where it can laze around idling, on-par or worse than the V6 everywhere else. Okay so you’re not buying the smaller engine to save gas. It must be cheaper to buy, right?I mean, kind of. The SR5 four-cylinder is $25,385, while the SR5 V6 is a whopping $26,995. That’s both on extended-cab 2WD configurations.Save $1,610 at the dealership, lose way more when you go to sell the thing and everybody says “no thanks, I’m looking for a V6.”
Also did I mention the bigger engine has over 100 horsepower more at virtually no fuel burn penalty? Even if you’re not concerned about resale value, how the hell are you going to spring for a brand new $30,000 rig and not go the extra two grand to get the engine with so much more juice?!Anyway, you’re probably not going to have to sweat it because the 2.7-liter four-cylinder is only available on the lower trims and they’re almost all extended-cab only, which no dealers are going to want to sell. I just don’t get why they bothered keeping this crappy engine around at all.(Correction: I originally thought the four-cylinder was only available in extended cabs, but a reader pointed out you can spec an SR5 four-door with the I4 engine and 2WD.)The Toyota Tacoma has some of the most rabid loyalists of all the mid-size trucks. They bought more than 180,000 copies last year, twice as many as its nearest competitor. And there’s such a strong following among older Tacomas that they maintain their resale value better than any other truck.
While we’re betting the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon and their soon-available turbodiesel engine will chip into those numbers a bit, Toyota’s response is solid—yet also solidly predictable, and a bit conservative when it comes down to it. The 2016 Toyota Tacoma isn’t a clean-sheet redesign, but it delivers exactly what those dedicated enthusiasts want. The new Tacoma gets a new cabin structure, new powertrains, a tuned suspension, and an improved feature set—plus cabin improvements that make these trucks significantly quieter inside. What Toyota hasn’t messed with is the Tacoma’s size and configuration; that’s all essentially the same as last year. While styling on the outside really hasn’t changed much in profile, the hoodline has been propped upward slightly, and the somewhat more assertive, hex-pattern grille looks essentially subbed in from the larger Tundra lineup. Toyota’s smoothed over the previous asymmetrical wheelwell lips but in back given it more of an industrial-chic look with some creasing and the Tacoma name stamped in.
Inside, the cabin’s far more detail-oriented, and it has a more horizontal layout, with bezels and finishes that no longer look completely bargain-basement. As before, the Tacoma comes in Short Bed and Long Bed versions (roughly 5 and 6 feet), with Double Cab and Access Cab styles. Double Cab models pack in a full-size back seat and space for up to five, while Access Cabs have small fold-out seats that are probably more useful as cargo space. The standard cab versions of the Tacoma aren’t coming back. What has changed is what’s under the hood; and while the 3.5-liter direct-injection V-6 is smaller than last year’s 4.0-liter, it makes 278 horsepower (42 more versus the previous V-6) and 265 pound-feet of torque. That’s a very slight bump down in torque, but this new engine boasts noticeably better passing power and smoothness. With V-6 models you get to choose between a 6-speed manual and a new 6-speed automatic transmission. The automatic is probably our preference here, as its upshifts and downshifts are now nicely damped, with well-spaced gears and quick shifts.
There’s still a base 4-cylinder version of the Tacoma, with a 2.7-liter inline-4 making 159 hp and 180 lb-ft of torque, and paired to automatic or manual 5-speed transmissions. It’s likely that, as with the Tacoma’s predecessor, you should steer away from these models unless you aren’t hauling much of a load or wishing for high-speed passing power. There isn’t much of an incentive mileage-wise either, now that Toyota’s boosted V-6 numbers to as high as 19 mpg city, 24 highway. Depending on the trim level and options, the 2016 Tacoma can tow up to 6,800 pounds or haul up to 1,620 pounds. That’s fully SAE rated according to the latest testing methodology, Toyota notes. That highest tow rating comes with a package that includes a heavy-duty oil and transmission cooler (with the automatic), a 130-amp alternator (manual models), and Trailer Sway Control. Off-road potential, however, remains the main attraction for a huge subset of Tacoma buyers. And Toyota's laid out an impressive set of upgrades to the Tacoma's off-roading hardware.
This time there’s a new Multi-Terrain Select system operates like similar systems from Ford and Land Rover—and the one in the 4Runner. With it, modes for driving conditions from mud to sand to slick rock alter the Tacoma's throttle and braking to aid in traction. The new Tacoma also adds an electronic limited-slip and locking rear differential, hill-start assist, and crawl control, which takes over the brakes and throttle from 1 to 5 mph in off-road driving, leaving the driver free to steer around obstacles. Combined with excellent sightlines and outward visibility, it’s a trooper off-road in a wide range of conditions. This pandering to such a defined, dedicated crowd might help explain why not much attention has been paid to the actual cabin amenities. There are some key cabin-comfort items missing from these trucks. You won’t find ventilated seats here—or even power seats—and the driver’s seat doesn’t even adjust for height or tilt. And there’s not a whole lot of headroom with the available moonroof.
But ride quality has indeed improved significantly, and this truck handles better than on the road than it has in past iterations. Five trim levels make up the model line: basic SR, SR5, TRD Sport and TRD Off-Road, and Limited. Touching on the Tacoma's longstanding rep as the go-to truck for outdoor sports, the Tacoma comes standard with a GoPro mount at the rearview mirror. Other new features include an locking, damped tailgate; a four-panel folding tonneau cover; and dual-zone automatic climate control. On the infotainment front, all models now get improved touchscreen audio, and most models are compatible with a new Scout smartphone-based navigation system. The new Tacoma has been redeveloped mostly in Michigan, and U.S. Tacoma models will come both from Texas and Mexico. Both 4- and 6-cylinder models manage respectable fuel economy figures for its class. Automatic, rear-drive, 4-cylinder models earn 19 mpg city, 23 highway, 21 combined; but 4x2 V-6 models beat that, at 19/24/21 mpg.