16 Tacoma better than 4runner..

You would think they would put an adjustable seat and a moveable steering wheel? After all how can someone buy a truck that they dont feel comfortable driving? I would love to hear from the chief engineer on why this is. I"am lucky at 6-2,205lbs i feel great when driving. Yes at first the seating position feels low and weird, but being my 3rd Taco i expect that. It wouldnt be a Tacoma if it sat high!!


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Also, i dont understand why people bash on the 3.5? My only complaint is that it doesnt get the MPG as they say. It must be the guys with the Automatic Tranny, i to thought it was horrible. If you get a Manual Tranny the truck is a night and day difference. Trust me, also the rear end gearing is higher. Between 3k and 5.5k the truck pulls hard, you just have to know how to drive it. I also think the motor wants to get up high in the rev range, i dont believe you are hurting the truck at redline,knowing Toyota the redline is set way on the "Conservative" side. Can you feel the extra 35hp from the last gen? I feel it. Remember to, this 3.5 motor has been in so many different cars in the past 10 years. (Lexus)Solid motor thats for sure. Iam very happy with my truck!! Its not a race car either! Cant wait to do a full Fox Suspension soon!!


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Just traded in my '16 Tacoma DCSB. In my opinion the motor is strong, even though you have to wind it up for it to make good power. The problem is in the trans. It's absolutely dreadful (auto) and is in need of serious tuning fixes. It will downshift to 5th with a gust of wind. The tech package is better than my TEP, and I'll miss the larger nav screen, BSM, rear cross traffic, and push button start. My trans was under filled from the factory, had a huge delay from R to D, and started to flare on the 3-4 shift at 7k miles. They'll figure the trans out eventually, but not soon enough for me. It was just getting worse.
 
You would think they would put an adjustable seat and a moveable steering wheel? After all how can someone buy a truck that they dont feel comfortable driving? I would love to hear from the chief engineer on why this is. I"am lucky at 6-2,205lbs i feel great when driving. Yes at first the seating position feels low and weird, but being my 3rd Taco i expect that. It wouldnt be a Tacoma if it sat high!!



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Based on comments any time the seat issue comes up, tall people don't seem to have as much of an issue because your knees/thighs sit higher. Us mid height guys, 5'10" ish, the front of the seat puts a lot of pressure behind our knees which becomes very uncomfortable on longer trips, and our butt being lower affects our visibility more. I often drive 300-400 miles in a day for work, so this issue great affected me. The 4runner isn't perfect and I'd rather be able to sit like in a chair with my knees at 90 degrees, but it's worlds better than the Tacoma. I'm not even complaining about electric, my 4th gen ('04) had a manual hight adjustment lever. The 4runner had a height adjustment before the 2nd Gen Tacoma came out, no excuse for the Tacoma to not have it.
 
They don't have an electronic seat adjustment like the 4runner does? I can raise my seat up or down depending on who is driving. The Tacoma doesn't offer that at all?

The best seat in a limited Tacoma is not as good as a base model sr5 4runner. The interior of a Limited Tacoma is a step down from a Premium 4runner in basically every way. It's not even close to a Limited 4runner. IMO it should not have been labeled a Limited. Probably a premium at best.

Keep in mind the cheapest tundra you can buy - considerably less expensive than a tacoma - has better interior than a limited tacoma. I can get on board with a low tech tacoma - I'm glad they are available. But they should have considered building a real premium or limited model with at least some adjustable seats. Heck, give me hand crank windows as a trade off for power seats.

I don't know why Toyota went so low budget on the Taco. Rear drum brakes were such a strange choice. I don't know how you can justify that.

On the bright side seats are easy to change. Honda seats tend to be comfortable to me and lower seat height. I have prelude seats in my FJ40 and I think you could swap a nice set out of an accord or similar for pretty cheap and have them fit nicely.
 
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I don't believe this for one second. My '04 4runner had better tech under my butt than the Tacoma has there. I don't care what's in the head unit if it's too uncomfor table to sit in long enough to enjoy it. It's over a decade behind the 4runner in basic features.



A company sells a spacer to lift the seat from the rear mounts.



Your right, i ask the family before a long trip(more than 60 miles) which vehicle do we want to take? Besides the 5 year old saying GT3, everyone agrees on taking the 4runner. The Tacoma is not a family vehicle if you have other cars to choose from. But it wouldnt be terrible if thats all you had. I just love it for my everyday run around vehicle that can do just about 95% of what i ask of it. Taking it to the beach is great also, keeps all the sand out of my 4runner.
 
I'm not new to Toyota by any means, traded in a 2012 Tacoma TRD off road for a 2016 Tacoma TRD off road.
I'm severely unhappy with the new Tacoma and have had nothing but issues. I really wish I kept my 2012.
Anyways I'm thinking of trading it in on a 4Runner TRD pro. Depends what the dealer is willing to do really.
First you can't compare a pickup and an SUV. Second until you own a new Tacoma I don't think your qualified to give an opinion about it.
Sure it looks good on paper but so does communism.

Not to thread jack but is there any known issues I need to be aware of before pulling the trigger on a NEW TRD pro 4Runner? I really don't want to be in the same boat.
 
I'm not new to Toyota by any means, traded in a 2012 Tacoma TRD off road for a 2016 Tacoma TRD off road.
I'm severely unhappy with the new Tacoma and have had nothing but issues. I really wish I kept my 2012.
Anyways I'm thinking of trading it in on a 4Runner TRD pro. Depends what the dealer is willing to do really.
First you can't compare a pickup and an SUV. Second until you own a new Tacoma I don't think your qualified to give an opinion about it.
Sure it looks good on paper but so does communism.

Not to thread jack but is there any known issues I need to be aware of before pulling the trigger on a NEW TRD pro 4Runner? I really don't want to be in the same boat.

I think most on here would say the pro is pointless if you ever intend to lift the truck at all (you can put the height adjustable version of the same lift on for much cheaper), but that's about it.
 
I don't intend to lift it Honestly I'm going for aesthetics with the occasional weekend warrior back country trail.
I'm quite sad about the Tacoma as I loved my 2012 minus the vibrations.
The 2016 Tacoma looks better and is much quieter but the trans software is awful and the quality of the truck as a whole is lacking.
Live and learn I guess.
I'm glad to hear that the new 4runners are pretty issue free. It's gonna be weird going from a pickup for the last 4+ years to an suv but I'm open to the change.

P.s. The 3rd gen forum at tacomaworld is angry and has turned into a troll colony. It wasn't that bad in 2nd gen either. I've already had more help here than a week of posting there. Thanks guys.
 
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This probably isn't the place but 4Runner forum won't let me post yet, just reply...

I'm looking into buying a 4Runner and heard/read that a trail edition is more capable off road then a TRD pro?! I assume I'm an idiot and picked that up wrong. Please explain and thanks
 
This probably isn't the place but 4Runner forum won't let me post yet, just reply...

I'm looking into buying a 4Runner and heard/read that a trail edition is more capable off road then a TRD pro?! I assume I'm an idiot and picked that up wrong. Please explain and thanks

This thread is about how the new Tacoma is way better than the 4Runner.

Go post that in the Pro thread, that'll be hilarious.

Dan
 
This probably isn't the place but 4Runner forum won't let me post yet, just reply...

I'm looking into buying a 4Runner and heard/read that a trail edition is more capable off road then a TRD pro?! I assume I'm an idiot and picked that up wrong. Please explain and thanks
Well suck me sideways
 
Your right, i ask the family before a long trip(more than 60 miles) which vehicle do we want to take? Besides the 5 year old saying GT3, everyone agrees on taking the 4runner. The Tacoma is not a family vehicle if you have other cars to choose from. But it wouldnt be terrible if thats all you had. I just love it for my everyday run around vehicle that can do just about 95% of what i ask of it. Taking it to the beach is great also, keeps all the sand out of my 4runner.

Didn't mean to sound so harsh about it, I think I'm just angry because I wanted to love the Tacoma so bad, I finally got one after 11 years of envy, and I hated it, I was so disappointed. When I saw that the same crap seats were going into the 3rd, I was even more upset. It didn't even have to be electric, a mechanical adjustment would work. It also didn't help that it rains so much here that my bed was useless unless I would have put a cap, but then I might as well have an suv.
 
This probably isn't the place but 4Runner forum won't let me post yet, just reply...

I'm looking into buying a 4Runner and heard/read that a trail edition is more capable off road then a TRD pro?! I assume I'm an idiot and picked that up wrong. Please explain and thanks

I'm going to answer this just so it doesn't spill over and start something somewhere else.

It's the same vehicle as a Trail Premium. The only differences are the Pro comes with better than stock, but not better than most aftermarket options shocks, and It actually comes with all terrain tires, which is the biggest flaw about the "trail edition". The TEP has a sunroof and KDSS option, and more flexibility in price.
 
This probably isn't the place but 4Runner forum won't let me post yet, just reply...

I'm looking into buying a 4Runner and heard/read that a trail edition is more capable off road then a TRD pro?! I assume I'm an idiot and picked that up wrong. Please explain and thanks

You have to have 15 posts before you can start a new thread. Why? To cut down on spammers and let the new guys (you) learn a bit about what's here before you post a new thread question that has been asked and answered 1000 times. Now, to answer your question:

Every 4WD model of 5th Gen 4Runner is very capable off road, from the SR5 to the Limited. Seriously, they are much more capable than the owners and most will not have the nads to push the 4Runner to it's limits.

The TE and TRD Pro have a factory rear locker.
The LE has full time 4WD.
So pick your poison and decide which would be better for you.
The TE Premium is available with KDSS (google it) which will allow for more suspension articulation at low speeds, sort of like disconnecting your swaybars.
The TRD Pro has upgraded shocks and springs that are suited for higher speed desert running.

Every model has it's strengths. You just have to decide which is best for you.

What I can't figure out is how anyone in their right mind can compare a pickup truck to a SUV unless they want to take hauling cargo out of the equation. If you do that and talk about hauling people and on and off road abilities then the 4Runner wins that argument hands down.

You guys kill me sometimes...:yield:
 
I'm not new to Toyota by any means, traded in a 2012 Tacoma TRD off road for a 2016 Tacoma TRD off road.

I'm severely unhappy with the new Tacoma and have had nothing but issues. I really wish I kept my 2012.

Anyways I'm thinking of trading it in on a 4Runner TRD pro. Depends what the dealer is willing to do really.

First you can't compare a pickup and an SUV. Second until you own a new Tacoma I don't think your qualified to give an opinion about it.

Sure it looks good on paper but so does communism.



Not to thread jack but is there any known issues I need to be aware of before pulling the trigger on a NEW TRD pro 4Runner? I really don't want to be in the same boat.



Ok- nothing mechanical, plenty of power, what the pro lacks is no blind spot detection, no rear back up sensors,no sun roof, no high end JBL, if the truck had all these things it would be a home run. Oh an I-Force V-8 would be the coup da gra!! Could you imagine!!! ,i still love driving it, my 2nd 4runner
 
What I can't figure out is how anyone in their right mind can compare a pickup truck to a SUV unless they want to take hauling cargo out of the equation. If you do that and talk about hauling people and on and off road abilities then the 4Runner wins that argument hands down.

You guys kill me sometimes...:yield:

I was 100% set on a 16 Tacoma. Until I sat in the driver's seat and set the seat at a "as crunched as I would be comfortably" and my 5'4 wife literally couldn't even get into the seat behind me. << This is why I chose the 4runner.

I went for people/SUV cargo vs the mid-size truck/towing with a baby sized bed. If I really need a truck bed I'll pick up an inexpensive used trailer and tote it around on my t4r.....

Apples to Oranges. Personal preference.

@OP What do YOU want and why are YOU buying this car?
 
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Here's something else I just remembered while driving it tonight. To be comfortable when driving I rest my left knee against the driver door. When I do this it noticeably blocks the door speaker. If I move my leg away from the door I regain a true stereo sound but my leg is left hanging, not really comfortable. Kind of annoying on a long drive when you want to listen to music. This does not seem to be an issue in the 4runner, or at least not nearly as noticeable as it is in the Tacoma.

One thing I will say is visibility out of the Tacoma is great, Toyota did their homework on designing the front driver side pillar/side mirror setup. The 4runner is great in this regard too, but the Tacoma may edge it out here. Both are significantly better than most other vehicles. I drove my brothers 2014 grand cherokee this weekend and could't see out of that thing for the life of me.
 

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