journalists drive the 2016 Tacoma

haven

Expedition Leader
Toyota has invited hundreds of automotive journalists to Washington state next week. The objective: to get up close and personal with the 2016 Tacoma pickup. You can expect that your favorite car blogs will be posting impressions of and reactions to the new truck in the coming days.

2016 Tacoma.jpg

Quite a bit of information already has been released about the 2016 Tacoma:

--The frame is bolstered by more high-strength steel

--The suspension is retuned, but Toyota has not said to what effect.

--There's a new 3.5L V6, replacing a 4.0L unit from at least 10 years ago. No power numbers have been released, but the new motor is widely expected to be both more powerful and more fuel efficient than the 4.0L.

--The 2.7L four cylinder motor carries forward from 2015, but it may get a tuning change to increase power.

--The automatic transmission is a 6 speed. A 6 speed manual is available with the V6.

--The off-road electronics offer an e-locker, hill start assist, clutch start cancel, active traction control, crawl control and a multi-terrain select dial. These features were offered in 2015, so it remains to be seen if there will be any improvement.

--Materials in the cabin are supposed to be upgraded.

--The bed gets a locking tailgate.

--The front end adopts the Dustbuster / bottom feeder appearance of the Tundra.

I'll be looking for any increase in the cargo capacity of the new Tacoma. The Chevrolet Colorado has the 2015 Tacoma beat by 200 pounds (1590 vs 1360 lb payload for a crew cab 4x4 model), making it more capable of shouldering the load of a camper plus all your gear. Lots of people have to add air bags to their Tacomas to handle being overloaded.
 

Danimal

Adventurer
Crawl control and multi-terrain select were offered in 2015? I was not aware of that and was under the impression that these were new to this vehicle for 2016.

Dan
 

stioc

Expedition Leader
I'll be looking for any increase in the cargo capacity of the new Tacoma. The Chevrolet Colorado has the 2015 Tacoma beat by 200 pounds (1590 vs 1360 lb payload for a crew cab 4x4 model), making it more capable of shouldering the load of a camper plus all your gear. Lots of people have to add air bags to their Tacomas to handle being overloaded.

x2 on the payload. A v8 option like the 4Runners had for a little while would be nice too.
 

toddz69

Explorer
Next week must be here already as Scott has been posting pictures on social media already.

Todd Z.
 

bjp

Rez roamer, dog wrangler
it's not really a *new* 3.5L V6, is it? I've seen that expression several places now. Surely it is the same efficient, powerful 3.5 that the Sienna has had for a decade now, with a little truck-specific tuning?
 

wreckdiver1321

Overlander
I read on a photography blog that all the new Tacomas will be coming with a Gopro mount as standard.

That's kinda neat.
 

haven

Expedition Leader
Thanks for the correction about the off-road features new to the 2016 Tacoma. The 2015 TRD Off-Road package includes an electronically locking rear differential, hill-start assist, downhill-assist control, and active traction control (A-TRAC). It's the 4Runner that has had multi-terrain select for a couple of years. In 2016 it comes to the Tacoma.
 

haven

Expedition Leader
While journalists and bloggers are restricted from posting their critical observations about the Tacoma for a couple more days, some videos without comment are appearing. Here's an example, showing how Crawl Control works in several settings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGC-jVXL_4s
 
I have a friend up there in Tacoma (that's where they had the unveiling) and he had a few things to say about the new Tacoma. Some good things and one thing in particular that had us scratching our heads. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the official word is.
 

bknudtsen

Expedition Leader
I saw a tan Access Cab Off-Road just outside of Issaquah, WA yesterday. Looked like it handled stop and go traffic like the previous models...
 

bkg

Explorer
I saw a tan Access Cab Off-Road just outside of Issaquah, WA yesterday. Looked like it handled stop and go traffic like the previous models...

LOL!

if the quality of build is anywhere near that of my 2015 Tundra, I'll be done with any American-assembled Toyota.
 

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