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Monthly Update for December 2016 - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,315
edited January 2017 in Toyota
imageMonthly Update for December 2016 - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

Read the latest on Edmunds.com's long-term test of a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. We piled on about 2,500 miles in the month of December.

Read the full story here


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    longtimelurkerlongtimelurker Member Posts: 455
    "Thinking more about it, though, I wonder whether the problem is the V6 or if the transmission gearing is too tall. The V6 does feel reasonably strong when you give it the spurs and hit high rpm. Maybe Toyota just optimized the gearing for maximum fuel economy rather than improved drivability."

    Gee, I don't know - you drove it - you could see the gear indicator, the tach and the speedo all at the same time - you tell me if they're too tall.

    And nobody over the age of maybe 22 says "amazeballs."

    Not an impressive vehicle...
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    s197gts197gt Member Posts: 486
    edited January 2017
    "We've just added a new long-termer to our fleet, a Honda Ridgeline..."

    Spoiler Alert.

    This is something I will be very interested in.

    I have to say you guys have affected my own personal car collection. Your long-term review of the 2006 BMW 330i helped convince me to buy our 2006 330i. Your review of the CX-9 (and my own previous Mazda experience) convinced me to test-drive and purchase our 2011 CX-9. Your Colorado and Tacoma reviews convinced me I needed a 2001 Ford Ranger 4X4 Off road package. All those purchases were used vehicles though.

    (I don't recall your '05 Mustang affecting my '06 Mustang purchase.)

    So, I have been thinking about a Honda Ridgeline.... trading in some cars on a new one... very interested to see what your experience is like. Particularly fuel mileage and daily livability. I have no doubt it can handle what little "truck" duties I would throw at it.

    My wife is convinced we need to keep the CX-9 for the once or twice a year we use the third row. I would like a Ridgeline as my daily driver and family road trip vehicle. As my son gets older we are gonna get into more outdoors stuff like camping, kayaking, and biking. Don't need a three-row SUV for road trips (all though the CX-9 is great for that, 20-21 highway sucks); if the Ridgeline could get 25 mpg highway it could take over that duty as well. i know it is rated for 25 (in AWD) but will it actually get it in the real world?
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    cameronrcameronr Member Posts: 38
    s197gt said:

    "We've just added a new long-termer to our fleet, a Honda Ridgeline..."

    Spoiler Alert.

    This is something I will be very interested in.

    I have to say you guys have affected my own personal car collection. Your long-term review of the 2006 BMW 330i helped convince me to buy our 2006 330i. Your review of the CX-9 (and my own previous Mazda experience) convinced me to test-drive and purchase our 2011 CX-9. Your Colorado and Tacoma reviews convinced me I needed a 2001 Ford Ranger 4X4 Off road package. All those purchases were used vehicles though.

    (I don't recall your '05 Mustang affecting my '06 Mustang purchase.)

    So, I have been thinking about a Honda Ridgeline.... trading in some cars on a new one... very interested to see what your experience is like. Particularly fuel mileage and daily livability. I have no doubt it can handle what little "truck" duties I would throw at it.

    My wife is convinced we need to keep the CX-9 for the once or twice a year we use the third row. I would like a Ridgeline as my daily driver and family road trip vehicle. As my son gets older we are gonna get into more outdoors stuff like camping, kayaking, and biking. Don't need a three-row SUV for road trips (all though the CX-9 is great for that, 20-21 highway sucks); if the Ridgeline could get 25 mpg highway it could take over that duty as well. i know it is rated for 25 (in AWD) but will it actually get it in the real world?

    I'll leave the "truck stuff" for someone more capable (like Dan Edmunds), but I can say the Ridgeline is great as a vehicle for everyday transportation. The ride is better than any other pickup I've driven, and the rear seat is roomier than the Colorado and Tacoma. It hasn't been in the fleet long enough to get an impression of fuel economy, but that'll come in time.
    EDMUNDS NEWS AND REVIEWS EDITOR
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    desmoliciousdesmolicious Member Posts: 671
    "Maybe Toyota just optimized the gearing for maximum fuel economy rather than improved drivability"

    Avg lifetime mpg = 18.3....
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    bohiobohio Member Posts: 59
    Despite Edmunds' staff trying to mitigate their criticisms of this truck, it's obvious that it misses the mark in all sorts of important ways. But, if you're more concerned about the occasional (which for most drivers means none) forays off road to justify buying this thing, then hopefully you'll someday be able to boast about its long-term reliability and resale value. Maybe that will be some consolation for the crummy performance and lack of comfort on a daily basis, for years. (No thanks...)

    Looking forward to Edmunds' disposal of this dirt clod, and new stories about the Ridgeline.
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    pickle13pickle13 Member Posts: 1
    Great review. I'm a new truck owner and purchased a Tacoma SR5 with 4X4. Love the truck and have taken the truck on long trips without any issues. Recently took it up and over Four peaks in AZ the ruck handled the rough roads well in 4X4 mode Did I mention it was with all season tires as well. Again not an experienced off road driver but it performed well I drive it daily for work and feel comfortable driving in it. Test drove the General Motors products and they felt like I was driving a sedan. I'm a Toyota fan
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    emajoremajor Member Posts: 332
    bohio said:

    Maybe that will be some consolation for the crummy performance and lack of comfort on a daily basis, for years. (No thanks...)

    If there is a vehicle outside of the Jeep Wrangler for which a significant portion of the owners use it for off-roading, it is the Tacoma. So yes, that will indeed be plenty of consolation for the deficit in on-road performance. And no, a Honda Ridgeline is not a suitable replacement. That's like comparing a Pilot to a 4Runner. Folks who never leave tarmac won't understand why you would choose the latter, but those of us with access to public lands certainly do.

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    emajoremajor Member Posts: 332
    Still disappointed in the powertrain's inability to deliver fuel economy exceeding that of the 4.0 V6 it replaced while ruining the driveability. The interior is cheap, the driving position a bit wonky, and the sticker price a bit high (although that is true of the whole segment). But, if you want it to work off-road, this is still your ticket. And there are some who just prefer the truckish nature of this thing even if they never leave pavement--not everyone takes their Wranglers off road either.
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