Monthly Update for October 2017 - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

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  longtimelurker Member Posts: 455

  December 2017

  Pretty funny - old conventional wisdom: Tacoma is a slightly warmed-over version of the previous ancient version, gets mediocre fuel economy, has mediocre power, substandard cabin accommodations. And we found, without a lot of trying, an off-road scenario that blew up the shocks.
  
  New CW: Wow - what a great truck! That fuel economy is actually pretty good - no, REALLY good! The aftermarket shocks only required lots of time sourcing and spec-ing-out, plus only a thousand bucks, tools and a lift and several hours of wrenching to install - what a deal!
  
  It has NO trouble hauling a payload that...any current minivan would also have no trouble hauling - how's that for capability?
  
  Quick question - how is it that in 40,000 miles, you haven't towed anything with it (I have never seen an Edmunds LT pickup test in which you didn't tow anything)? Is it maybe because:
  
  -the anemic power/no torque drivetrain would be even more unacceptable?
  -the dinky rear shocks would undergo similar stress to that experienced on the washboard road, due to a trailer tongue bucking up and down?
  -the questionable heat-dissipation capacity of the rear drum brakes?
  -the interesting driving dynamics that would be caused by the grabbiness of that braking system?
  
  This entry is almost as funny as the earlier one in which the off-road Tacoma was lauded as making so much sense for a city-based owner. I guess that was because skid plates, excellent approach, departure and breakover angles, mud-n-snow tires and a low-range ratio in the transfer case make so much sense when driving on pavement in a major urban environment. The grabby brakes must really help in stop-n-go on the rolling parking lot that is the LA freeway system, too.

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