Hello everyone, im new to the forum and Toyota. Ill be trading for a newer Taco in the near future, it will be my first truck. I was wondering if an automatic or manual transmission is ideal. I plan on doing some off roading, nothing huge, but just having some fun. I drive a manual now so I can drive fine in a stick but Ive never done it off road. Which would you prefer or suggest to a new truck owner for light off roading? Also would you suggest a v6 or 4? Im planning on a 6 but would the 4 give me enough power to do light off roading and pulling a couple of 4 wheelers? Thanks for reading.

 

If it were me i'd get the manual V6, no messing around there!

 

Most people prefer a manual. Some like autos. But i think thats because they cant drive a stick

Engine size is up to you and what you want out of the rig. Just dont ever get a 3.0

 

But yes, like swimmerboy said, the 3.4 with a 5spd behind it would be awesome!

 

I had an '05 Taco DC TRD 4x4 Off Road with the auto and 4.0. I personally like the Auto over the 6 speed. I drove the 6 speed on the test drive in rush hour, seemed like the ratios were very close and all I did was shift...ended up with the auto so my wife could drive the truck (she drove it 5x's in 3 years)
I wheeled the truck quite a bit and it did great. The 4.0 gave me the power to tow my '81 periodically. The 2.7 4 banger is a proven engine, that would probably be fine for light towing. I had a '97 with the 2.7 and over the life of the truck it was never a mileage champ, not much better than the 4.0 in my '05 from what I recall....

Good luck and welcome to Yotatech

 

I'll take Manual for a thousand Alex.

 

manual without even thinking twice. since you are getting a taco, you can pic between the 2.7 4cyl or 3.4 v6 if its a 4th gen and both engines are awesome. if its the 4th gen then i would go 4.0L v6 and from what i have heard, the auto isnt bad for those? funny ocdropsone said the same lol

 

You will find that a lot of people here that had trucks/4Runners with automatic transmissions have swapped them out for a manual transmission, (me included)
it just depends on witch one you prefer.

 

v6 manual fo sho!

 

wow that was quick, thanks for the input everyone. I think ive got a while before I get one anyway, when i told the dealer I was looking for a 4x4 access cab, v6 he almost laughed at me. Apparently they are hard to come by in texas.

 

just my oppinion, manual is better because, youget more power torque (and sometimes mpg's depending on your shift points) because you dont have a torque converter. its really all about what you prefer and where you drive (stop and go traffic etc.).

as for the engine, a 4cyl has enough power for light stuff, but if you'd rather be safe then sorry, go with the 6cyl. you never know when the extra power could come in handy.

 

I really like manual trans trucks or cars, but never had one for wheeling. My runner is auto with the 3.0L. I do enjoy the auto off road though. Less chance to break stuff, but I do have a 5 speed for a swap project cxoming up soon.

 

It all depends by what you consider light off roading !!!

Me I don`t really get into off roading anymore I have enough fun with just my drive way.

Now some of the Hard core Rock crawling I have seen unless you are running Twin cases i would say a automatic would be the way to go. Otherwise you will get real good changing clutches

** For street driving I would always go with a Manual liking to be able to select my shift points rather then the transmission

On the newer Trucks I see the manual is not even a option as I was looking into a new Trundra . That pretty much quashed that idea

 

AUTO = crap

In many cases the manual transmission will be among the last things to break, if it even does during the life of the vehicle. I bet you could probably put 500,000 miles on a properly maintained stock toyota 5 speed.

 

Depends if you are getting a 1st or 2nd gen Tacoma. If first gen ('95.5-'04) then I would say manual.

For the second gen ('05+) if it had been 2 weeks ago, I would say manual as well but my girlfriend just picked up an '06 access cab v6 with the 5spd auto. Let me tell you, Im starting to like it more than my '95 4runner with a 5spd manual. You can pretty much manually shift through all the gears. Theres no need, but if you do its GREAT! On our 350 miles trip home from where she bought it from, we averaged 22mpg doing 60-70 mph. And just south of Fairbanks there is about 40 minutes of 6% grades (some less). Up and down. It was nice to be able to control the vehicle without hardly any braking. going from 5th(overdrive) to 4th is just a slap left. 4th-3rd is a click down. Theres no pulling the shifter forward like on column shifters or clutch pushing. And 236hp to boot

 

Hmmmm..........how about an auto dual gear drive cases using all Marlin parts and being able to have one foot on the brake and one on the gas will holding my coffee in one hand and steering with the other. Wait I still have to shift the manual controlled auto so I guess I'll have to put my coffee down................unless I let go of the steering wheel to shift hey get what ever you want, there really is no hard and fast rule. Most of us Toyota guys know that most of the Toyotas came with 5 spd's and are easier to find. Also with the smaller disp. engines like the 3.0 and 3.4 a manual gives you the sensation of being fast.
Have a nice day.................I like autos, but I don't DD mine it's a 4wd machine.

 

Manual all the way! All three of my yotas are, would never own any thing else!

 

IHeartHeelToe


Either will be fine in a truck with that much power...

Most of the AT to MT swaps you will see around here are not for the Tacoma vintage, but the Mini's that were before it. a 115hp 4 vs. a 127hp 4 or a 150hp V6 to a 190hp V6...

Both have their place, and one might excel where one might be poo...


For hard crore mud and sand, I'd go with a AT if I had the power... They NEVER stop or disconnect anything to shift.


Mash the clutch in on sand, and I don't care how fast you are, you will stop and lose all your momentum... You just have to plaster it and keep moving. Or stay in one gear.

AT is bump, bump, bump through the gears... and you'll never stop.

 

Another thing about AT's Vs. MT's are, I believe you will have more trouble with AT.


AT's are good, and have their place, but I look at them as marrying a woman...

IMO, they are way more apt to fail, where 9x outta 10 all an MT needs is a clutch.

You have to worry about the AT fluid being too full, or too hot... Or Changing the fluid too much and washing the clutch material out, or not changing the fluid out enough...

A whole slew of things can happen....


So which one would I rather be married to? Guess...

 

another good thing about mt's, wich i dont know if it will apply yo a new truck but...if youre engine is older (like mine for example...) if it ever has a problem idleing under load, it will stall out. if i put mine in 4low, and try to creep up a flexing ramp, or hill it will stall out, but if i (or you) had an mt, you can hold your engine at 900-1000 rpm's and use your clutch to controll the speed.