So I'm at a the dealership today of a family member of mine. One of the master tech's I know there and I were talking about the new Tacoma he has and I was asking him what he thinks about it. He said in his opinion the drive train is outstanding. Powerful, smooth, refined, etc. out of all the compact/midsize Toyota trucks, Toyota has put out. But he said otherwise it's a "pavement princess." My brother told me that the frame was fully boxed to the last cross member. Well he was wrong. It is fully boxed under the engine until about half way into the drivers/passenger seat. So about half of the truck is fully boxed, the rest is C channel. The shock mounts are outside the leaf springs which limits rear flex compared to when the shocks are inside the leaf springs. The cross over dips below the transfer case/protector plate. Yeah I know some have said it's not a problem but the 3vze and 5vzfe don't have that issue we know that's for sure. While the utilization of a fully boxed subframe reduces weight, combined with going to a plastic box reducing weight thus both of these features help gas mileage and engine performance/reliability, etc, I can't help but think that Toyota think's us North Americans are a bunch of pansy asses who don't use our trucks as trucks enough, and they're also scared because we're so fat and lazy that we'll sue in a heart beat if our high riding Toyota 4x4, like previous editions of the Tacoma and pickup trucks, will flip over because it sits higher off the ground stock.

I've always had my eyes on the Tacoma as sort of my next truck, and while I love the powertrain and transmssion options, and the comfort is appealing and all that, seeing what I saw today really reinforced what I love about my truck and it's fully boxed frame. Yeah it's a heavy MOFO that has a smaller displacement engine but it has little issues, and it lives on the parallels of other Toyota trucks built accross the world.

 

I agree. Toyota needs to maintain the things that made their trucks great in the first place. At least the 4runner frames are still fully boxed.

 

my response to the title: yes. and for good reason, for all the reasons stated. we are a niche market, most people that buy trucks these days use them for their daily driver and expect them to handle like a car.

gone are the days when your average truck buyer bought a pickup for hauling or doing work.

hell, i'd even be willing to bet that the average person whining about not having a straight axle option has never owned or even driven a straight axle truck.

 

yep..they sure dont build em like they used to. of course those that buy newtrucks these days are just for grocery getters, mall crawlin etc etc. if they really wanted something for work and play, it'd be an older stronger toy. or a real work truck from either of the big3. unless of course your bank is bottomless and you can afford to hack-n-sas a spanking new taco. we know this and toyota knows this. hence the weaker frames when the first tacos came out.

if we could have our way, we'd have the option of getting what they get in japan/australia. hiluxes with solid axles & diesel engines. but nope..we're (ok americans mostly...HAHA *hides*) are just a bunch of fat lazy bastids...

at least the 4runners have fully boxed frames

 

toyota isn't selling diesels because they don't sell as well. in a pickup, even if a diesel is getting 5 or 6mpg better than a gas engine, a lot of people aren't going to be able to swallow the extra 5k or so that a diesel engine tacks on to the retail price.

 

In addition to the fact that we have very dirtry diese fuel here, which is soon to change. BMW has a great diesel for in the M5 series but it would choke on diesel used here.

 

Not only do they think it, they know it.

I have met with the guys in charge of designing the next 4R. They were talking about bigger and unibody. Why? Because that sells.

Who here would or even could honestly purchase a brand new truck expressly for the purpose of modifying it? Not too many. The FJ is as close as Toyota will ever come to a pure off road rig. The Tundra will be a real truck. The rest will be what they have always been, real compromises.

 

They quit making 4Runners in 1989 and starting making SUVs. I'll never own another gen but a 1st gen, MAYBE a 2nd gen if I can find a donor cheap to do a 3.4 conversion on...only to hack up the body too and make it a trail rig.

 

I would buy a Toyota Hilux diesel tomorrow if it were available.

 

Any 4Runner can be a 4Runner, it just gets more expensive with each generation.

 

Heavy? It could be a Nissan...

 

I'll be the minority here, I love my new Tacoma, it is the perfect COMPROMISE for what I wanted. Something large enough to haul the family and friends around in and get us to off the beaten path camping areas and run light trails. I have no doubt the frame will take just as much abuse as the older trucks. Let's face it, if you want to buld something to take off road there are about 1000 better options than a brand new nearly full-size truck.

If you are worried about the durability of the frames in an off-road environment I would encourage you to talk to some of the guys that have these trucks and really use them off-road and most of them aren't on this site. As a matter of fact, unless it is custom, no Tacoma has a fully boxed frame.

The horrible c-channel frame on the new tacomas is actually built here in America by Dana, iirc, this was likely done to cut down on tariff's as well as to facilitate assembling the truck stateside. It is also not just standard c-channel but for the life of me I can't find the article talking about the technology, etc behind it. Dana has been building frames for Toyotas for over 10 years and builds all of the frames for Tundras and Sequoias as well.

Flame me all you want, I have had experience with all generations of Toyota trucks and 2 generations of 4runners, they aren't what they used to be but that isn't all bad. I wouldn't dare drive my old 82 pickup on my 60 mile daily commute in stop and go traffic, but I loved it just the same.

 

For dedicated trail rigs I totally agree, but for those of us whose trail rig needs to drive us to work, too, the 4th gen is a great vehicle, both on and off-road.

 

That would be really sad if Toyota went with a Unibody on the next gen 4Runner.

 

Yeah, I thought the Highlander already filled the "unibody SUV" market?

 

I bet you're right. It is a liberating experience, or so you think, till you trounce over a speed bump at 20 like you did in your mall runner... And bash your head into the roof.

Hahaha...

 

i agree they need to stick to the old design. and speaking of truck capability, no one has seemed to mention the inside of the new tacoma. dont get me wrong it is awsome and comfortable. however, i wouldnt want to get much mud in there. with my 01 i'm not to worried but when i climed into my friends new taco my first thought was " i hope my shoes arn't dirty?!" i know it sounds a little superficial, but when your out playing in the mud and that gut wrenching fact hits that your stuck and have to get out, it is something to think about when climbing into the nice new taco.

dont get me wrong i love the new taco, i would love to lift it and own one. but when it comes down to it could i, and would i want to take it off road and through all the stuff my 01 has seen? probably not. but it is just my opinion, i do somewhat feel, as much as i hate to say it, they are kind of a street queen.

 

Hey! You could always go domestic. Year after year Toyota continues to delivers the kind of quality domestic engineers can't produce in Mexico.