The All-New Toyota Tacoma: A Refreshed yet Unrefined Experience

This is the all-new Toyota Tacoma, which for 2016 gets a new powertrain and hand suspension tuning, as well as redesigned exterior and interior styling. Tacomas have earned a reputation for good reliability off-road toughness and high resale value, but they've also been known to come with some drawbacks, such as clumsy handling, a stiff ride, and an uncomfortable seat on the floor driving position.

Our test truck is a four-wheel-drive SR5 crew cab model, fitted with Toyota's new 278 horsepower 3.5 liter V6 engine, which gets a 42 horsepower boost over the last version and a 6-speed automatic transmission. The truck also comes with some optional features, such as 16-inch alloy wheels and the V6 tow package, and our base price came in at $34,364 dollars. In contrast, the base model starts at $23,300 dollars.

EPA fuel economy estimates for the four-wheel drive V6 automatic are quite respectable, clocking in at 18 miles per gallon city, 23 miles per gallon highway, and 20 miles per gallon overall. Toyota claims that the new Tacoma is made quieter by adding a multi-layer acoustic windshield sound-absorbing headliner and a floor silencer pad. While we did find that road noise seems somewhat more suppressed than in the past, the mechanical roar of the V6, fair amount of wind and tire noise, suggest that Toyota might not have gone far enough to eliminate all noise.

One notable feature shared by all Tacoma trim lines is the composite bed, which Toyota says is 10 percent lighter than steel. The bed is also rust-free and may very likely outlast the rest of the truck. Another notable feature is the nicely damped tailgate, which doesn't slam down when you release it. Inside, the driving position still feels distressingly low, hindering your view.

Our SR5 model came with a standard Entune audio plus infotainment system, which includes a 6.1-inch touchscreen display and a straightforward climate control system. One cool, low-budget feature that we found was that all Tacoma trim lines come with a GoPro mount located near the rear-view mirror, allowing you to capture your off-road adventures or have your own dash cam, whichever suits your needs.

First impressions of the new Tacoma are not particularly exciting. As one reviewer noted, "I don't mean to be Captain Obvious here," but the Tacoma still rides, handles, and sounds like a truck - and that's precisely what it is. Don't expect the quiet refinement of a Ford F-150 or the comfort of a Ram 1500; those are much bigger and more expensive rigs.

The 3.5 liter V6 and 6-speed automatic transmission are geared heavily toward improving fuel economy rather than boosting performance, as a result. The powertrain feels flat footed and unresponsive, almost like a stumbling zombie. It's worth noting that the relatively new Chevrolet Colorado leads the small truck pack in our ratings, but we weren't overly impressed with its stiff ride and V6 engine that seemed to go on a low torque dial.

The problem with the 2016 Tacoma is that it feels drives and sounds an awful lot like the unrefined old truck that it was. We were expecting more, and while we'll certainly gain a better understanding of how much or how little the Tacoma has evolved with more seat time and miles in our test truck, for now, this refresh seems to be more of a minor tweak rather than a full-fledged overhaul.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthis is the all-new Toyota Tacoma which for 2016 gets a new powertrain and hand suspension tuning and redesigned exterior and interior styling Tacomas have a well deserved reputation for good reliability off-road toughness and high resale value sadly they also had clumsy handling a stiff ride in an odd and uncomfortable seat on the floor driving position we bought a four-wheel-drive sr5 crew cab model fitted with Toyota's new 278 horsepower 3.5 liter v6 which gets a 42 horsepower boost over the last version and a 6-speed automatic with a few options such as 16-inch alloy wheels and the v6 tow package our truck costs thirty-four thousand three hundred sixty four dollars base model starts at twenty-three thousand three hundred dollars EPA fuel economy estimates for the four-wheel drive v6 automatic clock in at 18 miles per gallon city twenty three miles per gallon highway and 20 miles per gallon overall Toyota claims the new Tacoma is made quieter by adding a multi-layer acoustic windshield sound absorbing headliner and a floor silencer pad we found that road noise seems somewhat more suppressed than in the past however the mechanical roar of the v6 a fair amount of wind and tire noise show that Toyota might not have gone far enough all models have a composite bed that Toyota says is ten percent lighter than steel it's also rust free and may very likely outlast the rest of the truck and the tailgate is nicely damped it doesn't slam down when you release it inside the driving position is still distressingly low hindering your view out our sr5 model came with a standard Entune audio plus infotainment system which includes a 6.1 inch touchscreen display along with the straightforward climate control system all the controls are pretty easy to use one cool low buck feature is that all Tacoma trim lines come with a GoPro mount located near the rear-view mirror capture all your off-road adventures or have your own dash cam your choice first impressions well I don't mean to be Captain Obvious here but the Tacoma still rides handles and sounds like a truck in other words don't expect the quiet refinement of a Ford f-150 or the comfort of a ram 1500 of course those are much bigger and more expensive rigs we also think the 3.5 liter v6 and 6-speed automatic are geared heavily toward improving fuel economy rather than boosting performance as a result the powertrain feels as flat footed and unresponsive as a stumbling zombie the relatively new Chevrolet Colorado leads the small truck pack in our ratings but we weren't overly impressed with its stiff ride and a v6 engine that seemed to go on a low torque dial is the new Tacoma enough to topple the Colorado remember when you're in high school or college and you pulled an all-nighter to finish an assignment well maybe you got it done but the teacher wasn't fooled here in lays the problem with the 2016 Tacoma it feels drives and sounds awful lot like the unrefined old truck that it was we were expecting more will have a better idea of how much or how little the Tacoma has evolved when we gain more seat time and miles in our test truck for more on compact pickup trucks check out consumerreports.org youthis is the all-new Toyota Tacoma which for 2016 gets a new powertrain and hand suspension tuning and redesigned exterior and interior styling Tacomas have a well deserved reputation for good reliability off-road toughness and high resale value sadly they also had clumsy handling a stiff ride in an odd and uncomfortable seat on the floor driving position we bought a four-wheel-drive sr5 crew cab model fitted with Toyota's new 278 horsepower 3.5 liter v6 which gets a 42 horsepower boost over the last version and a 6-speed automatic with a few options such as 16-inch alloy wheels and the v6 tow package our truck costs thirty-four thousand three hundred sixty four dollars base model starts at twenty-three thousand three hundred dollars EPA fuel economy estimates for the four-wheel drive v6 automatic clock in at 18 miles per gallon city twenty three miles per gallon highway and 20 miles per gallon overall Toyota claims the new Tacoma is made quieter by adding a multi-layer acoustic windshield sound absorbing headliner and a floor silencer pad we found that road noise seems somewhat more suppressed than in the past however the mechanical roar of the v6 a fair amount of wind and tire noise show that Toyota might not have gone far enough all models have a composite bed that Toyota says is ten percent lighter than steel it's also rust free and may very likely outlast the rest of the truck and the tailgate is nicely damped it doesn't slam down when you release it inside the driving position is still distressingly low hindering your view out our sr5 model came with a standard Entune audio plus infotainment system which includes a 6.1 inch touchscreen display along with the straightforward climate control system all the controls are pretty easy to use one cool low buck feature is that all Tacoma trim lines come with a GoPro mount located near the rear-view mirror capture all your off-road adventures or have your own dash cam your choice first impressions well I don't mean to be Captain Obvious here but the Tacoma still rides handles and sounds like a truck in other words don't expect the quiet refinement of a Ford f-150 or the comfort of a ram 1500 of course those are much bigger and more expensive rigs we also think the 3.5 liter v6 and 6-speed automatic are geared heavily toward improving fuel economy rather than boosting performance as a result the powertrain feels as flat footed and unresponsive as a stumbling zombie the relatively new Chevrolet Colorado leads the small truck pack in our ratings but we weren't overly impressed with its stiff ride and a v6 engine that seemed to go on a low torque dial is the new Tacoma enough to topple the Colorado remember when you're in high school or college and you pulled an all-nighter to finish an assignment well maybe you got it done but the teacher wasn't fooled here in lays the problem with the 2016 Tacoma it feels drives and sounds awful lot like the unrefined old truck that it was we were expecting more will have a better idea of how much or how little the Tacoma has evolved when we gain more seat time and miles in our test truck for more on compact pickup trucks check out consumerreports.org you\n"