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After over a decade without any substantial changes, Toyota is finally redesigning the mid-size Tacoma pickup for 2016.
Set to debut at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, the Tacoma’s updates are conveniently aligned with the introduction of the all-new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. While the GM trucks have a head start, the Taco is far and away the leader in the mid-size truck segment. And with the Nissan Frontier languishing on the market for a few more years, it’s likely that Toyota’s lead will only be extended.
23 Comments on “Toyota Will Introduce Redesigned Tacoma At Detroit Auto Show...”
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I believe this is the whole Tacoma for 2016…
http://www.tacomahq.com/wp-content/uploads/6a00d83451b3c669e201a3fd0f17ae970b-800wi.jpg
That looks more Hilux than Tacoma.
It’s from Carscoops
…..as a Hilux….
… Says it’s a Tacoma
It is a Hilux, the 2016 model
Then this must be the Tacoma
http://blendcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Toyota-Tacoma-2015-Redesign.jpg
;-)
(The first one you posted)
That is one godawful truck, it looks like a butch Ridgeline.
Why not just take a commercial stapler and staple a 4 foot high bed onto a Camry, it would be an improvement over the hilux thing you posted.
If that’s the crap big al is going on about then he has to be high.
Crap, another squashed-down greenhouse with big, fat A-pillars and the windshield falling into passenger space. Now even pickups uniformly suck.
Hello, Mobius!
That’s pretty tasteful; I’d just put smaller wheels on it and call it good.
Of course, since I’ve now called it tasteful, it’ll need another 6 inches of lift and a taller front end if Toyota wants it to sell in the US.
Less wheel gap than a corolla… Odd.
I hope they don’t screw it up. I’ve seen a few Colorados running around town. Gunslit windows and huge butts don’t do that truck any favors. Just put a better transmission in the Taco and call it a day.
Interested to see how they’ve updated this truck. After sitting on this thing for a decade and increasing its asking price multiple times, one would hope Toyota had a formidable redesign just waiting to drop at the right moment.
Right now it looks like the Colorado has the edge in refinement and driving dynamics, the Tacoma on offroad capability, and about equal towing/hauling capability. I think Toyota needs to retain those strengths while improving the interior and fuel economy.
I was looking at the Tacoma’s sale numbers on goodcarbadcar and that thing still sells over 100000 units per year. I was surprised. So far the Canyon/Colarado aren’t doing great numbers so this redesign will probably only help Toyota.
Yeah, the sales numbers this far into the design are pretty remarkable. Toyota did some tweaks to the infotainment and front fascia in the last year or so and I’ve seen a lot of those mildly facelifted trucks on the road. They must be making money hand over fist on this vehicle.
I don’t think it’s all that remarkable when almost all of your competition went away.
Your choices were Frontier, Tacoma, or fullsize.
A decade ago it was Frontier, Tacoma, Canyon, Colorado, B-Series, Ranger, Isuzu, Dakota (I think the Dakota was in its last year – will happily be corrected), and the Ridgeline came out in early 2005
Six months ago you had almost no choice if you really wanted a compact truck – and the Taco is way better than the Frontier
Just curious why the Taco is way better than the Frontier? I quick glance at the specs seems to make them very similar (including lack of updates).
The Canyon/Colorado has only been available for one sale month and had a very quiet “stop sale” for most of October.
Hard to sell when they aren’t on the lots – it would be like declaring the FR-S a flop in the first few weeks of delivery.
You have to wait 18 months – then you can call it a flop. ;-)
The real updates the Tacoma needs isn’t the skin, and although the interior needs more refinement for the class (e.g. technology, and more of what typical buyers want today) the real problem is the drive line.
There is nothing inherently wrong with the bulletproof reliable 4 and 6 cylinder engines, and the 5-speed automatic that comes with the Tacoma today (I believe the manual is dead or on life support).
The problem is they are woefully uncompetitive. The current engine offerings are trounced by other trucklets and indirect competitor SUVs / CUVs of similar size. They are trounced in refinement, horsepower, torque, and most importantly fuel economy.
Five gears in an auto was pretty cool, 10 or 15 years ago, the competition has gone 6, 7, 8, 9, and soon 10 cogs.
The Taco needs a far more refined drive line to improve fuel economy, decrease NVH within the class it competes in, and improve upon the power figures.
My concern on this update as I’m a huge Taco fan, is judging by other Toyota “updates,” the sheet metal and interior will get an overhaul, and the existing drivelines will soldier on. That won’t be enough long term.
Isn’t the automatic in the current Tacoma still the old 4-speed? That should say something about how interested Toyota is in upgrading anything other than superficial exterior changes.
You may be overstating things a bit about the competition. I suspect that much of the Taco’s sales are fleet, and those guys don’t much care about the latest drivetrains and engines. They’re interested in reliability, and the Toyota has that in spades.
Simply put, there just isn’t much of a civilian market for small trucks, anymore, and what does exist seems to be just fine with the old-tech Tacoma.
Only the base “workman” model that they killed had the 4-speed automatic, which I feel is basically unacceptable in a vehicle at this point (unless the engine is such a powerless wonder that there isn’t enough umpf for the extra cogs, but then that points to another problem).
The V6 version at the minimum gets a 5-speed auto.
Toyota should offer the engine and multi-terrain select components that are currently available in the 4Runner, that alone would be a huge upgrade.
I really like the styling. Maybe the ride height is adjustable? Air bags!
I hope quality improves from the 2nd gen Tacomas, seemed like they had more premature component failures like wheel bearings and such than Toyotas of yore, and I’ve actually heard the frames are not as robust (albeit more rust resistant so far) than the 1st generation trucks.
I test drove a 2014 Quadcab TRD truck and liked it a lot, It felt very closely related to my 1996 4Runner, for better or for worse. Much more so than comparing the 1996 4Runner to the 2014 4Runner, which had much more room in the driver’s area and in general isolated the driver from the road a lot more. The Tacoma’s interior seemed a bit cheesy compared to my 1996 vintage Toyota as well, but not bad. An update to engines transmissions is a good idea for the sake of MPG, but power and refinement wise I’d say they were fine already. Then again to me a truck is supposed to drive like a truck.
I’d also like to add just how much more comfortable I felt piloting the Tacoma around on my test drive compared to the mammoth Tundra. The Tundra is sort of fun in its own way, like a huge battleship. But maneuvering around in the woods or backing up at a campsite, I’d take the Tacoma every single time.