The new Tacoma will be different yet immediately familiar to its legion of loyal buyers. Under the 2016 Tacoma’s handsome new sheetmetal sits a standard 2.7-liter I-4 or an optional 3.5-liter V-6. Although the V-6 is a half-liter smaller than the old V-6, the new one sports more power and 1 less lb-ft of torque and is capable of running on the Atkinson cycle, helping to improve fuel economy. Already proven in the Lexus RX and GS, the engine makes 278 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque in the Taco. A six-speed manual is standard, and the old five-speed automatic has mercifully been put out to pasture, replaced with a six-speed auto unit.
The lighter Tacoma SR5 proved to be the quicker of the two at the test track. It ran from 0 to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds and completed the quarter mile in 15.2 seconds at 91.6 mph. The Tacoma TRD wasn’t too far behind; it hits 60 mph from a standstill in 7.1 seconds and will run the quarter mile on tarmac in 15.4 seconds at 91.2 mph. In 60-0-mph braking tests, the TRD came out ahead, needing 125 feet to come to a stop versus 132 feet for the near-base SR5. Both trucks put up near identical figure-eight numbers. The Tacoma SR5 was the slower of the two, lapping the figure eight in 29.4 seconds at 0.57 g average to the Tacoma TRD Off-Road’s 28.9 second at 0.58 g average performance.
Out on the road, the new Tacoma drives much like the old one, especially when it comes to steering. The Tacoma’s steering rack is artificially heavy, as if Toyota’s trying to trick you into thinking you’re driving a much larger truck, and it has poor on-center feel. Associate editor Benson Kong agreed. “There’s a sense of playfulness from the steering wheel,” he said, “but the truck becomes such a chore to drive that you don’t want to play too long.” Transmission tuning, too, feels much more old than new. Although we universally appreciate the six-speed automatic’s quicker shifts and the extra cog versus the old five-speed, the Tacoma’s transmission was too eager to hunt for our liking, frequently shifting between fourth, fifth, and sixth gears during typical highway driving in traffic and up steep hills. “The engine is powerful, but the transmission seems to have wider gaps between ratios than I’d like,” testing director Kim Reynolds wrote in the logbook. “Sometimes it feels caught in a situation where it doesn’t have a good-feeling ratio.” Putting the transmission into ECT PWR mode didn’t seem to help things much, though a couple staffers noted more favorable programming while driving around with the transmission in Sport mode. The ride on both trucks was pretty good, generally speaking, though the logbooks are filled with complaints of excessive brake dive on the TRD model. Given the preproduction status of our test trucks, there’s a chance Toyota will fix that issue for production models.
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2016 Toyota Tacoma SR5 V6
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2016 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab V6 TRD 4×4
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BASE PRICE
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$28,885
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$33,000
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PRICE AS TESTED
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$31,160
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$38,315
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VEHICLE LAYOUT
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Front-engine, RWD, 5-pass, 4-door truck
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Front-engine, 4WD, 5-pass, 4-door truck
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ENGINE
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3.5L/278-hp/265-lb-ft DOHC 24-valve V-6
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3.5L/278-hp/265-lb-ftAtkinson cycle DOHC 24-valve V-6
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TRANSMISSION
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6-speed automatic
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6-speed automatic
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CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)
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4,178 lb (54/46%)
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4,525 lb (56/44%)
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WHEELBASE
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127.4 in
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127.4 in
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LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT
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212.3 x 74.4 x 70.6 in
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212.3 x 74.4 x 70.6 in
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0-60 MPH
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6.8 sec
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7.1 sec
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QUARTER MILE
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15.2 sec @ 91.6 mph
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15.4 sec @ 91.2 mph
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BRAKING, 60-0 MPH
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132 ft
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125 ft
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LATERAL ACCELERATION
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0.71 g (avg)
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0.71 g (avg)
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MT FIGURE EIGHT
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29.4 sec @ 0.57 g (avg)
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28.9 sec @ 0.58 g (avg)
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EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON
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19/24/21 mpg
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18/23/20 mpg
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ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY
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177/140 kW-hrs/100 miles
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187/147 kW-hrs/100 miles
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CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB
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0.93 lb/mile
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0.97 lb/mile
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