First 500 Miles with my TRD OR Premium

[bking]

Hi Everyone,

I just crossed 500 miles on my Tacoma (Just took two weeks) and so far I'm thrilled with my truck. Here are some observations:

• Power - The truck has plenty of pep. I haven't had a single situation where I've wished that I had more power yet. This includes towing a rather large trailer last weekend (I'll get to that in a second). I turned off my fake engine noise so I can hear when those turbos spool up. Kind of cool once you get used to it. It gets up to speed quickly and handles steep grades with ease. I'm glad I didn't wait for the hybrid and spend the extra money. I'm not a speed demon anyway, so this is more than acceptable.
• Seats - The seats that came with the premium package are incredibly comfortable in the front. I'm pretty sure the passenger is identical to the driver. Heated and Cooled seats work great as well. Now the back seats are a different story. They are small. I don't have kids at home anymore and they are plenty big for my 4 year old granddaughters in car seats, so it works for me. If you have adult-sized people that will need to ride in this a lot, get a Tundra. I'm not upset about that, and I knew it going in. Bigger backseats would've meant a bigger truck and I've had enough of that over the years. My latest truck was a 21 F150 for reference. I also like the Softex. I think it feels better than some of the cheap leather I've had in domestic trucks.
• Gas Mileage - I took a trip to our deer camp over the weekend to pick up a trailer. It's a 2 hour drive of about 100 miles each way. On the way down, I was getting around 21 mpg on the highway. I'm sure this will get better, but I'm not expecting much since I've upgraded to All Terrain 33's. On the way back with the trailer, I got around 18 so not bad.
• Towing - A little back story here. At our deer camp, we originally brought in a 1972 Coachman 18.2' trailer that weighed around 4000 lbs. Over the years, we built a cabin and the camper sat and basically rotted away, except the frame. We had built an enclosure over the camper that came right to the edge. I got the idea to cut up the camper and make a nice big trailer. I cut up the camper at camp, new wheels and tires, bearings, etc... and decided to pull it home to finish. So I hooked up that trailer to the Tacoma and yanked it out from under the enclosure with flat tires (couldn't reach them until i got it out) got it road worthy and dragged it back home back roads for a bit over 100 miles. If I had to guess, I'd say the remaining trailer probably weighs a good 1200lb. Nothing for the Tacoma, I know, and it did tow like a dream. Couldn't even tell it was back there. On that trip, I got 17.6 mpg. That's on 33's. Granted, there was no wind resistance, but considering I was on windy hilly roads, that was more than acceptable to me.
• Tech - The tech is fantastic. Before I even plugged in the trailer, it registered it was there from the cameras and changed the safety stuff for the trailer. The lane centering isn't too aggressive and I did feel it slow me down as I got close to a car in front of me even though the cruise control was active. The digital mirror freaks me out a bit so I haven't used it much. Probably need to get used to it.

What I don't like -

• The power tailgate is kind of silly. I think some times it will come in handy, but for the most point it just delays opening/closing the tailgate. If it wasn't there, I wouldn't miss it. I also had a situation where I wanted to just open the gate a little bit to throw a few things in the back without banging on the front of the trailer jack and couldn't without risking denting my tailgate. An auto-release and dampened tailgate would've been much more useful.
• Now for the big one: The small fuel tank. This thing needs at least 22 gallons. The range is just too short. I've been contemplating buying a small travel trailer to take the grandkids camping and I know I'll be stopping for gas too much. I can't wait until someone comes out with an aftermarket tank. I'll be one of the first customers. I'm going to get it on a lift and do some measuring in the next week to compare to Tundra tanks. I know it's been discussed, but I don't know if anyone has measured.

I'm attaching a few photos for reference. Feel free to ask any questions. Oh, and don't judge the trailer, it will be nice when it's done

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[Rev Nation]

Glad you’re liking it overall. I like the powertrain and somewhat like the exterior design. What I can’t get over is how cheap the interior materials feel.

 

[bking]

Glad you’re liking it overall. I like the powertrain and somewhat like the exterior design. What I can’t get over is how cheap the interior materials feel.

I guess that's all subjective. I'm coming from an 21 F150 XLT 302a and I feel like the interior just feels so solid in comparison. I looked at a Canyon and noticed when I pulled the door closed, the door card was pulling with the handle a bit. That's going to break over time. I do think they could've made the plastics 'look' more premium and added a little padding for the higher trims, but nothing in the truck feels cheaply made to me.

 

[Planoman]

Glad you like your truck! I agree with your dislike on the gas tank. I have filled at 350 miles but that is already into reserve. Wish it would do 400. Also agree on the cheap interior material on the upper door panels, they are scratch magnets.

 

[guitarist alec]

Thx for update Love the Black paint with Black rims

 

[Tacanta14]

The fuel tank is the one reason I'm still debating on a Tundra with the 32 gal tank; I live 75 miles away from the closest Safeway, and the post office to pick up my mail is 15 miles round trip, and do a summer trip to CO every year, with some side trips, that's usually a 1500 mile trip, as well as about 6 trips of 550-600 miles round trip every year to AZ. $4645 more for an SR5 Tundra w/OR package ($3865) as opposed to the Taco OR as I configured it ($4700 upgrade package). And if I can find one, Tundra will be Luna Rock!

 

[HardCorTaco]

How did you turn off the fake engine noise?

 

[bking]

How did you turn off the fake engine noise?

Did this the first day. Also shut off seat belts as well as turned on the feature to put down all windows and moonroof when holding down unlock button on the fob. There are more things, I just need to dig in more. Also great ODB2 Scan tool

Carista ODB

 

[bking]

The fuel tank is the one reason I'm still debating on a Tundra with the 32 gal tank; I live 75 miles away from the closest Safeway, and the post office to pick up my mail is 15 miles round trip, and do a summer trip to CO every year, with some side trips, that's usually a 1500 mile trip, as well as about 6 trips of 550-600 miles round trip every year to AZ. $4645 more for an SR5 Tundra w/OR package ($3865) as opposed to the Taco OR as I configured it ($4700 upgrade package). And if I can find one, Tundra will be Luna Rock!

I was an inch away from going Tundra as well. As a matter of fact they had a heavily discounted iForce Max Limited on the lot that would've worked great for me as well. That was my backup. As soon as I saw and sat in the Tacoma those thoughts all went away. I also was tired of driving full size daily. If the Tundra 22 gallon tank won't fit, someone will make one soon enough. Either way that 18 gallon tank is going away as fast as possible.

 

[Tacanta14]

I was an inch away from going Tundra as well. As a matter of fact they had a heavily discounted iForce Max Limited on the lot that would've worked great for me as well. That was my backup. As soon as I saw and sat in the Tacoma those thoughts all went away. I also was tired of driving full size daily. If the Tundra 22 gallon tank won't fit, someone will make one soon enough. Either way that 18 gallon tank is going away as fast as possible.

A Max Limited would set you back quite a bit, and do you remember how much the discount was; just curious. I'm retired, so my driving consists of once a week picking up my mail, continuing on to Safeway (in AZ) and then home, which is about 155 miles total. In the Spring/Summer I also do the longer AZ trips and CO trip, but those are once a month trips, so driving a bigger vehicle that infrequently is not a problem for me (I drove OTR in a cab over and a 40' flatbed from the early 70's to the late 80's; that was BIG). I haven't seen a Tundra next to a Taco yet, but some pics I've seen it looks like they're not that different, and the double cab Tundra is only 7" longer (6.6' bed), has virtually the same wheelbase, and is only 5" wider, but you can place a sheet of plywood between the wheel well humps (I plan on building a slide), and "living" in the bed does provide more space and payload capacity. I think I just convinced myself to get a Tundra! Happy wheelin'!

 

[Planoman]

I was an inch away from going Tundra as well. As a matter of fact they had a heavily discounted iForce Max Limited on the lot that would've worked great for me as well. That was my backup. As soon as I saw and sat in the Tacoma those thoughts all went away. I also was tired of driving full size daily. If the Tundra 22 gallon tank won't fit, someone will make one soon enough. Either way that 18 gallon tank is going away as fast as possible.

I never even knew a aftermarket larger fuel tank would be a thing! I will be waiting on that as well!

 

[TalkingTaco444]

Hi Everyone,

I just crossed 500 miles on my Tacoma (Just took two weeks) and so far I'm thrilled with my truck. Here are some observations:

• Power - The truck has plenty of pep. I haven't had a single situation where I've wished that I had more power yet. This includes towing a rather large trailer last weekend (I'll get to that in a second). I turned off my fake engine noise so I can hear when those turbos spool up. Kind of cool once you get used to it. It gets up to speed quickly and handles steep grades with ease. I'm glad I didn't wait for the hybrid and spend the extra money. I'm not a speed demon anyway, so this is more than acceptable.
• Seats - The seats that came with the premium package are incredibly comfortable in the front. I'm pretty sure the passenger is identical to the driver. Heated and Cooled seats work great as well. Now the back seats are a different story. They are small. I don't have kids at home anymore and they are plenty big for my 4 year old granddaughters in car seats, so it works for me. If you have adult-sized people that will need to ride in this a lot, get a Tundra. I'm not upset about that, and I knew it going in. Bigger backseats would've meant a bigger truck and I've had enough of that over the years. My latest truck was a 21 F150 for reference. I also like the Softex. I think it feels better than some of the cheap leather I've had in domestic trucks.
• Gas Mileage - I took a trip to our deer camp over the weekend to pick up a trailer. It's a 2 hour drive of about 100 miles each way. On the way down, I was getting around 21 mpg on the highway. I'm sure this will get better, but I'm not expecting much since I've upgraded to All Terrain 33's. On the way back with the trailer, I got around 18 so not bad.
• Towing - A little back story here. At our deer camp, we originally brought in a 1972 Coachman 18.2' trailer that weighed around 4000 lbs. Over the years, we built a cabin and the camper sat and basically rotted away, except the frame. We had built an enclosure over the camper that came right to the edge. I got the idea to cut up the camper and make a nice big trailer. I cut up the camper at camp, new wheels and tires, bearings, etc... and decided to pull it home to finish. So I hooked up that trailer to the Tacoma and yanked it out from under the enclosure with flat tires (couldn't reach them until i got it out) got it road worthy and dragged it back home back roads for a bit over 100 miles. If I had to guess, I'd say the remaining trailer probably weighs a good 1200lb. Nothing for the Tacoma, I know, and it did tow like a dream. Couldn't even tell it was back there. On that trip, I got 17.6 mpg. That's on 33's. Granted, there was no wind resistance, but considering I was on windy hilly roads, that was more than acceptable to me.
• Tech - The tech is fantastic. Before I even plugged in the trailer, it registered it was there from the cameras and changed the safety stuff for the trailer. The lane centering isn't too aggressive and I did feel it slow me down as I got close to a car in front of me even though the cruise control was active. The digital mirror freaks me out a bit so I haven't used it much. Probably need to get used to it.

What I don't like -

• The power tailgate is kind of silly. I think some times it will come in handy, but for the most point it just delays opening/closing the tailgate. If it wasn't there, I wouldn't miss it. I also had a situation where I wanted to just open the gate a little bit to throw a few things in the back without banging on the front of the trailer jack and couldn't without risking denting my tailgate. An auto-release and dampened tailgate would've been much more useful.
• Now for the big one: The small fuel tank. This thing needs at least 22 gallons. The range is just too short. I've been contemplating buying a small travel trailer to take the grandkids camping and I know I'll be stopping for gas too much. I can't wait until someone comes out with an aftermarket tank. I'll be one of the first customers. I'm going to get it on a lift and do some measuring in the next week to compare to Tundra tanks. I know it's been discussed, but I don't know if anyone has measured.

I'm attaching a few photos for reference. Feel free to ask any questions. Oh, and don't judge the trailer, it will be nice when it's done

Great review. You can disable the auto tailgate if you want.

First thi ng I wanted to know when I realized it was the only thing in the premium package I didnt want

 

[apryakhin]

@bking Just FYI but I guess you have already known that you can disable powered tailgate and operate it manually if you'd like. That's what I did.

 

[Goriders]

Did this the first day. Also shut off seat belts as well as turned on the feature to put down all windows and moonroof when holding down unlock button on the fob. There are more things, I just need to dig in more. Also great ODB2 Scan tool

Carista ODB

So I looked up your OBD adapter. What all can you change in the onboard program with the module and app?

Wondering if it’s worth getting one.

 

[bking]

So I looked up your OBD adapter. What all can you change in the onboard program with the module and app?

Wondering if it’s worth getting one.

To me turning off the engine noise and seat belt chimes were worth the cost. Adding the auto-down windows with the fob was a big bonus as well. There's a bunch of things, but I didn't really dig through. I'll probably do it when I get some time.

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