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I swapped my '08 Tacoma for a '16 Tacoma late last year.
I don't have a lot of opinions about Toyota dealers, I talked to all the ones around OKC when I did and ended up playing Jim Norton against Bob Howard (and Hudiburg & Fowler both called me while I was in the middle of dealing, that didn't hurt). I ended up getting it from Bob Howard. The sales guy at Norton was nice enough, but the dealership was full of ****. Generally speaking, they all suck, and the experience is as dependent on YOU as it is on the sales guy or dealership. Everyone has different personality and negotiating style, and the guy I like may not be your style or vice versa. And your level of knowledge of the truck, prices, packages, trade in value, etc. will be the other big factor. Knowledge is power, and if you know more you will have more power. Have your financing worked out with your bank or credit union ahead of time, and remove that BS from the equation. There are only two prices that matter - the price out-the-door of the one you're buying, and the trade-in value. With a newly released Tacoma, there relatively limited wiggle room on the new truck price, but lots of bartering on my old truck (it was paid off, and not worn out, so I was not in a position of "needing to get rid of it). Never talk monthly payments. I ended up alright with the BH guy, if interested shoot me a PM and I'll give you his contact. (and mine - I think he said I get $50 bucks if I send people or something
As for the new model Tacoma, I bought my '08 new and put right at 83k miles on it, and tracked every gallon of gas or dollar spend on maintenance. I'm a nerd, sue me. Point being, I was pretty in-tune with that truck, and a geek for details, but the Tacoma World guys drive me friggin' nuts too. They get anal about the stupidest nonsense, but there's a lot of info there to glean. (read the rest of this, and you'll be saying "hello, pot call the kettle black much?"
Anyways, I swapped an '08 V6-Auto-4x4-Double Cab-TRD Off-Road with Tow package for a '16 V6-Auto-Double Cab-TRD Off-Road with Tow Package. Yeah, incremental upgrade, I know.
Discussion points on the Taco:
Interior - primarily the dash and entertainment system. I liked the old truck, but I think it's a huge improvement over the old truck, and so far the electronics have all worked very well. It's nice to finally have bluetooth so I don't have to listen to OKC's crap radio stations. The seats feel about the same, the back seat area is mostly un-changed.
Quietness - it is quieter than the previous gen truck, which was known for wind noise at speed. It's not a Lexus.
Keyless - I didn't think it would be a big deal, but I've gotten spoiled to the no-key, pushbutton start.
Gas mileage - In my driving, it is getting noticeably better mileage than my old truck. I'm a pretty light footed, gentle driver in general, but some of this is due to the immediate feedback from the gauges - it's almost a game to try to increase that "trip avg mpg" and "tank avg mpg". I say "in my driving" though, because if you are a heavy foot guy, it's going to be BAD. Hills and headwinds (we never have those here in OK, right?) really hurt it too. For comparison, across 8 years, 82k, I averaged 17.84 mpg in my old truck. New truck, 4500 miles in, I'm at 19.62 average. It'll probably be better once they get that stupid construction on Portland/74 done and I don't spend so much time at those two stupid temporary lights each day.
On a closely related note,
Power - On paper the new 3.5L has more HP than the old 4.0 (278 vs 236) and actually less torque (265 vs. 266) but both at higher RPMs. This is the big difference, as when you're cruising along at lower RPM, it lacks the torque to hold speed sometimes with a heavy wind or uphill load. This then causes it to need to downshift, up the RPM, and FUBAR the gas mileage. Some of this is probably due to less power in the Atkinson cycle at lower loads, and switching over, but I also think the reduced displacement plays a role. It will do 26+ mpg all day long at 50-55 mph on flat ground.... but on the turnpike doing 75? Nope. It works too hard to hold that. And it really does feel like it's working hard under that kind of load. I haven't tried towing with it, but I imagine that it feels really sluggish doing that. There is an "ECT" button that adjusts the throttle feel, shift points, or whatever, and that does make the truck feel more responsive.
Transmission - new 6-speed is trying harder to keep the RPMs in the right spot - but because of that it will feel more like it's hunting for gears.
Engine + tranny together - there's a flat spot somewhere between 1500 and 2000, where there's a gap between where it wants to be happy for MPG vs. where it starts pulling harder. I think it's very noticeable during acceleration.
True to Toyota pickup form, it's also not a particularly "nice sounding" engine, if you care about that. All the familiar "tick-tick-tick".
Styling - love it or hate it, your call. It grew on me enough that I wanted one. I went from a white truck to dark grey, and I wish I'd have held out for a lighter color. I wanted the silver. Personal preference stuff.
Bed - exactly the same inner composite bed as the old one. They added some height to the top of it with a metal lip to make the bed a little deeper, but it's the same piece. Tailgate feels beefier, though, and that was a flimsy point on the old one.
Factory hard tonneau cover be aware that it involves metal mounts build into the bed rail. It's not easily added after the fact, and if you get it, you are stuck with even if you remove the cover. Be aware of that if you want/don't want that accessory. (I didn't get it, but it's worth pointing out)
Front end fit/finish/robustness - The hood, grill, bumper all feel really flimsy. There's some subtle wobble to the hood with wind buffeting (possibly fixable...there was much ado about it over at TacomaWorld), and the bumper was flexing under car-wash-spray loading the other day. I can push it around with my hand, it's pretty lame. Nothing a good ARB bullbar wouldn't fix, but the whole thing feels pretty flimsy, not tough-truck like. This is more a problem across the board than with just the Tacoma, as makers try to make everything lighter.
Maintenance - The oil change on the 4.0 was CAKE. Filter up on top, run a drain line to the fender, easy access to everything. The new engine instead has the internal cartridge type filter instead of a spin on metal one, which involves dropping the skid plate, then a large socket for a drain plug, then another tool to screw off the cap. It's a pain in the ass. The "good" news is that it only calls for 10k between changes. I went ahead and did a change myself at 2,500 on principle, call it a break-in period if you want. The rest of the engine bay is pretty clear and easy to access, but granted I haven't actually needed to work on anything yet. (I never had to do anything beyond scheduled maint on my old truck, either.)
So, overall, I like the truck, but I think they compromised a bit too much on the powertrain. Now, I'm being a bit hypocritical, to praise the improved mileage but cuss the perceived lack of power, as there is no free lunch, and there's only so much you can do to improve both at the same time. Everything is a compromise. Still, I think there is some room for improvement. I wonder what a little more displacement with the newer technology would be like - a 4.0 version of this engine? A little more power on the low end and it would probably get better mileage, as it wouldn't be downshifting and revving so much. The rest of the truck is improved, functionally, over the old one, though, and despite the different feel, the net result is noticeably better MPG, so take my *****ing with a grain of salt, as this is me being my most critical in the name of sharing information.
Would I do it again? That's a tough call. There were other things in play that made it the "right time" to swap trucks, that were situation specific. Ignoring those, putting a better stereo head unit with bluetooth into my old truck would have probably been a better investment. This not a gig on this truck, but I also find myself wanting a full-size truck sometimes. I don't generally need the extra size, and especially not the extra cost, but I still find myself wishing somtimes
