For nearly two decades, the Toyota Tacoma has been the best-selling mid-size pickup truck in the United States. While there are several reasons people choose to buy a Tacoma; for my wife and me, it comes down to simplicity, reliability, and timing.
Until recently, we had been driving my faithful 1997 Toyota T100, which currently has around 235,000 miles. But, we road trip often and decided it was time to upgrade.
Among the most significant differences is that Toyota is choosing to go with a turbocharged inline 4-cylinder engine instead of the naturally aspirated V6 cylinder and a new eight-speed automatic transmission, replacing the old six-speed.
Car manufacturers continue to incorporate smaller turbocharged engines into their line of vehicles to achieve increased miles per gallon, as they claim to add power and torque. However, I like simplicity. I wanted to avoid owning a vehicle with a turbocharged engine.
Even though turbocharged engines can generate large amounts of power, turbo engines run at extremely high temperatures, and engine parts are under higher pressures and more strain than in naturally aspirated vehicles.