Photos & Words by: Robert Barlow
In the modern times we live in, it’s rare for an automaker to make a groundbreaking, dare I say, “game-changing” advancement. However, while it does happen from time to time (e.g. Tesla in the Electric car field and Kawasaki’s H2R in the motorcycle field), this time it was Toyota’s turn, and I must say they knocked it out of the park. The “game changer” in this case is the 2016 Toyota Tacoma. Though many pictures have circulated online for quite some time, with people either loving or hating the new look of the truck, the actual details of the capabilities, advancements, and features have been closely guarded by Toyota, until now.
The Exploring Elements team was lucky enough to be flown to Seattle, Washington for the weekend by Toyota, and given the opportunity to put the 2016 Tacoma through a no-holds-bar off-road course and learn all of the closely guarded secrets previously unrevealed to the public. Notice I said an “off-road course”. That is correct. Toyota has come to realize that over 40% of the Tacoma’s sold end up OFF the pavement and in the hands of hunters, adventures, and off-roaders. While most auto makers focus their advancements in comfort and technology for the everyday driver, trying to reach the largest demographic of consumers as possible to increase sales, Toyota has taken a different approach; targeting one group in particular, us, the off-road adventurer. Of course the truck features the usual improvements one would expect from any new vehicle such as: a 12% reduction in drag for better fuel economy, a completely revamped 3.5L V6 engine, a greatly improved interior with built in navigation/touch screen stereo/Bluetooth and even a wireless charging pad for your phone (more specifics below). While there are a ton of new quality features on the 2016 Tacoma, the real pride of the Toyota design team is a feature they call “crawl mode,” and I’m here to tell you that it’s nothing short of amazing.
First, to give you all a little perspective on where my opinions are coming from, I have owned 4 Toyota Tacoma trucks, starting with a 2002, then a 2004, then a 2005, and currently a 2006 TRD 4×4 Access cab. I have put in the miles in both the first and second generation trucks. My current 2006 Tacoma has had a bit of work done to her, and she sees more off-road use than on road use, so this puts me in a unique position to compare the stock 2016 to my built 2006 from an off-road perspective.
Now, with introductions out of the way, let’s get into the good stuff. Before I delve into the awesomeness that is “crawl mode,” let’s first touch on all the updates a normal consumer is interested in and things that really caught my eye. Obviously the tuck has more features than I can cover in this article, and many vary depending on options and trim packages, so I’m only going to touch on the ones that I found most interesting or useful.
Engine:
Two engines are offered in the new Tacoma, the previous generation 2.7L 4 cylinder and an all-new 3.5L V6. The 4 cylinder remains unchanged while the new V6 is what’s creating all the buzz. When word first got out that the new V6 was a 3.5L, down from the previous 4.0L, there were definitely concerns. Having the original 4.0L in my 2006 Tacoma, I was also concerned with the smaller displacement offering. While the 4.0L is able to push my heavily armored and overweight truck on its heavy 33’ tires, it is by no means a race car. However, the displacement numbers of the new engine don’t tell the real story, which is that new 3.5L engine actually produces 42 MORE Horsepower than the previous 4.0L while getting better fuel economy (est. 18/23 for 4×4).
Both the automatic and manual transmissions that mate to the new V6 are also brand new, thus further contributing to the increase in power and efficiency. Moreover, this also affords the new Tacoma a 300 lb increase in towing capability and an 120 lbs increase in hauling capability over the previous V6.
Exterior:
The exterior of the 2016 Tacoma is where most people have already developed an opinion, as photos have already been circulating for months. Most people either love it or hate it, and I have to be honest, I was in the latter category originally. When I first saw it, I thought the front grill was hideous, not to mention the design seemed like it might be difficult for aftermarket manufactures to produce a quality winch bumper that fit well with the stock body lines. After talking to the Chief Toyota Engineer for the Tacoma, I was assured that ARB and other major aftermarket manufacturers have already received measurements and are working on the equipment, so my worries were premature.
Another key fact, while we are in the aftermarket mindset, is that all bumper attachment points, suspension parts, etc… remain unchanged from the 2005+ Tacoma; so my icon shocks and other aftermarket parts can be easily swapped to the new truck, if/when I end up finding myself in this beast. Nevertheless, while the front bumper mounting points are unchanged, my 2006 Tacoma All Pro front bumper will obviously not line up with the body lines on the 2016 truck.
Keeping the focus on the front of the truck, Toyota offers two grills. Personally, I find the first one to look a bit like an electric razor grill and definitely not my style; however, the second option did grow on me over the weekend.
Additionally, one of the coolest changes I found is in the headlights, where Toyota now offers LED running lights that have a very modern “Audi” type look to them. They look very nice driving down the road during the day, and immediately got my approval.
The body of the new Tacoma features a lot of very subtle changes that you can barely notice, yet they have a huge effect on the gas mileage improvement. The chief engineer stated that they spent over a 100 hours in the wind tunnel, where typically they spend only about 10 hours on the trucks, and refined many aspects, from the integrated spoiler in the tailgate to the cab to bed seal and the “aero fins” on the taillights. All this effort equated to a 12% reduction in drag, and coming from an aerospace engineering background, trust me, this is huge.
Interior:
The interior is leaps and bounds ahead of my 2006 Tacoma. I suppose I have been in denial and never realized what I was missing until I sat in the new Tacoma. This was by far my favorite aspect of the new truck. The dash has been completely redesigned, and in my opinion, is much more appealing than the plain looking, orange LED dash in my 2006 Tacoma.
One of my favorite features on the new dash is what Toyota calls the Multi-Information Display (MID), which displays all kinds of information like temperature, fuel economy, etc. On certain models this is also linked up with the navigation to give you a heads up turn by turn navigation right on the dash. However, my favorite feature of this MID, which almost caused me to say “who do I write the check too” when I saw it, was the built in inclinometer. It’s these small features and details that show Toyota’s commitment to the off-road enthusiast.
In addition there are a host of other fun upgrades in the cab, such as the Qi wireless charging pad, which I effortlessly used with my Galaxy S4, smart key with push button start, dual zone auto climate control, blind spot monitor, rear parking assist, and a backup camera that made hooking up a boat trailer a breeze.
Other Interesting Features:
Toyota also threw in a whole slew of other fun features that caught my eye. First off, Toyota made it evident that they were listening to issues people were having on the 2005+ Tacoma. If you have one, you have probably done the “tailgate theft mod,” as tailgate theft was common on the 2005+ Tacoma’s. Toyota saw this and designed an integrated tailgate lock. This prevents theft, and can also be used in conjunction with a camper shell or tonneau cover to secure the bed. Interestingly enough, Toyota is now offering a factory installed tri-fold tonneau cover as well. Moreover, another improvement which demonstrates that the company is listening to the little people is that they reinforced the tailgate. A common failure location in the 2005+ Tacoma’s when loading ATVs and motorcycles. While we are talking about the tail gate, a new rotary damper prevents you from slamming it down, and let’s be honest, the “TACOMA” stamped in the new tailgate looks great.
Toyota also heard all the motorcycle and ATV people complaining about not having strong tie down points in the front of the bed. As such, they added two additional tie points in the front of the bed, that go through the bed to a steel structure, making them strong enough to secure my race bike in the bed.
Crawl Mode:
So this is it, the pride of the 2016 Tacoma, the advancement that all the Toyota representatives in attendance, including their chief engineer, could not stop talking about. When we got to the off-road course, we had been hearing the term “crawl mode” repeatedly, however none of us really knew what it was. Personally, coming from a long history of off-roading, crawl mode has always been “locked with a twin stick” in my mind, and in all the time I had spent in the new Tacoma so far, I definitely did not see a twin stick, though rear E locker is still there. But then the Tacoma reveled her greatest secret; right there in the overhead console, was nothing more than an inconspicuous button and dial.
When this little button is pushed, the truck transforms into a rock crawling beast. With crawl mode activated, the dial can be set from 1 to 5, which correlates to miles per hour. In basic terms, the truck will drive itself at the selected speed over any terrain without ANY input from the driver. Even straight down a VERY loose and slick decline that would send a person sliding uncontrollably if they were to tap the brakes.
The way it works is almost like a traction control system. The speed sensors in the wheels will detect if the wheel is slipping, and it will rapidly modulate the brakes (much faster than a human can do). This allows the power to go to the wheels that are not slipping, essentially acting like front and rear lockers, however with the added benefit of being able to control the speed at the same time. Downhill, uphill, or over a rock garden, the crawl mode was able to EASILY get novice drivers though anything.
To give my honest opinion, as much as I was in awe at the technology behind this (I am an engineer by trade), I will admit that it did worry me. Seeing this in action, and being an old school 4 wheeler, I had visions of hordes of flat billed bros taking their daddies brand new Tacoma out to the Rubicon trail and clogging it up. While the truck is now VERY capable, it does not necessarily mean the driver is, and I could see many novice drivers getting way over their heads without the skills to pick appropriate lines, and protect the vehicle from too much damage. For that reason, truth be told, I was a bit skeptical of the crawl mode all weekend. It seemed like it was targeting novices and was just one more electronic gizmo to break while on remote off-road trails. In my mind, a real off-road enthusiast would have no need for it, that is until the final demonstration, which blew my mind and now has me contemplating buying a new truck.
Anyone reading this article, that has ever done any off-roading, has most likely been stuck in sand. When you get to the point when all four wheels are buried to the frame, we all know there is only one solution…dig (and a set of Maxtrax is helpful). Apparently Toyota felt that digging is just too much effort, so instead, crawl mode gives us another option; push a button. That’s right, for the final demonstration, the Toyota team buried a Tacoma to the frame in loose sand, and with the truck in reverse and crawl mode activated, the driver just sat back and let the truck work. Each of the tires on the truck would start to slip which would pull a tiny bit of sand under it, but then the slippage would be detected and stopped as power goes to the other wheels and the process would repeat faster than we could see. At the incredibly fast sample rate, each wheel just turns for a few milliseconds slowly pulling more sand underneath itself, and after about a minute, the truck slowly started to rise, and miraculously, backed itself out….of the sand….that it was dug down to the frame rails in! Where do I send my money!
The Numbers (Direct from Toyota):
