Canyon AT4 better than Tacoma TRD Off Road?

[Dusdaddy]

lol...reminds me that my father had to have his garage front wall carved out to fit his 2020 because it was 3" longer than his 2012. I've never been able to fit my Ram in mine. I keep hearing that price story as well, "the price of a mid-size is so close to a full-size, might as well get it". I don't see it. If you price the F150 XL or Silverado WT 4x4, you're at $45-50K. Ranger XL and Colorado WT are both about $36K. $10-15K less! And that difference only gets bigger as you get into higher end trims. The Silverado ZR2 is $23K more than a Colorado ZR2, Raptors about the same.

My full-size Ram only has 1265#s of payload and can tow 7500#s so a mid-size can easily replace it, but it would be smaller and cheaper. At the end of the day, you buy a full-size because you need that interior space or cost is irrelevant, and that's about it. The bigger towing is irrelevant because if you are going to tow over 8k, a 3/4-ton would be better suited than a 1/2-ton anyway.

 

[Dusdaddy]

Price point wise at what point does a full-size look like a better buy. I know Tim I shouldn’t compare Mid-Size to Full-Size, here we are though. Price and Fuel economy is why the mid-size died off before. Feel like we’re headed back that direction.

I looked at a Sierra AT4 today. It was $72K with just the sunroof option added and the Canyon AT4 loaded up with the sunroof, tech, etc. was only $50K. Full-size doesn't look like a better buy yet. I believe the only reason we think these smaller trucks are overpriced is because they are all brand new and came out with inflation numbers built in.

 

[testerdahl]

I don't think we really are headed back in that direction. People are making that claim you can buy a full-sized truck for what the upper limits are on the mid-sized, but without the same options. Once you add those, full-sized trucks are at least $65k. With Trailhunter and TRD Pro probably pushing those limits, you might have an argument with those, but a TRD Pro Tundra is 72K . so you'd still be saving 8-10k on the Tacoma. Then factor in that full-sized trucks are massive today and cannot go where a mid-sized truck can. If you want to take a vehicle into the wilderness, a mid-sized truck is the place to be. If you need to tow or have a large family, then a full-sized makes sense.

My neighbor recently bought an HD AT4X. He can get it into his garage, but there is about 3mm of space in the front and rear. I'm pretty sure he has to get in/out the passenger side of the truck to be able to drive it. I'll not have that issue with the mid-size and it'll be plenty of room for my wife, dog and I and will provide some amazing experiences where I wouldn't even want to think about trying to take a full-sized truck in the mountains. Anyway, they are different vehicles for different purposes. I think the point is that vehicles are just really expensive now.

Size is big deal for midsize buyers.

There’s always that thought that if a full-size gets similar MPG and costs about the same, then why does a midsize truck exist? Then, sales show people are buying the heck out of midsize trucks. That’s confusing to a lot of people and I hear that confusion all the time.

I’m also hearing from people who want to downsize and still use their midsize like they do for a full-size truck. They are looking at max towing and trying to pull their camper. That’s dangerous IMO. The issue is wind. A midsize truck and camper will get blown around a lot more than a full-size with the same camper.

 

[testerdahl]

These are all great points as well. I forgot about the sunroof and the G80 difference. It becomes hard to make comparisons when shopping for trucks and you often end up making sacrifices with one brand or another in some way. The AT4X or ZR2 is probably a more direct comparison with the Bison or AEV editions being more comparable to the Trailhunter/Pro.

TFL posted a drag race video with the New Taco vs 23 vs the Colorado and it finished how I thought it would. The Colorado was quickest, but the 24 Taco was nearly a second faster than the 23 in zero to 60 and a full second faster in the quarter mile. To me, that improvement was all I needed to see. I just need to be able to pass people when needed and get up to speed on the interstate. Otherwise, I'm most interested in being able to make it to campsites while overlanding. It also looked like the limited attained 24 mpgs with the air dam and 23 without it at elevation in their 100 mile mpg loop. If that holds for the Off-road, the Taco should get better gas mileage than either of the GMs.

On the drag race, it was interesting to read what you wrote. I don’t watch them myself, since I don’t see the point.

Passing speed is what matters as you typed. Off the line is showing off, passing on the highway is a safety concern.

 

[Beninbeta]

Exactly. I really only cared how it faired against the 23

On the drag race, it was interesting to read what you wrote. I don’t watch them myself, since I don’t see the point.

Passing speed is what matters as you typed. Off the line is showing off, passing on the highway is a safety concern.

Exactly, I only cared how it faired against the 23 as that vehicle was not one I wanted to try an pass someone on a highway in, especially at 6000+ ft of elevation. So I feel like while I really wanted that Trailhunter you're getting, Tim, the non-hybrid OR will be a pretty great truck for what we need.

I don't really like the drag race videos either. It just invites people to get into arguments and they'll say the Tacoma is underpowered, but you are comparing it against the highest output offering from GM. The Hybrid will likely smoke the GMs, but when will that really matter?

TFL in their Likes/Dislikes also talked about the exhaust note. When I was younger I probably did care about that, but now I really just want as much quiet in the world as possible. I actually hate it when I'm hiking and then have to hear someone's ridiculous motorcycle or truck/car exhaust while I'm trying to enjoy the outdoors. I really think one are where manufactures could have a cool paid store option is in what the exhaust sounds like in the cabin. That way the driver can have whatever note they want, and pay like $4 or something for different notes, but the rest of the world wouldn't have to hear it. I'm only 44, but I sound like I'm 70. "Get off my lawn!"

 

[Einstein]

One thing we would also need to understand is what kind of subscriptions it will require for both to keep functionalities going after x number of months. Will we have to pay to keep remote start in a taco ? Can the at4 google system will work on a phone data plan (this one can still use CarPlay/android auto) ? One may be cheaper up front but what after a couple of years.

As for me. I refuse to pay subscriptions for a vehicle I paid $$$$ to keep things working.

To both editors. Good job, enjoying what you are doing and info you are providing!

 

[Dusdaddy]

One thing we would also need to understand is what kind of subscriptions it will require for both to keep functionalities going after x number of months. Will we have to pay to keep remote start in a taco ? Can the at4 google system will work on a phone data plan (this one can still use CarPlay/android auto) ? One may be cheaper up front but what after a couple of years.

As for me. I refuse to pay subscriptions for a vehicle I paid $$$$ to keep things working.

To both editors. Good job, enjoying what you are doing and info you are providing!

I think that's over-hyped as well. Toyota shows everything that is a temporary subscription and that is the remote access via cell service. Which is understandable considering that they need the truck to connect to a network and that costs money. Maybe not as much as they are charging but it does cost. No different than game cameras that you can access pics via the cell service, you need to pay for that. The other brands like Ford do the same for their advanced cell communication systems.