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2016 Toyota Tacoma Preview

toyotafan

Toyota Truck Club Founder
Staff member
1000 Posts


2016 Toyota Tacoma Preview – New Powertrain Upgrades


The new 2016 Toyota Tacoma is loaded with all sorts of new goodies for fans and new buyers. While it may lack the “diesel” word, the list of improvements shouldn’t be dismissed as lackluster. From improved fuel economy and great access to new and improved transmissions, the powertrain upgrades are impressive.



New V6 Atkinson Engine

One of the overlooked items on the new Tacoma is the new V6 Atkinson engine. Why? Most journalists, fans and buyers probably don’t truly understand what Atkinson means. And no, it isn’t a new fad diet.

The Atkinson engine is really a different way to run an engine than the typical Otto engine cycle. Most people’s basic understanding of an engine cycle – air, fuel, spark – is actually called the Otto cycle. The Atkinson cycle uses the basic fundamentals, yet it keeps the valve open longer which adds more fuel to the cycle. This results in a shorter powerstroke and excess gases. It is also more efficient.

Toyota cracked the excess gas issue with a “tumble flow” exhaust process pioneered on the Prius.

What does this mean for the Tacoma? It means, the new V6 will be more fuel-efficient. Critics will point out, the Tacoma may lack some power as the Prius does. However, other upgrades will take care of that issues.



Direct and Port Fuel Injection

For years, fans of the Tacoma have been clamoring for direct injection with the thought it would improve the engine’s performance and fuel economy. Toyota has been hesitant to do this for several reasons like cost and excess fuel build up in the valves.

With the new Tacoma, Toyota has solved the buildup issue by bringing both direct and port fuel injection. The idea behind bringing them both is to reduce the buildup by adding fuel to different points of the power stroke to maximize efficiency and reduce excess fuel buildup.

This improvement is also a byproduct of the new competitors on the market who forced Toyota to finally add this technology.



Improved Automatic and 6-Speed Manual In All Configurations

Speaking of new competitors, when the new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon came out, Toyota listened to what customers said.

Overwhelming, they heard those customers ask “where’s the manual.” Toyota’s Mike Sweers, Tacoma chief engineer, told us his team was pretty surprised by the response. They decided from that point on to offer a manual transmission on all configurations.

With this plan, they also went to work and completely redeveloped a new 6-speed manual transmission for the V6 engines. This new manual transmission, we were told, is easier to shift, offers better fuel economy with less wasted energy and is a big improvement over the 5-speed.

While working on the manual, Toyota also took the opportunity to rework the 6-speed automatic transmission as well. Like the manual, this new transmission will improve the driving experience and save fuel.

In the end, Toyota may have skipped the big “diesel” engine option; they didn’t skimp out on improving the overall powertrain. Sweers assures us the new Tacoma should offer the best-in-class fuel economy, ride comfort and fit the needs of mid-size customers.
 

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