Yeah, I was rather unimpressed driving the Tacoma honestly. Power drivers seat let you get your ass up off the floor but no dice on passenger side. WTF?
The engine is a real snoozer.
I don't know if this applies to the Tacoma, but with my wife's 2018 Highlander and 3.5L it was really sluggish. I mean a dog. Slow engine response and would not downshift aggressively. Never bothered her, and the fuel mileage was decent.
Last year, I started driving the Highlander more. The engine response and shifting is much more aggressive now, as the ECU/TCU have adapted to my driving style. However, it literally took months of me driving it before it changed. And fuel mileage went down 3 MPG in mixed driving, but its a lot more fun to drive now.
My Tundra was similar in that it would hold higher gears and not downshift going downhills. I started manually shifting, and after a few weeks the TCU was downshifting perfectly.
Would not be surprised if the Tacoma is programmed for similar characteristics, to help fuel economy. And there might be a way to trick the controllers, or get them flashed to avoid the wait.
Tacoma and Highlander weigh about the same, with similar engine output. The Highlander doesn't pull like a Tundra, but is fairly peppy now.
