Full time 4wd option?

Ok, so first, I know nothing about Toyota's full time 4wd system. However, I was talking to a friend of mine and asked him why he got his wife a 4runner limited instead of a TRD and he stated that the limited comes with full time 4wd system with torsen center diff. He got it for his wife because when she goes anywhere she just puts it in drive and goes and does not want buttons or knobs to mess with. He and myself live in an area where roads can be bad with snow and mud. So we have a need for 4wd. His reasoning makes sense. My question is why wouldn't toyota offer a Tacoma version with full time 4wd so that people who just want to drive, like my buddies wife, can do so without worrying about when to go into 4wd? What am I missing here.

I would think that there would be a Taco version of the 4runner so that people like my mom could have a little truck that need not worry about when to go into 4wd.

 

Yea, no. Toyota trucks still fall on the simpler, robust side of the modern offerings and that's why they remain popular. I like AWD systems a ton but not on my trucks, it's just not a good fit.

 

Your going to get a lot of people telling you to get a ridgeline....

But, the reason toyota didnt do the tacoma probably has more to do with the market. 4runners are for soccer moms who dont want to push buttons, tacomas are for dads who love pushing buttons all the time.

 

That probably makes sense, but it seems like they are missing a whole market segment.

 

Ridgeline, lol. Probably true. My daughter has the sedan version of the ridgline

 

Perhaps what you're missing is that the Tacoma is a Truck and not an SUV for mom and the kiddies. Trucks generally have greater demands of the drivetrain because of the multitude of uses they may be put to. An SUV is more for basic transportation of people and stuff. Trucks haul stuff. Trucks plow snow. Trucks can have serious towing demands. Trucks get used for serious off-road adventures that SUV just aren't suited for. The market demand for a full-time 4WD probably just doesn't exist in the numbers that make it attractive for Toyota.
JMNTBHO

 

Yeah makes sense. But you know, soccer moms like trucks to

My buddies wife wanted a Taco but settled for the 4runner. I guess Toyota still got their money

 

Torsen axles typically aren't useful when you get stuck. If one axle is on liquid snot, it doesn't matter how much traction the other axle has. You're parked. AWD schemes are not the same as a 4WD with locked center.

 

Many of the full size 4x4 trucks and at least the Canyorado twins offer an Auto-4x4 option as part of their 4x4 systems.

It basically stays in 2wd until it senses rear wheels slipping and then engages the front axle.

 

Which is what Toyotas full time would do. I could care less, but I just thought it strange that a whole market segment is ignored. Maybe that segment is not big enough to matter.

 

My wife as well drives a 4Runner Limited for similar reasons (which is NOT the one below). It's nice to have that full time for mixed road surfaces, which is common for my area where we have ice, snow, and dry pavement while on the way to work. It also really does a nice job sticking to wet roads.

She previously drove a Jeep with a similar transfer case (at additional cost to upgrade to it) that had full time, part time, and low (SelectTrac NP242). It was similar to the transfer case I have in a Jeep TJ minus the full time (CommandTrac NP231). Why I'm mentioning this is that SelecTrac TC was somewhat more sensitive about real abuse and larger tires (more gears). I also would have liked that SelecTrac TC as an option in my TJ for those mixed road conditions. IMHO, I think it's more about the additional manufacturing and selling cost for a full time TC, and not that it wouldn't survive in the Tacoma for most drivers.

Here is 4Runner Limited that I took a picture of at 2019 Expo East. Not exactly a grocery getter...

 

I don’t want to sound like a know it all but I would argue tires are more important than having 4x4 on all the time.

 

The majority of trucks on the road don't get used for anything more serious than driving pavement going to work and the store. The Tacoma even tows less and has a lower payload than many SUVs. A full time 4x4/AWD setup with a locking center diff gives you the best of both worlds without any real downsides.

 

Yeah, I got my mom a cherokee trailhawk that has that system, with 4lo and locking rear diff. Thing is pretty capable. I have been surprised at what it can do.

 

It's a fair question but most don't seem to offer it on trucks, even outside Toyota. They would likely add "auto" part time 4wd like the big three domestics have before offering an AWD Tacoma. My guess as to why trucks aren't typically offered in AWD is because it detracts, albeit slightly, from towing/hauling performance. AWD systems add weight and are less efficient than 2wd. Both of those metrics are relatively critical for "advertisable" towing performance.

 

This seems logical. If this is indeed the case

 

That may be. But they are still a truck.
Many of the lifted, oversized tired trucks see the same use as well.
And then there are those of us who use a truck as a truck and not as a mall crawler.
When Toyota starts offering a truck with an AWD drivetrain originally intended for a car, watch the bitchin begin.
Doesn't matter to me anyway 'cuz I'm on my last one.

 

My soccer mom wife lets me drive her taco.

 

There are so many comebacks to that softball

 

Not really. Land cruiser, Land Rover and G-wagon are all SUVs and they would leave Tacoma in the dust for any kind of off-roading. All of them are also awd and have a lockable central diff. I think all three also have lockable front and rear diffs as well, and at least g-wagon can mechanically send 100% of the power to any single tire (probably higher trims of Land Rover discovery as well). The issue is not that you can’t make a similar truck, the issue is the cost.