Think the only people who complain are the ones who actually tried to haul something...
...where-as the average Tacoma buyer thinks it rides too rough.
Well, it *is* a truck after all. If a buyer wants a car then they should get a car. But in all honesty Toyota has always sold us fairly softly sprung trucks. My '78 FJ40 had aftermarket suspension by the time I bought it but they were known to have flat springs. My 1991 rode on the insanely thick overload all the time until I got replacement springs. Same with my 2008, the overload spring was engaged except when commuting.
I think it's a byproduct of how compact and midsized trucks are marketed in the U.S. Full size trucks OTOH are expected to be trucks first, so no one complains when it actually rides and drives like one. But small trucks are seen differently I think. I got one originally because I wanted a truck that just was smaller but a lot of times they are substitutes for cars and mini vans by people who never engage 4WD or routinely put cargo in the back. So the expectation is they don't ride so harshly on a daily basis.
It's an impossible task to make a single spring and damper rate that makes all users happy. I expect that it's a lot easier to sell a soft riding truck that doesn't rattle fillings on test drives, so that's how they are built to be competitive. It's always possible to increase the spring rate with extra leafs or air bags, which isn't unusual even with full size trucks when you put in a camper or whatever.
