Considering new Taco 2.7 stick

I've started looking at new vehicles for commuting and remembered what vehicles used to be like when I was in high school: basic, shift for yourself, your muscles powered the windows and you could perform all basic maintenance without an engineering or technical degree. Plus they seemed to last forever, even when beaten on.

I have all gas hogs and will be replacing one of them with something basic that gets decent mileage. The only thing that even remotely fits is a base Taco R/C. A car would be better for fuel mileage but won't last nearly as long as a basic truck (and I've seen trucks from the mid 80's with over half a million on the clock still running. My closest friend's dad had a beige one with a 4 speed and brown vinyl bench, no a/c or radio, and factory bias ply tires!) Plus, I have a lot of good memories about dropped mini's in the 80's, though this one will only receive minor bolt-ons to increase efficiency.

 

love mine go for it

 

Get the truck, you wont regret it! Great MPG's , Less maintinence, and super reliable. I love the 5 speed paired with the 2.7L!

 

Love my 09 reg. cab. Has manual windows/locks/transmission just like I like it. Mine is a 4x4 though so mileage is just ok. About 23 mpg.

 

It's a great set up but don't expect it to be a power house but it gets the job done with no problems.

 

Honestly... If your looking for a reliable commuter I'm not sure this is the best fit.

It's kinda hard for me to co
Pare these new taco as to the older reliable tricks to yesterday years. I was born in the 80s and I doubt trucks will ever be as reliable as those old yotas.

I have a 4x4 2.7 4 cyl and get about 22 mugs which is really good for me. A five lug will get better

I guess in comparison to other vehicles of same class pick ups thus would probably be the best choice.

But for my experience so far... A plastic bed that cracked in the first few weeks I got the truck along side a bed that was mounted a full 1.5" off center from the frame... I would say Toyota has fallen very very far from it's roots.

This is not to say my truck is a hunk of junk. Lol. I absolutely love it. But I love it in a way that I dont have over expectations from it. I realize quality as a whole has gone down and realize this is the best of mid size pick ups you can get these days.

Bottom line... Get a car if your looking for reliability and good mpgs alone.

If your looking to carry things around... With decent dependability and mpgs get a Tacoma

If your looking to have a ton of fun... Join this forum and buy a 4x4 taco and you'll never be short of awesome things to do

 

Sounds like you know what you want. Get the base model 4x2; not the pre runner or 4x4, for maximum simplicity and lowest cost.

 

I have an 09 5lug 2wd regular cab 5speed as my work truck. It's 3 years old now, 54K miles. It is loaded down with probably 1000 pounds or so of high rise shell, parts, and tools. Getting 17-19 miles per gallon. Mostly in town, occasional freeway at 70MPH for 20-30 miles.

We just put the third set of tires on. The originals were crappy to begin with, the boss does not believe in rotating tires and buys the cheapest ones he can get as well. Other than that, it goes to Jiffy Lube every 4500-5000 miles for an oil change, I change the air filter as needed. No other maintenance has been done or is likely to be done on this truck. The bosses 2005 has 110K on it and has been treated the same. The only issue he has had was the rear wheel bearings failed at 80K miles. But I don't fault the truck for that, I have seen him with 1000 pounds in the back and a trailer hooked to the rear bumper with the suspension resting on the bump stops more than a few times. And I am sure it's never had the rear end fluid changed before that happened.

So far the only thing I have any concerns about is the life of the clutch. I am the second guy to drive it and have had it for 20K miles. The clutch has been squealing when slipped to start on a hill for at least 25K or so, the last guy who drove it mentioned it to me when he turned it in. And it's also very easy to get the clutch hot trying to back out of a steep, winding driveway as well. That seems to just be how the new Tacos are. My six speed 4x4 also seems to have a sensitive clutch. And it's not just me, lots of guys talking about this on the board here.

I don't work on it myself, but I have maintained past vehicles myself, and it appears to be quite reasonable to access most things you might need to replace or maintain.

 

base model is the 5 lug? and pre runner is 6 lug? im a 6 lug and have no "prerunner" badge on mine. but ive seen others with it. what is the difference?

 

It sounds like someone decided to leave the badge off on yours. If it's a 6lug 4x2, it's a prerunner.

 

Prerunner is the 6 lug and has the 4x4 suspension components (roughly: spindles, hubs, upper lower control arms, struts, springs, shocks.)

If you have a prerunner with no prerunner badge, it just means someone took off the badges.

 

ahhhh okay thank you guys. always wondered that.

 

Thanks for the info guys; just fishing to get a feel from other owners. I have a Super Duty 250 and Ram 3500 for the grunt work; this will be strictly for commuting and having fun on weekends, so the bed will actually get little use from me and will be covered with something to make a big trunk. I don't want another car (Yota or otherwise); it's hard to find any car that will go more than a couple of hundred thousand without huge problems anymore, and I can fix nearly anything on the Taco. Maintenance, at least for serviceability, reminds me of old German cars- they were meant to be driven hard for many, many years and fluids were easy to change. That's part of the reason why older BMW's are so popular.

 

I love my 5 lug. Aside from some very minor issues, I'm completely satisfied. I regularly get 27+ MPG. And maintenance is very easy on the 2.7.

 

so far i love my AC 2.7 5 speed, you definately wanna go with the manual, they get better MPGs and get up and go way faster, plus they are a blast to drive! i have only put 8k miles on my truck but have had zero problems with it yet!

 

I have the 2.7L 5 speed. It has better pickup than my old 22re engine did. The ride feels solid too. The only thing I question right now is the cheap paint and the questionable pay load.