Taco or F-150 Ecoboost. Decisions decisions

I went from a 2008 Silverado crew cab 4x4 to my 2012 Taco and am much happier I did. I not only save $60/month in gas, it's a lot easier to maneuver and park. I get 20.5mpg consistently with my Taco

 

I've owned 3 brand new F-150's (last being a 2010)...and a dozen or so new Chevy/GMC pickups...

never again.

I'm on my 3rd Toyota truck (2nd Tacoma)...and I WILL NOT go back to a domestic truck...or a full size truck. No need or reason.

plus, not many trucks (if any) beat the resale value of a Tacoma.
example:
my 2010 cost $28.5K new
trade to the dealer for $23.5K last month.

ANY new Chevy or Ford truck that costs 28-30K new...WILL NEVER be worth 23K in two years to a dealer on trade. I know this because I have BTDT many times.

 

A buddy of mine was recently looking for a new truck and he was considering the F-150 EcoBoost. His brother in law happens to be the service manager at a local Ford dealership. Anyway the brother in law told my buddy not to buy the ford...no need to say anymore about it.

My buddy ended up buying a Chevy...don't think he is doing any better there

 

A co-worker I know as a 2011 F150. I parked my Tacoma beside his truck. Yeah! His is taller, longer, higher up, powerful. The inside was bigger etc. I found that being in it was too big of a truck. His truck stuck out of the parking stall more than my Tacoma did. Yeah, Ford has more bells and whistles then my Tacoma and I am okay with that. At the end of the day I know, I can park in any parking spot. I get better resale value then the competitors and I know that I have the reliability that my truck isn't going to need major work when I'm sure is F150 does. If I wanted to be higher up, have a better stereo like the F150 then I would install that myself. Putting both trucks together, I have less when it comes to bells in whistles but Toyota comes ahead in the things that really matter(resale value, dependability, reliability). I'm sure that most people that have Tacoma's will agree with that.

 

Honestly, if I had it to do over again, I'd have waited and gotten an F-150. The mileage is not materially different on the whole (especially in my driving environment) and the space and towing capability are not even close. I always feel very cramped in my Tacoma, which drives me absolutely crazy, whereas the new F-150s are incredibly comfortable for me. Once I'm able to spring it, I'm going to pick up a used '12/'13 EB Platinum or King Ranch. I'm a big fan of the 5.0 and EcoBoost engines.

I realize I'm in the minority here.

 

Thats not going to help you get more sales around here Scott.

 

Well since the truck is red it will add another 100 wheel horsepower. So get the Tacoma and stay safe

 

It all depends what you want to do with it. More towing, more room, etc. go with F150. But I think both are good trucks but for very different functions.
If I had a choice and for the price I'll get F150.

 

I love my Tacoma, but my long term goals are to put 150-200k on the Tacoma and keep it as a spare and buy a new F-150...I love Ford trucks, if I could ever pick up a 7.3 Excursion 4x4 I'd definitely get it, but they still bring too much money...

 

As of today, I no longer own my 2011 Ford F150 Ecoboost (aka Ecobust) 4x4 FX4. Ford bought it back as a lemon.

The truck itself can not be beat for features, with the flat floor with huge space in the second row, power folding/heated mirrors, locking tailgate, hp/torque that could blow away most V8 trucks on the market.

However, the Ecoboost isn't ready for primetime. Just look for threads that include Ecoboost and shuddering, loss of power, water ingestion, etc. Ford tried 2-3 TSB fixes for trucks like mine and it would appear about 30% of all Ecoboosts are experiencing the problem. I'm willing to be that number is significantly more considering some are just trading their truck away to get rid of the headaches...

When trying to merge onto the interstate, I had to give a fairly good amount of right foot to try and get ahead of the semi that was slowing to make room for me. Low and behold the engine started shaking violently, and losing power, I was decelerating as I ran out of merging space with a semi that behind me that wasn't expecting it. Luckily I had room between the lane and the guard rail and he could move left just a little or we wouldn't be here today.

That was the first time... I only had the truck a total of 9 months but I had it happen 5 times! The first time was only 3 weeks after purchase. There are many similiar stories out there from other Ecoboost owners.

While I have several friends that also have the Ecoboost setup, I got 15 mpg on the highway while some were getting 21-22, others 15-17 like me. The 150 also has a shuddering problem around the 55-70 mph range if giving light throttle accelerations. It is very noticeable in the cab.

I had traded my 2006 Taco in for the Ford (first Ford I ever owned) and now am back in a 2009 Taco. I have to admit, losing some of the space/features is a bit disappointing, but I was more concerned with having a vehicle that wouldn't be trying to kill me at every turn.

When they had to bring out the finance guy to do the paperwork at the Ford dealership again, they paged him and he came out and asked what we needed. When they told him it was a lemon repurchase he slipped up and said "Another one?" But of course the service department kept telling me that they had never seen an Eco have problems... LOL Won't be long until the resale on Eco's goes in the tank.

 

If you want the space and size equivalent to the F150 plus a little better mpg, not quite as good as the Tacoma, and Toyota reliability you could try to find a 4.8L Tundra.

 

i usually try to only fill up on pay day (every two weeks i only live about 3 1/2 miles from work) i must of done a little extra driving a few months ago cuz i put 20.78 gal in. i get around 18-19 driving to work and back. when i worked 18 miles from home i got 23 a time or 2

 

If the ecoboost is driving 3.55s with 235 tires the mileage is very nice. It'll only turn 1700 rpm or so at 70 mph. One of my old buddies has a 4x4 extended cab with that gearing and it typically gets 22 mpg going 70 mph on the freeway and very easily 25+ if he stays on 55 mph roads and out of the throttle. In town it's heavy and sucks the gas though.

He was a lucky one, his truck hasn't done that epileptic garbage (yet?).

Truth be told, the ONLY thing that would keep me buying the Tacoma is the resale value.

 

I'd be getting an F150 if I were getting a truck now. Although I'm open to any manufacturer when it comes to full size. Sure most here will say get the Tacoma or Tundra for full size which is expected on a Toyota forum. Honestly the Tundra would likely be my third choice for full size. Really just need to decide what firs your needs and which you like better and do some independent research. Everyone has their stories of having a cousins friends boyfriends sister who's friends dads great grandfather built the model T and says the F150 is junk. For every "buddy" having problems there are plenty of "buddies" with no issues. Same goes for any vehicle Taco included. I've heard both ends of the MPG spectrum some not getting great economy while another guy I know who gets 18.5 combined. Take i all with a grain of salt. Personally I wouldn't be getting the EB for MPG benefits I just look at it as an option for more power.

 

No not really unless you consider people complaining on number of cup holders or Entune version or seats not comfortable to Fords' " MY truck has been in dealership service for past two months and engine still does not run"
Once you get Toyota especially Tacoma you get spoiled. People normally think grass is greener on the other side, well my grass is greener.
with 100'000's of trucks and many o n this forum we have two cases of 1gr engine failure and both were negligence by owners. I think this itself speaks volume.

 

^ Me too, in fact wish I would have. The cheap ass paint is enough reason to do it. I try and keep my stuff looking squared away. I would get the 5.0l though.

 

Their term "ecoboost" is just a marketing gimmick. Certain configurations of Tacoma are able to break over 30 mpg. A 4-cyl 4x4 will get better than 25 (despite the toyota.com website...), and repeatably. Most likely, the ford will get you around 11 or 12 mpg. This is realistic, not subject to their advertising. And it will also probably blow up in your face or its frame will bend when it bottoms out.

The two characteristic differences between an "ecoboost" engine and a regular one, is that they add direct injection (which won't have any impact on a 4-stroke's fuel consumption), and a turbocharger (which will actually make fuel consumption worse than an otherwise identical engine).

As far as why fords are relatively cheap, its because nobody wants them. You make the price lower when nobody is willing to spend that much on them.

 

the bold is actually not correct, for 2 reasons

1...domestic trucks have huge rebates, making them less expensive than their imported counterparts (this also destroys short term trade values)

2...F-150 is the or one of the, best selling vehicles world wide.

 

Get the Ford... like you say it's a lot more vehicle, not just truck. And for the price you're considering, any difference in MPG won't be a hill of beans in the mix.

That eco-boost engine is awesome.

 

I drove a F150 for many years. When I sold it, it had around 150k miles with no leaks or problems other than cosmetic. Toyota and Ford both make great trucks. It all comes down to whether you want a fullsize or not. I went with a Tacoma over a newer F150 because I wanted a Crew Cab pickup that would fit in my garage, and I always like the Tacoma styling as well as the F150. Chevy/GMC also has a great looking truck. Dodge Ram is FUGLY.