Why I picked the Tacoma

I'm new to this forum, but have experience with other topics (gun forums anyone?) and see what I have always thought were ridiculous subjective arguments over what was good or bad about "x". Rather than ague about the things we don't like about the Tacoma, I thought as newb, I'd bring up exactly why I chose the Tacoma as my new vehicle, the features I was looking for, etc. You can say "Well, scooped hoods are useless" or "It needs such and such", but what you have to consider is what each individual wanted in a truck. Here's what I wanted.

Some guy smashed into the back of my Honda CRV at around 50 MPH and totaled it. I'd been wanting to get a pickup truck anyway, so it was a mixed blessing. The timing was bad financially, but in the end I'm in my truck.

I've got 3 rugrats and a boss who has to be able to drive it and fit the kids in it in an emergency. We have a soccer mom mobile, but if we're going to have a second vehicle it needed to meet our passenger needs. A four door fits the bill. The boss doesn't drive a stick, so it had to be automatic. I won't be doing any serious off roading, but where I work can be treacherous in the winter, so 4x4 was necessary (my first real 4x4 by the way). I wanted a pickup for moving furniture and taking stuff to the dump and scrapyard. I'm not towing boats or horse trailers, so I didn't need a full size gas guzzler. As a daily driver I needed some decent gas mileage with a little more power than a four banger. V6, while not super on mileage, would do the trick. It is a truck after all.

Now I'm not a brand loyalist, but after our Ford Contour, we vowed never to buy another american car. Last 2 vehicles have been Hondas. I think Ford makes a good truck, and the F150 was my second choice. I remember Dodges having a transmission issue in the early 2000's and wasn't sure what years they were. This wasn't going to be a new vehicle, that just wasn't in the budget. Plus, I'm pretty bare bones in my tastes. While luxuries and options are nice, they aren't a big selling point for me. If, God forbid, I had to roll down the windows by hand, I would have been okay with it. A/C, radio, wipers, I'm good.
After some research, I settled on the Tacoma. Toyota has a good reputation for lasting a long time with few issues compared to other brands. Hell, Top Gear set one on fire and dropped it off a building and they still drove it. Okay, that wasn't a Taco, but it was a Toyota truck.
So I found a reliable truck that fit my needs and that's what important. Maybe you liked the looks of it, or the off road package, or whatever. Why did you choose to drive a Taco?

 

Got mine for the reliability. Parents have had Toyotas for a while and never had an issue. I wanted a truck, so I got a Taco. It isn't new nor is it in perfect condition. But its in a condition that I can improve on just with some elbow grease and some money. Has 176k miles and I use it for everything except off-roading because we don't have anywhere like that down here lol. Was considering getting a newer one for the bigger fuel tank and safety features, but I'm keeping this one for as long as I can. Congrats on your new Tacoma and I hope you enjoy it!

 

I've had 2 other Toyota pickups and loved them. Of course, I grew up with Back to the Future, so I always had a childhood crush on the Toyota truck. Plus they're just reliable and able.

 

I forgot it was a Toyota truck he drooled over in that movie. I remember thinking in my 10 year old brain "That is a pretty cool looking truck."