Car and Driver Comparison: 2016 Tacoma v. 2016 Colorado

Ford has treated my friends and family better. Ford has held up better in our fleet. I would rely on an F150 or Tundra any day over a GM. The Tundra is just to expensive to run. The Ram is just a disaster from what I've seen in a commercial duty application.

Yes, we could go around all day showing examples of bad Fords (the Powerstroke is a perfect example of an easy target, much like the GM bailout) and that's a fair statement. However, my personal experience is not based off one truck and then another. It's based on several trucks, my own personal buying experiences, and a computer system that shows me some relevant numbers. Whether you choose to believe it is up to you.

 

My wife and I test drove the Colorado and a Silverado before going with the F150. The Silverado, to be perfectly honest, was just for comparison purposes because unless she loved it we were never going to buy one. I don't have any experience personally or through the fleet operations with the Colorado so that was a "fairer" test drive to GM if you want to put it that way. Honestly it drove a lot like an Equinox and that's not a bad thing, but not something I'd give up my 2nd gen Tacoma for and it was not something I had confidence in that would tow better than the F150 we ended up buying.

You know my buying story TacoBella. My wife really didn't want a full sized truck. After driving everything out there she was interested in (4Runner, Tacoma, Colorado, Silverado) though that was smaller or similar, the F150 was what she chose.

 

My statement is not based on just personal buying or owning experience. It comes from 20 years as a technician for GM, 3 years as an instructor, as well as over 5 years of running my own shop working on a couple thousand different vehicles. So I feel my statement is quite valid: ALL manufacturers have their problems, one not being really much better than the other in longevity.

 

I have no qualms about the F150. If I needed a full size, the F150 would be my choice.

Here in South Carolina full size trucks are all the rage (and status symbols) seems everyone and their sister has one. Might be a Southern thing. Tacomas here are not all the rage. In fact many wonder why anyone would pay over $30K for a "Toy Truck"

If I cared about living from the outside in, I would have bought the F150 and blended....But I live my life from the inside out and am old enough not to be concerned with other's opinions on my choices.

 

Agreed. If you felt I was trying to give you the impression that Ford, or Toyota, doesn't have their own set of issues that was not my intent . I've just had better luck keeping one brand going than another, and so I'm definitely biased towards them right now. Who knows, the situation might reverse itself in ten years.

 

No problem. What I was thinking was that you were saying that GM was an inferior truck all around when compared to the Ford. To that I considered it an opinion, since I know differently. All is good.

 

Yeah, it does bug me when people just buy vehicle x to blend in or try to prove something. Cadillac is a perfect example of that. I know a lot of people with base model caddies that probably should of bought something more practical but didn't just for the American status symbol.

The F150 for us was the best combination of family vehicle, daily driver, and towing. It had nothing to do with trying to fit in or not. If I wanted my wife to fit in with a status symbol I would of bought a GM duramax Denali.

 

BTW that wasn't meant that Lincoln or Lexus aren't similar status symbols, but around here everyone and their neighbor buys Cadillac when they run into money.

 

For whatever it's worth I love the GM 2500/3500. On the Diesel side I prefer them over Ford for a lot of the same reasons I prefer F150 over GM 1500's.

 

This^ there a reason he's referred to as seatbelt bracket mike.

 

Yes, and also fleet duty. We have something like a dozen full time employees and a dozen P/T employees. I'd give you an exact number but it's been flexing around a lot of the years. Anyways, we lease or own about 20 trucks. All of which are of the big three name brands.

 

YEah I never was a Caddy kind of guy. I much prefer the understated Lexus in that arena or the Infiniti.I had an Infinti during my time without a truck. Great car great service but at the end of the day I am a truck guy. I like the options a truck gives. I can have my little Sporty MX5 for fun and still have something practical for the money. Money spent on a Tacoma is almost an investment LOL..

I came very close to buying the RC350 before I woke up and decided a truck would be a lot more versatile

 

Toyotas hold their value for me as much as any car or truck I have ever owned. But, for product investment purposes, it's tough to beat a Glock. Toyota has a long way to go to catch up on that font . ;-)

 

The dealer I traded my 2008 Tacoma with 56,000 miles put it up for sale for close to the original msrp. It sold within 1 week, however I do not know what the selling price was. Resale value on these trucks is amazing and mostly well deserved IMO.

 

Depends on your market. You can only sell a Glock up here to maybe less than 5% of the population

 

I got a quote from a dealer for the trade in value on a Glock I was selling to a friend whom I offered to sell for that value. It was more then I paid for it retail some years ago. Of course inflation counts for everything, but in real dollars, it was still very close. Glock wins over Toyota. Heck, a ten year old one retail in good condition can sell for less then $100 of a new one.

 

toyota is running more ads on tv for tacoma's than in previous years. sales must be slumping

 

And they are doing the Marty McFly thing tomorrow too. I think they do expect pressure from the Colorado.

 

touché

 

that's right. because dealer lots are packed to the gills with 2016's.