Thoughts on going to a taco from sporty cars?

I prefer handling over acceleration, and i've been slowly transforming my truck into something that handles decent on the streets (my truck is my family and motorcycle hauler - no off roading) I first got the TRD wheels with wider offset, and the stickiest street rubber I could find. My next step is 5100s, and a thicker sway bar if I can find it.

 

Mainly bed then clearance, I drive from GA to FL often to go offshore fishing with fishing rods up to 9' and large coolers. 4x4 would be useful but only on rare occasions.

 

Looks great!

 

taco it is.


cheers!

 

Thanks man! took me forever to park my truck where both wheels had the same orientation.

 

Well, I never drove BMW, Audi, or the likes mainly because I'm too cheap. If I ever did buy "sports" car it wouldn't be those, it'd be Camero SS or Mustang 5.0. Just me. I drove newer Mazda 6 before Ford F-150 and now Taco. Miss the way my Mazda took corners, but this Taco is great, I'm loving it. Haven't even got to take him off road yet, but can't wait. Had to pick up bed for daughter today, Mazda? Don't think so. Ford was driving a damn school bus, not my style. Do what makes you happy. I looked into 4 runners and my wife was calling me soccer mom, sorry, but I now think that every time I see dudes drive them.

 

Once you switch from a car to a truck, beware: there is no going back. I can't think of anyone that I know who did that, and went back to a car. Unless the car was a second vehicle.

 

Went from 2011.5 E90 M3 to the 2016 Taco. It's my first truck. I loved my M3 and I love my Tacoma.

Had the competition package, the tech package, the premium package, the dual clutch transmission, the Enchanced premium sound...

Honestly, as crazy as it is to say, I think I miss the sound system the most. That Enchanced premium sound system was freaking unbelievable. I do have the JBL in the taco but it's simply not in the same ballpark, or even continent.

 

I think I'm qualified to respond to you.... I went from a BMW 328i to the new TRD Sport 4x4 DC. I live on the island of Hawaii and there really isn't a need for a sports car here. I like the ride of the new truck, sitting up high and the seats are surprisingly comfortable. It is much more practical for me, being a homeowner, going to the beach, etc... I do miss the acceleration of my BMW and the quiet ride. But all in all, I'm glad I made the switch, I was going to go for a 228i vert, but it just made more sense to me to get a truck.

I added on a pretty nice aftermarket amp, sub and new speakers and it sounds very nice.

 

It's not crazy at all. I had premium sound in my BMW also and added an amp plus 2 10s for a total of 2x5 1/4, 2x4", 4x1in tweeters, 2x8s, 2x10s and 2 amps. 1st thing I did after picking up the Taco was spend 1600 on audio upgrade. No way I'm commuting with stock audio after sitting in a 12 speaker system for 4 years.

 

I am a first time truck owner. I sold my 04 Infiniti G35 coupe 6MT. I bought that car new and fucking loved the shit out it. Was hard to let go. But I cherish the utility aspect of the truck and being able to haul people and a bunch of shit to where ever I want to go, including off road.

To be fair though I also have an old Porsche and VW for project cars. Neither are all that fast though so they don't replace the excitement of my G35 blasting onto the freeway peddle to the metal... But I make do

Point being, I don't regret for one minute switching from fast and sporty to slow as shit and practical.

 

Sounds like a Tacoma will fit the bill.

I have a family car, however, when I was much younger my daily driver was a car but for the last 30 years it`s been a truck, I will most likely have a truck til I leave this world. And as long as Taco`s continue to treat me well it will be a Taco.

 

best situation is if you can have a little bit of both. my 3rd gen 4runner is a bit slow, so i consider my wife's civic as 'fast'. a lot of others have a real sports car along-side a 4x4... i.e. vette, WRX, BMW, infinite or lexus coupe, ETC ETC -- but obviously $$$ is a factor.

I personally could never live without a 4x4, both because of CO snow and the homeowner utility thing mentioned before in this thread.

 

I am with you there. I had $2k in parts before I even bought the truck. But despite how much I am enjoying the truck, I miss my Audi and old skool... A lot! Been 3 months and I still keep in contact with the new owners just so I can see the cars haha.

I was getting 12mph on both my Audi Allroad(E85 @380hp) and '66 Fairlane(91 @426hp) when I sold it to get this truck. Speed was everything for me.... still is . I average 16mph lol but the fact I don't have to be extra cautious about being rugged or careless with throwing stuff in the truck or going off road, it pays off.

No kidding right? I was on bags and while that was a bonus, I was always afraid of bending a wheel.

But all in all, I miss my cars more than I miss my kids when I don't see them for a long time but I am really liking the truck. Its fun not to worry anymore about anything on the road. Getting a new project to get my speed fix, just waiting to import it.

 

Have you looked at or priced the "nice" trucks available these days?

 

The truck is more my secondary vehicle but I am used to fast cars. The first winter car I bought was an Impreza, but it was too slow. I thought power was the problem, so I traded that in for a WRX which was ultimately still slower than my 6.0L V8 GTO. I still didn't drive it much since I went back to the GTO every chance I could, so I decided speed wasn't an issue. I traded that in for a Tacoma which feels like it has less HP than the first Impreza. The Tacoma is absolutely horrible at highway driving if you're used to fast cars. I took it from Pittsburgh to State College thinking it'd be okay, but it can't get up hills, it can't accelerate to pass cars at highway speeds, and after 2.5 hours my ass hurt.

I'd be the first to buy a ute if they brought the Holden's over. I like the truck bed, but everything else I want car handling. My truck hasn't moved since May since I keep taking the GTO everywhere I go alone, and we take my wifes Audi Allroad for any trips together. I can also snag that in the winter for long trips so the Tacoma doesn't go more than 20 miles from home since I hate taking it on the highway.

 

Interesting, I'm surprised to hear how bad it is on the highway... My M3 is double clutch and shifts are very smooth, on highway the ride feel is great. I do mostly highway driving and would hate for the highway drive to be bad if I'm driving back and fourth from Atlanta to FL

 

I came from this and I miss it. What I don't miss is having to basically fold myself into the vehicle every day since I'm 6'4. The extra room is so nice. And actually having a vehicle I can put stuff in. Sure would like to have another BMW though. It was ESS Supercharged, Active Autowerks headers, Stromung exhaust, apex EC7 wheels.

 

Looks great, what road is that?

Here is mine, its the Jet Black one.

 

You'll just have to take one for an extended test drive and see how you feel about it on the highway. It doesn't bother me, but I'm happy going 5 over and don't feel the need to pass every car that ends up in front of me. If I did then I might feel different.

I came from a stage 1 2015 Golf R which was a very fast car (ran 12.4 1/4 with my 350 lb ass driving it) and the Taco is definitely completely different, but I'm enjoying it a lot more as a daily. It's nice not worrying about potholes and being able to see over traffic a bit better. Add in the practicality of having a bed and I plan on keeping it a long time. I've still got my Harley for a selfish toy... and may add another motorcycle to the stable to get my speed too.