Questions about a first gen for a DD

(first things first, yes, I have searched.)

Hey all, new to the forum. I'm a college student on a (relative) budget considering a 1st gen for a DD. I plan on keeping it for quite some time. I just have a few questions I haven't seen answered in reviews or on the forum, and I don't have access to a truck to test drive, so I figured I'd ask them here.

I'm looking at getting into a 2001-2004. Probably an Xtracab because of price and availability, but I'd love a DC if I can find one. I'd prefer a V6 4x4. I don't really have a preference on auto or manual. If anyone has any information to steer me in any direction in this area, please share it.

I'm in CA so rust shouldn't be an issue.

I have a 2008 Accord (mk8) V6 EX-L that I'm looking to replace with a Taco.

Questions I have:

1. How is the seat comfort? In my Accord, I find the seats unbearable. The lumbar support is stuck in the maximum position and driving the car for more than thirty seconds absolutely kills my back. I also find the seats somehow both rock-hard and unsupportive.

My father owns a 2012 C-Class, and I previously owned a 2003 VW Golf GTI. I found the seats in those cars to be superb. Certainly a nice place to sit when the VW unexpectedly stalled on the freeway and refused to start thanks to a failed crankshaft position sensor. Maybe I'm spoiled by German car interiors.

Will I have these problems in the Tacoma's seats? I haven't found much information about their comfort. Obviously I'm not expecting anything close to the seats in German cars but I'd like to be able to drive for five minutes without wanting to see a chiropractor afterward. In other Toyotas that have been in the family I have not had this problem.

2. What is the driving position like? I'm 6'0" with very long legs for my height (34" inseam) and I like to drive with my legs nearly straight. This is also a problem for me in the Accord; the seat cannot be positioned far enough back for me and my knee hits the steering wheel when I press the brake pedal.

I've owned and daily driven a Nissan Titan before and very much liked the tall driving position it offered. So my question is this: How high is the seating position, and how much fore/aft adjustment is offered? Will I have the same problem as I do in the Honda? My understanding is the Xtracab offers more room to recline the seat than the Regular cab. And when your legs are fully extended are your arms as well?

3. In the Xtracab, are the rear seats anything other than vestigial? Are they even big enough to store your groceries? They look microscopic from what I've seen.

4. Is the steering heavy? Vague? Loose? Communicative in any way?

5. How pronounced is road noise? In the Accord (typical Honda) it's inexcusable. I'd expect a not-insignificant amount of noise in an older, cheaper, less aerodynamic truck, but at freeway speeds on rough roads do you have to raise your voice to have a conversation or raise the volume to hear the stereo?

6. Compared to other vehicles you've owned, how much of a cop magnet is it?

7. In the Xtracab, when you tilt the front seat forward to access the rear, does the seat go back to the position it was originally in?

8. Is the tailgate opening mechanism damped?

9. In the Xtracab, can you reach the sliding rear window from the driver's seat? You can't in the Titan and it's more annoying than you might imagine.

10. Do rednecks in enormous 'Murican trucks laugh at you? My Japanese-engineered Titan was the subject of much ridicule by diehard GM fans.

11. Can you adjust the A/C so that no air comes out of the vents? You can't on the Honda (you can only set the fan speed to low, not off) and before owning it I did not realize that you couldn't do that on certain cars. Constantly fiddling with the A/C controls is quite annoying.

12. By pickup truck standards, is the ride compliant? Comfy? My standards are quite low here, but I'd still like to know.

13. Will my 6'5" roommate fit in the passenger seat with headroom?

14. Can you cap the auto's upshifts at third gear?

15. Is the sliding rear window's locking mechanism substantial? Property crime is high in my college town.

16. Do the door windows roll down all the way, or is some of the glass exposed when they reach their lowest position?

17. Is access to the windshield washing fluid reservoir easy?

18. At approximately what freeway speed does the truck seem to "settle," or be the most comfortable cruising?

19. Do you look forward to driving yours every day? Why or why not?

20. How long do you estimate it would take a V6 4x4 to do a lap of the Top Gear track?

21. Will the Xtracab's bed accommodate a 3-piece band's equipment? The DC's?

22. How could someone convince you to sell yours?

I apologize for the number and specificity of the questions, but I think it's important to know what a vehicle I plan to have for quite some time is like to live with.

Thanks in advance for your answers!

 

The best way to answer your questions find one for sale and drive it, what my be uncomfortable to you may be perfect to someone else.

 

Questions I have:

1. How is the seat comfort? Its a Truck (A 12 Year + truck at that) . The seats are pretty comfy but you may find issue with them. Simply put, Cant tell you how your ass will like the seats.

2. What is the driving position like? I'm 6'0" with very long legs for my height (34" inseam) and I like to drive with my legs nearly straight. This is also a problem for me in the Accord; the seat cannot be positioned far enough back for me and my knee hits the steering wheel when I press the brake pedal. Im 6ft 4in and always drive with the extended cab seat all the way back. My legs are bent at about 20 degrees normally which is fine with me since my truck is a 5 speed. Not the roomiest thing I've driven thats for sure. My knees sit further towards the dash so hitting the steering wheel isnt really an issue for me. Take a second and sit in one.

How high is the seating position, and how much fore/aft adjustment is offered? No lift adjustment sorry. Seating position is very high, great visibility .

3. In the Xtracab, are the rear seats anything other than vestigial? Are they even big enough to store your groceries? They look microscopic from what I've seen. Plenty of room back there to store groceries and small children. Ive stored 2 of those large plastic storage totes behind the seats before with no issues.

4. Is the steering heavy? Vague? Loose? Communicative in any way? Vague if anything, probably because again its a 12+ year old truck. Not heavy at all. Not particularly communicative because truck.

5. How pronounced is road noise? In the Accord (typical Honda) it's inexcusable. I'd expect a not-insignificant amount of noise in an older, cheaper, less aerodynamic truck, but at freeway speeds on rough roads do you have to raise your voice to have a conversation or raise the volume to hear the stereo? Its pretty quiet honestly, especially for the era. I drive with the windows open most of the time and that can get loud but everything sealed up, its quiet. My truck with 195,000 miles has no squeaks or rattles which is nice.

6. Compared to other vehicles you've owned, how much of a cop magnet is it? Compared to other vehicles i've owned... 0/10. Unless you're out doing dumb shit.

7. In the Xtracab, when you tilt the front seat forward to access the rear, does the seat go back to the position it was originally in? Yes, Passenger seat only.

8. Is the tailgate opening mechanism damped? lol.

9. In the Xtracab, can you reach the sliding rear window from the driver's seat? You can't in the Titan and it's more annoying than you might imagine. Easily, But I have longer arms. Thats probably my favorite thing about it, getting all the windows opened on a nice day.

10. Do rednecks in enormous 'Murican trucks laugh at you? My Japanese-engineered Titan was the subject of much ridicule by diehard GM fans. The truck was Built in California. Even if they do who cares?

11. Can you adjust the A/C so that no air comes out of the vents? You can't on the Honda (you can only set the fan speed to low, not off) and before owning it I did not realize that you couldn't do that on certain cars. Constantly fiddling with the A/C controls is quite annoying. Yes. Fan Off, Recirc on. No air will come through the vents.

12. By pickup truck standards, is the ride compliant? Comfy? My standards are quite low here, but I'd still like to know. Very good IMO. Depends on the state of your trucks suspension But front Struts = Nice ride.

13. Will my 6'5" roommate fit in the passenger seat with headroom? Yes on the headroom, No on the legroom.

14. Can you cap the auto's upshifts at third gear? Yes. Overdrive Off button.

15. Is the sliding rear window's locking mechanism substantial? Property crime is high in my college town. Eh about as good as anybody elses. When I have to break into my own truck, I go through the side windows anyways.

16. Do the door windows roll down all the way, or is some of the glass exposed when they reach their lowest position? All the way down.

17. Is access to the windshield washing fluid reservoir easy? Extremely. Filler sits right next to the Radiator.

18. At approximately what freeway speed does the truck seem to "settle," or be the most comfortable cruising? Honestly that depends on Transmission/ Rear End ratio. Mine likes 60 mph for like 24 MPG or 75 at 3,000 RPM at about 20mpg.

19. Do you look forward to driving yours every day? Why or why not? Ive got a few vehicles and I like driving the Tacoma abour 3-4 days a week to my Corporate Job. My truck was purchased to drive around my Property in the dirt so its always filthy. Parking my Faded, beat up filthy pickup next to peoples C300 Benz and other gay cars at work cracks me up. But its Small, Economical, good seating position and peppy with a 5 speed.

20. How long do you estimate it would take a V6 4x4 to do a lap of the Top Gear track? Wut

21. Will the Xtracab's bed accommodate a 3-piece band's equipment? The DC's? Probably. Cant Comment.

22. How could someone convince you to sell yours? I get somebody once a month asking to buy mine at gas stations. You'd be surprised. Offer to trade mine for a New Ecoboost and Id think about it. New Tacomas don't do anything for me.

 

Truck Yeah seems to have nailed it. i don't disagree with any of that as a 6'2" owner of an xtracab

 

As someone with a bad back....it's uncomfortable compared to even a same year Honda.
Try looking @ 2nd Gens also.....price will be about same.

 

For #1 I'm picky about that too. If you can find a Limited it has lumbar support which I loved on my '01.

 

Any reason why your looking first Gen?
They're getting harder and harder to find on a budget unless they're just beat to hell. (Mine...and I still could sell it for 5K)
If I were taller or heavier (5'9- 180#) I'd be in a bigger truck.
Don't do it for gas mileage, 2nd are better.
The biggest reason for 1st is smaller, simpler. Example is mine doesn't even have ABS.

 

1. The seats are something you have to get used to. Different first gen years have different seats. My 98 had seats made out of rocks, but my 2001 has plushier seats with a little more lumbar support. Hard still but with my screwed back, I like hard seats. It's a preference, but they definitely aren't comfy for a lot of people. I've driven across the country back and forth a few times and I like em.

2. Driving position should be adequate in an automatic. With a manual, I had to push my seat way up in order to push the clutch pedal all the way in. With an auto, no need to worry about clutch and you can sit way farther back, thus more leg room. But with no up or down adjustments, you won't get that "tall" seating position a lot of other trucks offer.

3. The rear seats are adequate for giving a person a quick 5-10 minute ride. Anything longer and they'll break their back. Plenty of room for groceries and other junk.

4. Steering is a bit on the loose side. Think halfway to a Jeep Wranglers steering. Not as bad, but not sport car-ish either. I like it though, it's not so tight that I have too much control, but it goes where I tell it to without any problems.

5. Road noise is tolerable, a little worse on the freeway, but i have mud Terrains which make it worse. Not too bad, but you do have to talk a tiny bit louder when conversing.

6. Out of 2-3 years of owning first gens, I only got pulled over once due to registration being one day late. That was the new cop in town and pulled everyone over any chance he got. Other than that, I never got pulled over in my truck.

7. After the seat is tilted forward, you have to put it back into the desired position. It won't do anything for you automatically.

8. Tailgate is old and never had any damping mechanism. Most (I think all) trucks this old don't do that. That's a fairly new thing to my understanding.

9. You can open the rear window with ease from the drivers seat. Especially cause you're tall and probably got long arms. I'm 5'5 and it's not too hard at all.

10. For the most part, I've only been ridiculed once from a ford fan. Most truck guys can appreciate a first gen Tacoma. Mileage may vary depending on location.

11. The AC controls are at your disposal. If you don't want any air flowing at all, you got it dude. Turn it off and on recirculate.

12. I heard someone describe the first gen ride like a Jeep Wrangler. My 98 rode like a buggy with rock wheels. My 01 is so much smoother. Suspension during these years are old and close to 15 years old. It'll need to be replaced if you want a smoother ride.

13. Step brother at 6'2" had headroom. 6'5" may be pushing it.

14. You can cap the auto at 3 if you choose. 99% sure.

15. The lock is decent but you can put a little metal/wooden slab in the window track and it'll completely lock the rear window. There's mentions of it on the forum, I'm sure if you search for it, it should pop up.

16. Windows roll down all the way or as far as you want them to.

17. Windshield washer fluid resivoir is at easy access on the passenger side.

18. Not sure what you mean by freeway settling. I get 22MPG going 55MPH with 33"s though. Around 18-19 going 70MPH. Not sure if that helps.

19. I love driving mine every day. I drive with pride knowing that I have a truck that's super reliable, will never leave me stranded, and can go anywhere I want it to go whether it be on or off road.

20. Don't watch Top Gear so I have no idea of the track you're talking about. But these trucks ain't super fast. Plenty of power in my opinion, but there's always the option of going the supercharger/headers/all that jazz route.

21. The beds (even the 6' bed) are terribly small. I have a half stack and a few guitars and they can all fit easily, but I wouldn't try to toss a drum set back their along with it.

22. Wouldn't sell mine unless I had enough money for another first gen in better condition. Planning on keeping this thing forever.

Props for you for doing research and if any more questions pop up, go ahead and post them. Welcome to TW and we hope you pull the trigger on a Tacoma or even a 4Runner. They're fun vehicles.

 

From everything I've seen, 2nd gens don't get better gas mileage at all.

 

One thing that really helps with the steering is poly rack bushings and moderately high tire pressure. My truck handled great with a fresh set of rack bushings and Falken all seasons at 35+ PSI


Now that I have KM2s it's not as nice but not too sloppy either. I drive 30-60 miles daily without many complaints. I'm 6'3" and the biggest one I have is that I have to lean forward at stoplights to actually see the lights

 

My Accord only has 41k miles on it, and is the range-topping version, so it blue books around 12k. For that money I'm looking at a clean first-generation or a second-generation with either a million miles or a salvage title. There seem to be more first-gens for sale in my price range, and from what I've read the first gens are even more reliable (probably because there's less to go wrong).

 

Curious why a college student on a budget wants to get rid of his gas saver? Do you need to haul/tow anything? Wanna go OffRoad? Or just wanna look cooler in a funner vehicle?

 

Im not going to go so far as to say that 1st gen owners collectively dont like the 2nd gen (They really are quite different) but there are reasons we prefer the 1st gen to 2nd gen. Points others have brought up (Size, Economy, Dependability/simplicity). Depends where you're located Value wise but a rust free example is usually 8K+ . I suppose thats cheaper then a 2nd gen but still a lot of money for a 12+ year old truck.
My good friend has a 2011 4 door and its very different from my truck.

 

A fair question.

1. This is a V6 Accord. I get about 22 MPG out of it. Not stellar.
2. I didn't choose the car; I inherited it, and it's been nothing but trouble for me so I'd rather get rid of it.
3. From what I've read, Tacomas will run forever with minimal things breaking and that's important to me if I'm going to have something to drive every day for the next several years.
4. I'm in a band and having a vehicle that can haul our equipment would be a godsend.
5. If I'm honest, yes, I want something more fun than the Accord, but still sensible, and what could be more sensible than a Toyota? I'm writing a review of the Accord on the driveAccord forum now for the hell of it. I'll link it when I've finished writing it. Once you read it you'll understand why I'm looking to get rid of it.

 

Dude, you rock. The OP lost me at post #3. Great job encapsulating the answers and they are all 100% accurate.

 

Here's the sticky on the first gen buyers guide: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1st-gen-tacoma-buyers-guide.156943/

It's good information. The two things you'll have to worry about (besides regular maintanance like oil changes) are timing belts and the frame. Just cause it's California doesn't mean it doesn't have rust. I've seen plenty of people come on here and complain they have rusty frames but it's only because they didn't bother looking it over when they purchased the vehicle. CHECK THE FRAME NO MATTER WHAT. To my knowledge timing belts should be replaced every 90k miles but its okay if you go over it. I'm at 135k and haven't done it. If the timing belt breaks, there won't be any damage to the vehicle.

 

Some of the coolest rednecks I know drive beat up Toyota trucks...maybe California rednecks are different

 

About the maintenance will you be doing this or paying to have it done??

Every used Toyota 4x4 I ever bought took at least $1000.00 in parts catching up on areas of maintenance that were neglected.

Yes they are great trucks but need attention

 

This too. that was half the fun for me though. it's all very doable if you've got time, patience and a basic set of tools.

 

buying a 15 yr. old vehicle for reliability is kind of off track.