Wrangler or Tacoma?

I’ve had both and love both. I went Tacoma this go around because I wanted a truck bed. Keeps are great and I love that you can take the doors and top off. Only bad side to a Jeep, is that if you live someplace where it rains a lot, like Seattle area, the top will tend to mold and you’ll need to clean the top a few times a year to keep it from molding. Also, keeps are about 10k more expensive.

 

Mu JKU was plain awful on windy days, its a brick going down the highway with no aerodynamics, wondering everywhere on the highway. Oil leaks by the plastic flimsy oil filter canister, water leaks with my soft top, and hard top, awful customer service by FIAT/Chrysler dealerships....15 to 13 MPG's with 295 tires and a 2.5" lift! Any Jeep needs to be lifted or else looks like a Barbie jeep or a teenagers jeep. The only Jeep I would buy now a days would be an older TJ model with the straight six cylinder, its reliable and has been proven over time.

 

We traded our Wrangler Unlimited (JKU) 3 months ago for a Tacoma.
I'll probably get some flack for saying this (haha) but personally I think it was a heck of a lot more fun to drive than the Tacoma.
What was NOT fun was dealing with constant (and I mean CONSTANT) water leaks. And on ours it wasn't even the top that leaked it was the doors.
If it wasn't our daily driver and we had a garage to keep it in I may have dealt with it, but it was just too much of a headache.

The Tacoma and 4runner were our other top choices before buying the Jeep so when we decided to trade it we knew exactly what we wanted.
Yes, I miss the Jeep but I have no regrets with the Tacoma.
It's still fun to drive and reminds me of the '94 4Runner I had after college.
Plus I'll admit I feel a lot safer in it and as others have said, if you want to customize your truck there are a ton of options.
My only regret is not getting a manual this time! haha.

Jeeps are a ton of fun but sadly I just don't think they're what they used to be. I'll never take that risk again.

 

Got your point especially when they went with the Peugeot tranny but finally changed it. I have owned several CJ's but found my 2006 model to be the best one. All one needs to do is look at resale value of these to figure it out. I actually made $$ selling my 2006 after a number of years of driving it.

 

Buy both a new Tacoma and older jeep if affordable. One practical and one toy.

 

Traded my first gen for a kickass LJ

 

Do both lol. I have 04 Rubicon and 18 TRD offroad. Not sure which one I like more..

 

Gladiator

 

Agreed, few people realize a shit ass car company owns Jeep and before that is was a venture capital group.

 

We own both. No problems with either my Tacoma or the wife’s Wrangler JL.

 

Jeeps and Tacomas have different uses! We modded our 1993 YJ several times over.

For our uses now, the Taco....is a really nice "overall" great small truck.

Still considering keeping the "Evil Twin" but we think the Taco will be an awesome replacement.

Many folks in this thread are "dogging" on Jeeps it seems. We love ours!......It goes where we want it to. It is NIMBLE and simply goes where we "adventure".

We will most likely keep BOTH and have fun!

My biggest issue with our YJ is the lack of storage and what we want to go forward with. Potentially an addition to the family, on road comfort, storage etc.......

If we haul both dogs....and we always do, it is a hard time taking a week long camping trip. Again this is a '93 YJ but it isn't a "practical" vehicle for our needs.

Our new Tacoma, when we take delivery is WAY more "usable" for us. Storage! Comfort! Highway miles!

So being in a JEEP community for decades...we elected to make a swap. Tons of friends have newer Rubi's and others....

My JEEP is really easy to work on. I swapped the rear end out for a Ford 8.8 and love it. Had to redo the brake lines but an AWESOME vehicle.

Apologies for the long post but ..... the TACO will be our next fun vehicle. It will be used way more than the "Evil Twin"....and that is the point.....

Different uses.....




We won't be doing this with kids/dogs.....but for a fun time rock crawling I will simply mod the Taco to get "close"

 

I traded in my '11 Rubi for my Taco two months ago. Driving a Jeep was a lifestyle thing for me. It was frighteningly capable of getting me where I wanted to go, but as a daily driver it wasn't that practical. Poor gas mileage, leaks, road noise and buffeting, no storage to speak of, and a constantly F'd up windshield convinced me to trade it in. One thing I will say, those things hold their value like a champ. The wife wasn't on board with a truck at first, but I think that she has grown to appreciate it's usefulness.

 

For a trail rig that can do just about anything a Jeep is hard to beat. I prefer the TJ Rubicon/Unlimted Rubicon. Tight turning radius, 4:1 X-fer case from the factory, incredible amount of aftermarket support. If I get another one in the future it will be a trailer queen, big axles, big tires (40's), 3/4 linked, coilovers, blah blah. But for everything else the Tacoma is superior. I would love to put a Taco Box in mine because that would make the Taco a truly good off road rig, if you never had a low crawl ratio X-Fer case it is amazing from a control perspective.

 

In 2016 we looked at new Jeeps and 4runners.
Didnt take long to choose the 4runner.
The 2018 Tacoma was the obvious choice for a 2nd vehicle.
Brother in law owns a Jeep and has all kinds of goofy electrical problems.

 

I have both as well. Its like having beer and wine in your kitchen. My Jeep is great as a all around rock crawler that in the summer the top is off. My Tacoma is my truck and can go off road but never do what a Jeep can do. I do recommend a TJ jeep over anything newer built by Fiat. My TJ has that Toyota reliability that I have learned to love!

 

I had a 08 JK w/6.1 that was fun for awhile . Sold it to my friend in 2012 and looks horrible right now ....

 

Nice wheels lol

 

I have a 2014 JK Jeep 2 dr in addition to the Tacoma. If I had to choose one, I'd choose the Tacoma hands down. The Jeep is more fun in-town (slow) driving with the top off. And,it is better for really technical off-road obstacles. And, it's a bit easier to mod than the Tacoma, and there are more mod options. But, the Tacoma is way better for storage, comfort, and highway driving. And, the Tacoma is capable enough off-road in all but the most technical of spots. So, if I had to have one, for me it's the Tacoma.

 

@JoeWillie that's great that you haven't had any leaks.
We have a few friends who own them and it's been mixed. Some never have a leak, some constantly leak.

We had ours fixed several times but the leaks always came back a few weeks later. (Often in a different spot) Started to feel like we were playing a game of whack-a-mole. haha.
That said, it was a ton of fun, but we just got tired of dealing with it.

@pop.tremuloides YJs are the best! Had one after college and it ran forever. So many fun adventures in that thing!

 

Kinda wish I stuck with the All Terrains. Great tires!