What truck did you come from and how does the Tacoma compare - Not bashing

Very nice.

 

1990 C1500. My dads old truck, that my daughter now has. It’s still a good truck, but I love my “new” Tacoma.

 

My last truck was a 1998 Ford Ranger ... I had it for 20 relatively problem free years.

 

I owned a 2015 GMC Canyon All Terrain - kept it two years, but experienced too many issues with it. Kept taking it back to the dealership for Transmission issue where it would downshift when going over any hills. It would do this even at higher speeds. They kept telling me that it was shifting properly. Then had an issue where one day it wouldn't start and had it towed to the dealership. At this point I had enough, once they fixed it I started to look at other options.

I had never owned a Toyota before, but decided to trade the Canyon in on a 2017 TRD OFFRD DC. I have now owned this truck for 2 years with no issues. I absolutely love it and plan on keeping it for a long time.

 

Went from a 1992 RWD Mazda B-2200 to a 2016 Tacoma TRD off road. Stuck with the access cab style apparently. It was an old truck, and a bit of a mess but it got me from point a to point b, never broke down, started flawlessly every time, and was a kick ass winter drift truck. It had a pretty bad tear in one of the seats and I tried to get a friend to sew it for me and the fabric practically just crumbled to dust.

 

Came from a 2003 Tundra Access Cab 4x4. Had the Tundra for 55,000 miles.

Exterior/Interior: Tundra was basically as attractive as my Tacoma, but Tundra was loads more comfortable than my Taco. Both shared roughly the same features, but Tundra was an automatic while Taco is a manual. Tundra’s seats were simply superior in comfort and seating angle.

Off-road: Taco barely wins. Tundra was very good and only loses slightly to the Taco because it was a little larger.

Efficiency: Almost a wash. Careful driving netted 16-18 mpg highway in the Tundra, and now 17-19 mpg highway in the Taco.

My Taco was my dream truck, and that’s one of the only reasons I don’t still have my Gen 1 Tundra. If I had it to do all over again I’d have kept my Tundra then gotten the Taco to be used as a excursion vehicle. Tundra was superior in most ways, but my Taco is just my go anywhere/do anything truck. I’ll try to get another full size truck, but intend on keeping the Taco.

 

88 Wrangler: 4.2L not much comparison. Shitty mileage, carb was garbage, bouncy as all hell, and holy shit the wind noise with a full soft top. Still tons of fun though.

84 K5 Blazer: 350, SM465 3 spd w/granny low. Certainly not the fastest thing in the world. Fit 33's stock with no problem. God awful gas mileage though. 31 gallon tank when gas was pushing $4.00 and I was in high school. I think that tank was full twice in about 3 years. most unstoppable thing in the snow ever. Started every time, looked awesome, and the best part? It had vent windows! Why did those ever go away? Seriously I'd pay an ungodly amount for a new truck with vent windows. Fantastic offroad and wasn't afraid to reasonably push it. The only car to date I still have dreams about getting back.

91 Cherokee: 33's 4.56, 4.0 HO AX15 5 spd, 4.5" lift Once regeared, way more low end torque than my taco. However it was old and worn out and keeping up with traffic on I-70 in the Colorado mountains was a serious struggle. Definitely rode worse than the taco obviously and not very comfortable for long trips. Sounded decent with 3" exhaust from iron rock offroad. Definetly fun to drive though. Did awesome on trails but the axles had me weary.

2000 Grand Cherokee: 4.7, auto, stock. Way more power across the range, 5 gears was perfect for that thing anywhere. Decent in the snow in town but struggled offroad because of clearance.

2007 Silverado 1500 LTZ: 5.3, Diablew tuned, 3" exhaust with Black widow muffler, 2" level. Way more power than the taco, sounded AMAZING, but had 4L60E and definitely felt one more gear would have been great. Offroad, as long as the tires were on the ground it was pretty good, but lower clearance and it was very wide for most places in Colorado. Also the heated seats on this blow the Taco's out of the water. Seriously it would scald my ass whereas the taco more just lovingly caresses it with warmth. Honestly prefer it scalded. Mileage was about 13 city and 18 highway if I was lucky. The black looked beautiful when it was all waxed and shiny until 5 minutes later. So far the taco hides a lot more. Interior quality is about the same, although I'm not the biggest fan of the softex seats. Never had problems other than a wheel bearing, although the lifters started tapping more later on.

Also guess I shouldn't forget my 73 CJ 5 that I currently have. No comparison there either. 304, 3spd. Bouncy, rattly, loud, arguably unreliable, no radio, full softop, no room if youre over 5' 6", gives you carbon monoxide poisoning at stoplights, and a hell of a lot of fun.

Overall I love my taco. Only has 250 miles so far though so time will tell. Honestly the power is not bad, contrary to what most people here seem to think. Also I'm 6' and have plenty of headroom with the sunroof. Averaged about 18 mpg so far. The ugly ass shift knob for the MT has got to go though.

 

Loved my old ranger. 05 4w4 4.0 manual.

Sold it to my younger brother and he loves driving it as his winter vehicle.

 

I put 120k miles on my 2010 AC:



Before trading it for this 2018 TRD Sport:



Still thinking about putting a cap on it. Well, mostly thinking about the cost of doing it again.

 

I had a 2011 Suzuki Equator and I have to say it was solid with the Frontier V6 and tranny

Had it since new from 2011 to 2017 just got old with 150,000 miles it was time to move on

The Tacoma hit the safety aspect I was looking for with a family and filled the reliability role perfect

Driving Experience: Equator was fast whenever you wanted it but I love the MPG's of the Tacoma and more safety features

Gas Mileage: Tacoma wins hands down Equator 15ish average( I do mostly city driving), Tacoma 20ish

Interior: Hands down the Tacoma wins with much newer tech and better materials, even the equator interior was the 6 year old frontier one brand new in 2011

Offroad: Tacoma by far, that being said my Equator was a 4 door long bed and even would high center alot even in snow

As of right now I'm thrilled with what Toyota has been able to offer me for the price of $23,500 out the door. Before the equator I had a 2004 Ranger for 7 years with no issues and loved that truck and my Tacoma is most like that truck
and with the new Ranger being way too big and expensive I feel I made a great choice for a long haul ownership.

 

Awesome car because it was a Toyota

 

that is what I am waiting to order now!! sure wish it would get here fast or they start making them early this year which I doubt

 

Traded out of a '17 Tundra for my '18 Tacoma. Bought the Tundra with the intention of it being a weekend warrior while I daily drove my '00 Jeep Cherokee. Had some issues with the Jeep (expected at 265K miles) and ended up putting about 20K miles on the Tundra in 15 months. Decided to consolidate the weekend and DD vehicles and dropped the Tundra for the Taco. Still have the Jeep.

The only thing I like about the Taco vs the Tundra is the size. I would happily take the crappy mileage, power, throttle response, lack of vibes, etc of the Tundra over what the Taco provides.

The only thing I like about the Taco vs the Jeep is that the Taco is currently running.

 

I went from a 2nd gen to a 3rd gen. Traded my 2015 Prerunner 4x2 for my ‘17 Trd sport 4x4
Now I got 4 wheel drive and a skewp.
I may be the only Tacoma owner who loves their 3rd gen more than the 2nd Gen.

Had to stop in Tacoma,wa at the
“Tacoma Toyota “ dealership.
5,000 mile family rd trip was awesome. Great gas mileage and 4 wheel drive used a few times. Got on some trails in Yellowstone to see the buffalo herd.





Here’s a list of all my beater ass cars and trucks. Can you count a mercury monarch with a gas tank leaking gas if you put in over 1/2 tank?

The car list:
1976 Chevy Monza(Brown)
1978 Buick Regal(silver)
1989 (new)Toyota 4x2 (midnight blue)
1980 Ford Escort(Green)
1977 Mercury Monarch (brown)
1981 Chevy cavalierwagon(white)
1986 Mercury Topaz (Baby Blue)
1977 suburu (brown)
1983 Buick park ave (white)
1984 Honda CRX (white)
1988 Jeep Comanche pickup (BLK
2003 (new)Kia Rio (Blue)
2008 Kia Rondo (white)
2015 (new)Tacoma Prerunner magneic grey
2017 (new) Trd sport 4x4 blue

 

I traded my 2013 BMW 328i for my truck... best decision ever.

This is the first truck I’ve ever owned , and I ask myself every day why I didn’t get one sooner. I absolutely love this thing.

 

Came from a CRV, but previous to that I had a Ridgeline. Loved the hidden trunk, dual tailgate & AWD.

Unfortunately it didn't come with 4hi & 4lo, rear diff lock, nor Crawl Control!

 

I go through vehicles way too fast, here is my story...for those guys that think their full-size truck is too big or gets crappy gas mileage and think a Tacoma is the answer, my advise is to THINK IT THROUGH.

2006 Nissan Titan LE 4x4 Crew Cab (Loaded up, leather Etc, Minor mods, ZERO issues, owned for about 4 years) Traded in on...
2017 Ford F-150 4x4 STX Crew Cab (3.5L Turbo V6, 10-speed tranny, Cloth, pretty plain jane) Traded in on...
2018 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 DCSB SR5 (No options, super base) Hated it...boring, had a few quirks/warranty issues right off the bat, traded it on...
2018 Cement Toyota Tacoma 4x4 DCLB TRDOR (Tech and Premium Packages) Love the looks and the long bed is awesome. The tranny, lack of power and tiny interior space quickly wore on me. My wife hated how it drove ie. loud, bumpy and thought the interior felt cramped. Traded it in on...
2012 Nissan Titan Pro4x 4x4 Crew Cab (1 owner, 80K Miles, Super clean, tow package, cloth, pretty basic) I majorly regret getting rid of my 1st Titan. They ride amazing, mega reliable, very roomy (we have a 2 year old daughter)

Functionally and financially I think I'm a 1st gen Titan guy for life; perhaps I'll consider a diesel truck SOMEDAY if we get into camping and Dirt Biking that we talk about alot.
Thanks for reading!

 

Well I agree and disagree. I agree don't trade full for mid-sized for fuel or really being any cheaper. To me it is for being able to get around and easier parking and fitting much easier in garage. For others that do a lot of off road stuff I am sure the size comes into play for many of them for what they do. Comparing the older Titan is kind of unfair because that truck was great size not too big or too small and rode great and very comfortable and the 5.7 engine was a beast! Wish they had kept that size truck. Reminded me of 1st Gen Tundra or even maybe T100. I will say the full size is lot more comfortable and better riding.

 

I went from a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 crew cab (weird little suicide doors) to my 2001 xtracab.

Honestly, had the quality of the Dodge been better, I probably would have kept it, but it needed a LOT of work maintenance wise to keep it up to snuff. Damn near did a straight trade for the 1stgen taco. Was worth it.

It was difficult to get used to the power difference, but I was a single guy at the time and only needed a small truck.

Had to sell the taco due to size of family. Sad face.

 

last pickup truck was 79 f100 straight drive with the inline 6 (300) so no comparison on features, although that truck had instant torque. taco is way nicer to drive (still regret not getting the manual though)


*long bed single cab, no ac, no power anything but it did have a cassette player.