Need Some Opinions on Year and Model to Buy

I've been doing some research on the Tacoma TRD Off Road. I am familiar with the SR5 and know they last forever based on my friends that have them. I am ready to migrate from a FJ Cruiser to a truck for various reasons. I have looked at all the options, builds, accessories, etc. Like any time you are in the investigative phase it turns into "paralysis by analysis" ... so I came here and signed up for an account to get some new ideas and opinions from those in the know .. the experts of TRD Off Road trucks.

I have at least settled on my range to look at, 2017-2019. I will use this as my daily driver, although being retired I drive a lot less miles but also have a lot more time available to hit the trails. I am also in the process of moving from Indiana to Arizona, which was another of my reasons to look at this kind of truck.

I'd appreciate any advice, opinions or suggestions ... good or bad ... for deciding which year and model to buy. I do know all the difference between the models and feel based on what I have read and watched on YouTube that the "Off Road" is the one I need and want but I am also open minded enough to listen to those that have a lot more knowledge on these trucks.

So what year between those three listed at the top? Which one do you feel is better than the other? I'll click the "create thread" button, go back to look at more trucks, more images and look through this forum while I wait for your comments.

Thanks for any and all advice.

 

Test drive, test drive, and test drive.
Test drive every model truck you are considering.

 

My only input is that either 2018 or 2019 (real helpful, I know) is the first year all the safety stuff (TSS- Toyota Safety Sense) became standard. That's a plus to some and a con to others.

 

I drive a 2017. They are all the same except if you plan to modify the suspension you may want to research all the comments regarding the TSS (Toyota safety sense) complexity. I believe this was introduced on the ‘19.

Good to analyze but frankly I think you are in splitting hairs at this point so l look forward to seeing your new truck soon!

 

Get a 2019 OR4x4 with all the bells and whistles. You're retired and it's your daily driver. Live it up. By now they've worked out all the major hiccups with the third gens.

 

Hello, and welcome!

I’m currently on my second Taco, the type of which you’re looking for...2018 TRDOR. First one was an ‘06 SR5 that I missed from the day I traded it, but I digress. Bought the new truck, as a dealer lot leftover on March 1 of this year, and I’m mostly very happy with it. Going from a fully loaded Honda Crosstour back to a truck, took a little adjustment, but the only things I truly miss from that car are the leather seats and climate control. Those aren’t hard necessities for a truck imo.

Since I took delivery, it’s been rock-solid. Plenty of power when it’s needed, and refined enough to ease into things if I need to. My truck is not a highway cruiser (none of 3rd gen Tacos seem to be really). It does fairly well up to 65-70 mph, but over that speed the auto transmission can’t seem to figure out it has a 6th gear. Again, this seems to be normal. It’s a truck that’s very much biased towards off-road use from the factory, not a touring sedan.

My highway mileage stays in the low-to-mid 20’s if I keep my foot out of it, and it’s 17-19 mpg around town. Pretty much on par with the window sticker.

It’s now got just over 3000 miles on it, and so far, so good! I hope to be driving this truck in 10-15 years.

Hope this helps!

 

I am into my first month with a brand new 2019 Tacoma TRD Off-Road with Premium and Technology Packages.

The good:

1. The truck feels solid and well built
2. The cabin is quiet and refined, although a bit confined
3. I like the styling inside and out
4. I really like the clarity of the premium JBL sound
5. I like having a backup camera, blind spot monitor and cross path detection
6. The Toyota name gives me confidence that the long-term quality and resale will hold. I am hoping my Toyota dealer experience will be better than my crummy Jeep dealer experience

The bad:

1. The driver seat is a pain, literally. I cannot drive the truck for more than 45 minutes without my leg cramping up. I have to push the seat so far back that my arms stretch out like a monkey and the back seat is rendered useless
2. I feel a slight shudder between 10-30 MPH, either accelerating or decelararing, that has me baffled
3. Some features, like the climate controls and navigation interface, look and feel antiquated
4. Coming from Jeeps, I find the selection of aftermarket options quite limited, and the ability to mount larger size tires constraining. I still have to take the truck off-roading and try the rear locker and crawl control.

Based on what I know now, would I do it all over again? Yes. But I may look a little harder into getting a manual transmission.

 

Test drive an OR and if you like it go for a brand new 2019, used Tacoma's rarely make financial sense.

 

If you can afford new, I think that's better than used. Better deals may be had by going used but it's....used. You really have no idea how the previous owner treated it (unless you you knew them personally).

Edit: exception would be Certified Used by Toyota with an accompanying warranty.

 

I'm not a big off road type, but I did own a '04 Tacoma, Gen 1 DCSB TRD OF, 4x2, that I dearly loved, for almost 9 years. I never took it off roading, but we (wife & I) did take a bunch of long trips in it. The problem was, she who I dearly love also, didn't like the stiffness of the TRD OF and convinced me (after almost 9 years) that we needed a better vehicle to make our long distance trips in, so 3.5 years ago I traded my '04 Tacoma for a '15 Highlander XLE. I have to admit, for long trips, that Highlander is an excellent choice and we have made a number of very comfortable trips in it, including ones where I had to pull my trailer, with my motorcycle on it.

Recently, we decided that the wife's '14 Rav4, that she drove back and forth to work, wasn't going to go with us in a few years when we move to Southern Utah and while it still had some value left, to trade it in for another Tacoma. Knowing that the TRD (any level) would be a rough ride (stiff suspension is naturally a rough ride), I started looking for a Limited model. I was very lucky, because I found a 2016 Limited 4x4, with only 14,000 miles on it, less than a mile from my home! It's the perfect truck for me, we've yet to take it on a trip, but that is happening at the end of the month. We'll see if she approves, or if we will be back to the Highlander for our trips...

So, why am I telling you this? Of course it's you that knows what you plan on doing with it. If you'll have a passenger most of the time or just by yourself, but as someone said, go test drive them before you buy. And I would suggest to drive a SR5 along with the TRDs.

Good luck!

 

19 OR owner here and I'm very happy with the purchase (just passed 6k on the clock). It's just a fun, trucky truck. It's my daily or only, too. I do like the TSS stuff mainly for the radar cruise control. That's a must have for me. I changed the tires to some AT's and with a stock suspension, this thing eats up anything I throw at it with ease...well except deep sand on an incline. Test drive one and really dig deep into the throttle. These engines like to be wound up pretty good. I think the power is adequate and I'm coming from a 400 hp Golf R. The auto trans tends to drop to 4th above 70 mph even on a slight incline. I just let it do its thing and as long as the truck maintains the speed I set, that's all I care about. It was engineered this way and I'm fine with that. Not gonna stress over that topic as so many others do

 

Welcome to TW! For what its worth, here's my two cents on the subject:

As a former lifelong Nissan mid-size truck guy, I bought my first Toyota truck less than 90 days ago after nearly eight months of research and consideration. The top five things *I* considered were dependability, cost of ownership, durability, capability, and resale value (in the potentially extreme case of having buyer's remorse).

Hey, when watching news reports, you see a LOT of Middle Eastern terrorists tooling around in the desert in Toyota trucks, you can beat that those vehicles are pretty tough! Not the kind of endorsement Toyota execs like to see, but it is what it is. The Tacomas are tough trucks, and actual owners in my life that I personally interact with on a regular basis sing nothing but love songs about their Tacos. Parts are plentiful, service centers seem to be all over the place, and there is help around every corner (YouTube, social media, motor clubs, etc.).

Based upon what you shared, I am guessing that you are going to be using your next vehicle as a daily driver. Don't count on the Tacoma to have a car-like experience, like say, the Honda Ridgeline, or the nearly flexible on-road/off-road chops of a Chevy Colorado. What you WILL get is a vehicle that, with good owner's care, take you anywhere you want to go for at least 200-300K miles at a fair price. I just past the 3100 mile mark on my rig, and I am loving my TRD Off-Road 4X4 in the double cab/short bed configuration.

In the end, it's your coin and your choice. For the best value on a budget, give serious consideration to the SR5. It is mod friendly, and easy on the wallet. If you think that you're going to spend the vast majority of the time on the hardball and racking up the miles, perhaps the TRD Sport with the premium upgrade would be a good compromise of having a beautifully rugged truck with a decent pedigree. But if you think that off-roading may be in your future, the TRD Off Road 4X4 is the ONLY way to go, unless you have some extra coin in which to invest in a TRD Pro. The base model SR is a bit too basic for me, but it is the least expensive, while the Limited trim level is good looking on the inside, but missing a couple of things to make it fun to ride outside of city limits (unless one is not interested in getting it dirty).

Good luck on your future purchase, and drop some photos when you are ready to share!

 

Since you’re an older guy I’d wait and get the off road 2020 when “they” say the seat will have more adjustments to get a more comfortable ride for you. Also the black headliner is ten times more appealing than the tan sr5 headliner

 

That feature seems to be in my DNA and hard to get rid of. It's always a relief to come to a firm decision. LOL

 

Buy the TRD Pro and become broke

 

I have lots of opinions. Hopefully I can help you make an informed decision.
1st off I am biased because I have a 2nd gen and I love it.
The 2nd gens have been around long enough to be proven extremely reliable so if you can find one with low enough miles for a reasonable price, that would be my first choice. 3rd gens have been around for a bit, but in my opinion not long enough to show if they have any widespread long term issues. (Probably still a great truck, only time will tell) also as far as TSS goes, its not something I ever want on my truck. Its up to you if you want your truck to be automatically breaking if you get close to soething, but its not something I would ever want. Also keep in mind if you get a 3rd gen you will probably be bringing it back to the dealership for a bunch of TSBs not a huge deal, some of them will improve drivability, just something to think about.

 

I like that idea and since I am single it doesn't have to be approved by anyone at home. LOL I think it will be a little more versatile than the FJ I had, where we camped in Colorado and Utah. After seeing the differences between the Sport and Off Road, the Sport was eliminated for my purposes.

 

I find your #1 under The Bad a little surprising. I've made a lot of cross-country trips and the FJ I found to be the most comfortable car I had ever driven from the west coast to the midwest. That sounds like my left knee when I use to drive old '67 and older, VW buses. Have you taken it in to the dealer to see what they say about the 10-30mph shudder? Yes, that is another thing I have to decide ... manual or automatic. I had a new 4-Runner many years ago that had a manual transmission and it came in very handy in snow or off road. Yet, it felt nice when I went to an automatic on my other vehicles.

Thanks for the good and bad points.

 

I agree. I have bought used Toyotas and some of them were not Certified Used by Toyota and had good results. You are right though, you never can tell how the previous owner handled it and there could be more to the story from what you see on a CarFax.