Tacoma Size vs Full Size

Yeah, they don't in mine. Tried when I had my 14' Ram CC shortbed.

 

Look on AutoTrader for a NEW '18 and you'll find tons of them at between $13-15K off msrp. That's how I found mine. And it was the only one around in Mineral metallic, which looks fantastic to me, especially with the black wheels. I was getting a little tired of grey, silver and white.

I replaced the standard mega-chrome Denali grille and lower trim plate with a paint to match grille off an SLT Elevation package and it really toned down the bling. Still toying with the idea of replacing the mirror caps and window trim with black but we'll see about that. I like the way it looks right now.

Last but not least will be the installation of the factory GM Borla twin rear-exit exhaust that is sitting in my garage waiting for a hoist to become available. Can't wait.

 

I came from a Sierra, and I'm looking to go back in the future. Do your homework. The tacoma is anemic to drive daily and very frustrating for anyone who cares about driving dynamics or who needs to merge and pass and all that jazz you do daily with a vehicle.

 

My Brother's Tundra on 37" MT 3" lift, bumper, skids, swing out and RTT gets 11 mpg. For the size and capacity your not far off with Tacomas once you start loading full overlanding gear. Plus he regeared with 4.88 and ARB Locker in the rear so very capable vehicle.

 

That's what I'm trying to do...homework. I, however, mostly drive rural roads. I'm in middle Cali, so traffic isn't horrible as long as I stay away from the rush hours. I do need to go test drive them again (have only test driven a Taco Pro for a short drive).

I'm also not in any hurry. I've been driving a GM full-size in some configuration since 1995. So, trying something new is a bit unnerving since GM's have been very good to me.

 

See if you can do an extended or overnight test drive. Drive it several times. I didnt think it was too bad at all during the three test drives I went on, but now I'm tired of thinking about driving the truck and planning merges and opportunites in traffic. The 5.3L while its not a road warrior engine, you just get in drive and dont think about those things. I'll say my 5.3L had plenty of power and the MPG difference is not huge. The 3.5L is a dog unless you wring it out and I get tired of that on the daily too. Below 3500rpm asking it to do a task you might as well pretend its 4cyl.

 

Did you test drive before purchase?

 

Yes 3 or 4 times. Like most people I avoided any rush hour traffic and I was also in purchasing in the dead of winter with a few feet of snow on the ground. The truck handled that scenario well. But it didnt tell the story of daily driving it, now after several months I am looking at selling. I have always kept my vehicles for many years, 200,000 miles or more. I figured almost 300hp in a midsize truck would suit my needs. Lesson learned.

 

I did. Three times. But my Tacoma’s driving is at it worst on two-lane roads, where passing is of the essence.

The only way I would have found out how crummy this truck is to drive would have been if I had rented one for a weekend and taken it to the mountains.

I may have to do that next time.

 

I liked the small size of the S-10 for driving around town. I like the Silverado for long highway drives.

When I bought this truck, I decided that the resale was too stupid good that if I didn't like it, I could sell it and buy a full size. Three years and 72,000 miles later, I still like my Taco just fine.

I do think that for a family of 5, it might be a bit small though.

 

Too bad. Fortunately, Tacoma's hold their value pretty well, so not a lot of $$ loss. GM's are nice trucks. But every one of them have had the CEL by 100k. Never left me stranded, but just annoying. Little things that go wrong. 6.2 is a beast, though.

 

Damn dude, you really seem to hate your truck

 

IDK that I hate my truck. But it certainly seems every day brings some sort of new disappointment.

 

The Silverado is the one with the 4 Banger, the F-150 has the V6.

 

That's a good idea. I'm really only interested in the Pro version at this point. Not that I need it's off road capabilities, but I figured its rarity would hold its value even better than an OR. Could be completely wrong in that assumption, but that's where I'm at. Unfortunately, the dealer that I went to was stupid about the Pro and wouldn't let me test it for a very far drive. Something about "Pro buyers want them with really low miles." He wasn't going to let me drive it to begin with, but then I told him if I drive it there is a 1% chance I'd buy it. If I didn't drive it, there was a 0% chance.

Kind of weird, IMO, but whatever.

That's what I was thinking too.

 

Did u qualify for all the rebates/discounts too get the price they advertised ?

 

I don't see the same issue as some of you guys do with the needing to merge and so on. I live in Las Vegas, where traffic is ridiculous, and I feel the truck does just fine. I mean, it's no sports car, but I don't have any issues speeding up or anything to gain ground.

 

IMO he should wait until Toyota redesigns the Tundra to bring it into the twenty-first century. The Tundra is a gas hog at the end of its design cycle. If you're dead set on Toyota, wait until they do a major update of both the Tundra and the Tacoma.

 

It will be interesting to see what they do with the truck.

 

In my few days of owning it I don’t see any issues with driving it, merging and whatnot. I think it will work well for what we were looking for. Looking into running boards (predator maybe), remote start for H-key, bed extender, transmission TSB, CarPlay (which I know I can’t get easily..), this board has a ton of information to search on for a newbie.