Opinion: Tacoma vs Tundra

Give me the honest truth on a 2019 Tacoma vs 2019 Tundra.

Personally, I'm leaning towards a Tundra. I like the overall size of Tundra, and I feel you get more for your money with one. I'm not going to wheel it much, but will be using it for a lot of dirt road/forest road adventures. Either way I decide to go, this will be a vehicle that I plan on traveling in, and potentially living from a month or more at a time.

Let me have the honest truth.

Mike

 

Dad's got a Tundra. Friend's got a Tundra. Definitely reliable. Both get shit for gas mileage. No MT so not for me.

 

If you're gonna live in it...Tundra.

 

The Tundra is definitely bigger than the Tacoma and gets worse mileage. Reliability should be good.

If you’re planning on living in it, the Tundra would be better. The interior is cavernous compared to the Tacoma.

 

If you are going to take a Tundra through forest roads you'll need to be ok with the paint getting scratched to bits

 

The Tundra is great if you have a family tagging along and don’t want the cramped feeling of the Tacoma. That being said, it’s not going to fit in tight spaces or make as easy turns in wooded dirt service roads.
I’m not sure what live out of means though...like mountain houses by a camp fire with gear live out of..or like sleeping in the back seat while giving handies for gas money live out of....

 

Just depends on if you need the V8 and extra space. I dont tow or have kids and the tacoma is much smaller for daily driving.

 

Not too concerned with the mpg. Our current vehicles get roughly 17 mpg, and 12 mpg. So it can't be worse than that.

A little pin striping never hurt anything.

My wife and I like to get away for a month at a time since she's a teacher, and gets lots of time off. I'd build a sleeping platform in the back with some storage underneath. We would have all of our camping stuff, backpacking gear, and possibly bikes & inflatables.

Mike

 

Get the tundra. The extra space will be much appreciated spending that much time in it plus 2 people and gear

The fuel economy difference won’t be as drastic as people make it out to be once the Tacoma is loaded down. You also have a 38 gallon tank in the tundra which so far for me is always 400+ miles.

The tundra is far more capable off road than people give it credit for. Yes it’s big but it’s not like you are trying to drive a uhaul down the trail.

 

If you like the size of the Tundra, get it. You will not be happy with a Tacoma.

 

if you can afford the fuel cost, Tundra

 

My thoughts and opinions with the 2019s...
Tacoma everyday unless you need to tow 6k+.

1. The double cab Tacoma is plenty big for normal sized people.
2. Daily driving will net slightly better MPGs than the Tundra.
3. The Tacoma also wins hands down in looks for 2 main reasons.

• Tundra double cab has an ugly curved rear cab. Modeled after a bubble or something.
  
• Tundra CrewMax only available with 5' bed plus it looks stupid because the rear doors look bigger than the front doors making it look like a disproportionate whale.

Come 2021, we will see a new Tundra gen that should make the decision much harder.

 

Thank you

Fuel is no worse that I current get in my 4runner.

Mike

 

This is exactly why I bought a tundra to put my camper on. Might as well get 15 mpg in a tundra rather than a Tacoma or 4Runner. Plus you’ve got another 17 gallons of fuel

 

Very nice. I think we would get the double cab over the Crewmax. Either way we go the plan is to remove the rear seats to add storage, and I plan on building my own aluminum camper too.

Mike

 

I'm with the others here, space seems to be a very important point for you, which means that you'll most likely be wishing you got the Tundra if you go with the Tacoma. The Tacoma can get cramped with gear pretty quickly, even if you got the long bed. Forget about the short bed version.

Plus once you load down the Tacoma with a bunch of weight, the mileage drops pretty significantly, which puts it near the Tundra anyway.

All in all, I'd say the Tundra is the better choice for you.

 

I’d definitely recommend the Tundra here. I’ve done a lot of forest roads in Oregon with an F150 with a crew cab and 6.5ft bed. It was 21ft long, but the size on the trails I did was never an issue. My brother in law had a 2011 Tundra and did a lot of camping with it no problem. We are both now in Tacoma’s and love them however we would go back to full-size in a heart beat (I know this because we talk about our full sized trucks all the time). You will appreciate the extra space when living out of it for extended periods of time.

I would think about waiting until the redesigned Tundra comes out though. The new spy shots show 6 lug hub so probably more payload and new engine would get better MPG.

 

It all depends on what you do most. I haul alot and do alot of towing that I use the Tundra for and it's been an amazing reliable work horse. But I also like to play and go wheeling and the Tundra is just too big for my offroading style so I had to have the Tacoma as well. Some decisions require the purchase of both

Edit: if I had to chose one I would definitely chose the Tundra for the ample room and V8 power.

 

any v8 the fuel consumption issue is always there

 

Wait till 2020 on both