Thinking of Leaving Chevy For A 2021 Tacoma. Convince me?

Well stated, I call them "handy duty" trucks.

Close in size in overall length yes, but not in width or cab space. The cab in these is tiny compared to any 70s - 90s full size.

I have an access cab, you don't sit in it -- you wear it like a favorite denim jacket.

 

For what it's worth, I think the JBL in my Tacoma is amazing. I work in the audio/recording industry and really do enjoy the JBL setup in the Taco. I have the premium package, which has the leather seats. Perhaps the leather adds some level of sound dampening too.

My JBL opinion is relative to Mazda's Bose premium sound, and Ford's premium sound in their Titanium Fusions and a few other vehicles. Anyway, I've spend hours in many cars and still really like the JBL in the Tacoma. Very punchy. The only thing that I think it lacks is the auto volume leveling when you accelerate - it seems like it almost does not work. Mine is a 2018. Im not sure if anything changes with the latest JBL system with CarPlay. Perhaps something got tweaked in the latest JBL's amplifiers, or maybe they're sourcing a difference speaker nowadays. You'd have to sit inside the truck yourself and listen to some songs you're very familiar with as far as sound goes.

 

I hear you. That is part of why I am in a Tacoma right now. I had an 08 Colorado. The tranny went at 110k or so. Paid out of pocket for a brand new one with a warranty, from GM. A couple months later the head went. The 07 was supposed to be fixed, but I guess not completely. Dealer wouldn't do anything. That was it, for me. I know you can't always let 1 bad instance define your relationship, when it comes to vehicles, but I just don't trust GM like I used to. The newer Colorados are pretty nice. I really like the ZR2s, but I would have a hard time taking one over a Tacoma Pro or OR, as my next truck.

 

There is an adjustment for the auto volume in the settings, made a noticeable improvement on mine.

 

I don't give 2 chits about having a sound system in a vehicle, i can listen to the one in my home if chose to. I'm there to drive where i need to go, rarely turn on the radio. Imo, toyota could stick all that audio bs where the sun don't shine.

 

Same for a friend of mine that owns and operates an independent garage. I could not in all honesty say he's the best mechanic i know. Definitely one of the highest in labor cost per hr. He too has a 2019 tacoma...even installed a rough country lift, and now removed it cause he couldn't figure why it sucked so bad.

 

That's just it, if it happened but they honoured the 2 written warranties on the matter my feeling would be "OK, stuff happens, they did their job" and I'll keep driving it. The lying and cheating of me as a customer I cannot abide by. I remember telling the corporate guy who tried to pass it off as normal about my wife's 96 Tacoma rotting and all Toyota did for her, then asked him "what's more normal..a 4 year old vehicle that drives to a desk job puking the head, or a 12 year old truck in MA having a rust issue? If you can honestly say this is more normal to puke the engine, you're not building a good product or inspiring my confidence to do business with you between that plus your not doing what this paper says that you wrote".

Granted my Tacoma is now getting the frame replaced, but they stood by it unlike GM..oh, GM had my truck 3 weeks fixing their screwup and I had no vehicle, versus Toyota providing me one for the time it takes to get my frame.

See I am of the same mind in terms of buying with one, I have all aftermarket stuff I drop in mine anyway

 

Although I totally agree with you, I have friends who spend more on their trucks sound system than they do on their suspension and useful accessories. Cheap Rancho Shocks and cheap chinese wheels with a $5k sound system.

 

Maybe their length and width are close, but no other metric appears to be. The tiny payload is the big Achilles heel, I think, and really limits small truck's usefulness. They aren't farm implements any more, and really aren't comparable to trucks from 40 years ago for both perceivably good and bad reasons, depending on what you want out of it. If people weighed their overlanded-out Tacomas, they'd be surprised at how far over GVWR they are. Taco's really aren't "trucks" in the traditional sense because they don't excel at truck stuff. They are slightly more useful "lifestyle" vehicles for facilitating outdoor hobbies, IMO. Doesn't mean it's a bad vehicle.

 

Both audio options stink. For the money you would have spent on a JBL system (assuming the $3500 I spent on it in 2017) you can get 10x the system from a local installer, or for $1000ish you can get at least as good as the JBL system from Toyota.

Sport = stiffer suspension that's better handling on the road
Off road = softer suspension that's better off road
Test drive them both to better understand. Only you know what fits your needs and style best.

 

Needs and wants, of course. I dropped a lot into my stereo but I use it a lot..plus I ain't taking a 2WD off roading.

 

Well said. Hard to argue with what you posted there. I am right there with that line of thinking.

 

I love my Tacoma, but I would seriously consider investigating the new Frontier. Might be the new mid-size bargain. Food for thought.

 

I kinda like the Frontier..I have a 2019-20 as a rental. Tough to compare in some ways as I'm used to a single cab 2wd and this is a double cab, but it's decent.

 

Also, I don't have long commutes anymore. I think if I lived in my truck by doing lots of miles, a quality sound system would be in order, but I doubt I would go beyond $1k on a sound system

 

If you buy one you can participate in the Roast my Tacoma thread. That’s worth at least $40,000.

 

My .02$- Im on my third transmission in my 2017 Silverado with zero towing and just hit 80k miles. My bro in laws 2500 silverado has had non stop issues the last couple years. My husband has over 300k trouble-free normal-maintenance miles on his 4.7 Tundra so I bought a Taco, then switched to a Tundra with zero issues in either so far. The end.

 

My dad has a 2015 Colorado and has had a few issues with it. I wouldn't say any were related to the transmission, but he has had to replace several things before 100k including the AC condenser. I came from a 2008 Canyon and all I can really say is that the issues I had with it led me to have trust issues with GM.

So far I've owned my 2017 TRD OR for 1 year and 28k+ miles. I think it was hands down an upgrade from my GM (also, I grew up a GM guy). Toyota makes its name in reliability and so far this truck has lived up to that. In this year of ownership I've already had to do less to it than I did in the first year of owning my Canyon.

Definitely test drive one. Some people complain about the programming on the transmission and hard shifts, but most people don't even notice it. These trucks also make their power at 3500 RPM, so don't be alarmed by that. It's just a result of being part time direct injection. I was definitely happy with my switch.

 

I probably have double that in mine, but it's the place I can listen to MY stuff. My wife isn't a fan of most of my music plus she isn't into loud anyways. To be fair it's just stuff I take from one vehicle to the next.

The "trust issues with GM" is the key for me..not just the product, the people and business practices.