Why All the Recent Blasting of the Tacoma's

The steering wheel has tilt and telescoping adjustment. There's a lever under the column.

At over 6ft I'm never fully comfortable driving a Tacoma. I have to recline back so my hair isn't touching the ceiling, then slide back a few notches further than I'd like so my knees are out of the dash. Still, it feels like I'm peeking through a letter slot to see the road. My eyes are pretty much level with the sun visors.

Over all I think it's a nicely designed truck but the 3.5L engine is very hard to like coming from a 4.0L 6spd Nissan. The 3rd gen's styling is something I haven't liked since it was released, I find it a bit cartoonish.

 

I continue to be amused by this video.
That old beat up Chevy proves that *as old timers complain* "No crawl mode for me!"
(Me, I sold my 1997 SC Tacoma for all the bells and whistles of a 2021 OR Tacoma!)

Be careful, this whole thread of recovery folks in Utah is addictive!

https://youtu.be/ItSTavXjdew

 

Why are other manufacturers and bloggers bashing Tacomas? If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.

 

For the love of...I had no idea the steering wheel had a telescoping function. I'm only 5'10, but I'm all legs. I just drove home from work, and for the first time, I drove the taco without my left knee in the door.

 

Its telescoping, or articulating...call it what you may, but its not very much like other vehicles i've been in.

 

Tacoma is the gold standard of all mid size trucks in the segment. When Ford re-designed the Ranger, Chevy the Colorado, they all went out and bought Tacomas to use as a measuring stick.

 

Yeah, it's not the greatest. But when you have the torso (and arm length) of someone whos 5'7" and the legs of someone who is 6'1" that extra inch of length on the steering column is a godsend.

 

Does anyone not test drive these rigs

 

What ever happened to the new dakota that was suppose to come out?

 

I'm 5'10'', and had to lift the steering column up full, and still could use more. The in, and out was also a joke for range. If not for the power seat, i don't know how others put up with out it.

 

The original article is not wrong. There's plenty of threads bitching about the issues on TW.

I love my Tacoma but I'm using it for specific purposes. I'm still planning on buying a 1/2 ton truck to do the things the tacoma can't.

 

That's half the reason people come here! lol. To start a new thread for their one question that's been asked 1,000 times already. You could go on any vehicle forum and say "well, it's clear this vehicle is a POS". It's just not true. How many drivers out there with zero issues that don't even know this forum exists?

If your goal is to haul more, then yes, a 1/2 will do it. Other than that, there is not a single thing different. Load capacity. That's it. Maybe you want a V8? If so, why buy a truck without one? lol. smh.

 

I got a smoking deal from a family member on my tacoma. I've taken it from stock to a purpose built truck through my upgrades/mods.

After having owned several other trucks with my last being an F250 diesel I'm pretty comfortable with being able to say where the tacoma lacks.

The transmission sucks stock. Hunting for gears was ridiculous.

It's a terrible road trip car for a family of four.

The interior/tech is extremely outdated.

Gas mileage is abysmal.

Can barely tow.

Etc.

Did I know these limitations when I bought it? For sure. I bought it as I wanted a capable off-road truck I could take hunting and fishing to get into areas I wouldn't/couldn't take a 1/2+ ton into. In that regard it's done the job extremely well but honestly the majority of tacoma owners are not taking their vehicles offroad outside of a forest fire road at most. Had I not been looking for something that could do the specific job I bought it for a 1/2 ton would be a much better buy and I believe for the majority of tacoma owners who never leave pavement it's a better option than a tacoma.

A 1/2 ton is an apples to oranges vehicle when compared to a tacoma. I still stand by my comments that the original article is correct in the limitations/negatives about the tacoma. Does it mean I'll enjoy my tacoma any less? Definitely not but there's nothing wrong with knowing the negatives of our vehicle and not being total fanboys......

 

Happiness is in the eye of the beholder

 

Seriously subjective and opinionated... but ok. I'll be a fanboy then.
Good luck on your hunt for a new vehicle. Sounds like you want a domestic 1/2 ton above $50k that can tow, has a v8 & offers a bigger cab (obviously). Mistakes were clearly made, just not on the Toyota side of it...

 

The fan boy reference was not pointed at you, just a generalization to those who talk like the tacoma is the bees knees and has no faults.

Like I said, I love the tacoma for what it does but it truly has some serious shortcomings which is what I laid out above. I wouldn't call these subjective at all, it's knowing the vehicles limitations. I'm lucky enough to be able to afford several vehicles and have ones for specific purposes.

 

Let’s get one thing straight everything has flaws , nothing is perfect just a matter of if you can live with it and enjoy what you got. Otherwise move on

 

Sure, the Tacoma is older than the most of the other trucks on the market but it is proven with unrivaled reliability and resale value. After owning mine for over a year and a half there is still nothing else that I would rather be driving.

They say that "Imitation is the best form of flattery." To me the new Frontier looks just like a Tacoma. And from what I have read, when testing all other mid-sized trucks they compare it to the Tacoma, not the other way around.

 

Actually, I think that is a known issue with past gens as well and it has to do with the drain tube routing. well known issue. Gent 2's had the same issue.