What Tacoma to Buy?

I have been wanting a Tacoma for years, but the high resale value has kept them out of my reach until now. There are so many options, I need some help choosing the right truck.

This is my use case:

1. I still have to drive to work - ~20mile commute each way, mostly highway.
2. Taking my kids to and from sports practice with their gear. (4-10 pairs of crosscountry skis, poles, boots etc. in the winter and 2-5 bikes in the summer for mtb and triathlon club).
3. Household hauling needs with and without a trailer.
4. Recreational off-road use (logging trails, forest service roads in WI where I live)
5. Once a year trip out west.

At first I was going to wait until the 2024's came out hoping for more back seat room and better gas mileage. After talking to a mechanic friend, I don't want a first model year vehicle, so I am favoring a 2023.

This purchase will be a bit of a stretch financially, so fully optioned top models are out. I am considering the options below:

1. SR Double Cab, 4x4 V6 w/ Seat Jackers (seats felt too low for me), Leveling Shocks (2" lift?), Detroit Trutrac Limited Slip and BFG T/A KO2 Tire Upgrade. I think the options I would miss from the higher trim levels are the power seats and manual transmission, not sure about the locker.

2. TRD Offroad Double Cab 5ft bed, manual transmission. LED Headlights (yes its vanity, but these look too cool to pass up) Minimal other options.

Which would you pick and why, are there other models I should consider?

Any suggestions how to work through the dealer allocation system to get the truck I want?

Thanks so much!

 

I had similar considerations. Tight budget? Daily driver? Kids in tow? I'd start with at least a long box. I think a TRD Off Road DCLB, 4X4, auto is perhaps a trim you should consider. Keep it stock to maximize MPG's and to minimize ownership cost over the years you may be making payments. It comes with the power adjustable seat. Many off road enhancements.

In Canada the TRD Sport DCLB 4X4 auto is what I went with. I really appreciated the 6 foot bed with kids and all of our crap for our 6 hour trips to the cabin. Off road exploring, daily driving, lots of road trips. My wife can comfortably adjust the power adjustable seat so she can drive comfortably too. 2.5 Years later still love this truck.

Exploring just last week.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

Welcome to TW

 

Thanks for the suggestion Canadian Caber - I was initially interested in exactly the model you mentioned, but my dealer is telling me that if I want the offroad package with a 6 foot bed that they can only get ones that have additional expensive options (Advanced Technology Package, various Premium Packages, etc.) This pushes the truck out of my price range. Is there a way to get around Toyota's allocation system to avoid this? Maybe a higher volume dealer?

 

I don't know all the details of how Toyota USA formats their trim levels and available cab/box configurations. I wanted the TRD-off road DCLB 4x4 too but they are not available here in Canada. This is why I settled for the Sport. Toyota Canada offers 2 versions of the TRD Sport and TRD off road here. They call them premiums on top of the TRD Sport and Off Road models. They include the leather, sun roof, BSM and a few other items. Much more expensive tho. So happy they have the regular TRD Sport 6' and TRD off road 5' models available. Even then it was a stretch but worth it for us. Keeping it stock to keep the ownership cost down until it's paid off.

Yes, the allocation system is frustrating along with shortages. Also, DCLB can be hard to find in your country apparently. I think there is a spread sheet folks can look up and find all available incoming allocations. Some take that info and purchase out of state to get what they are looking for. I don't know but Perhaps there are DCLB Off roads without the added tech? Don't know the facts and if your dealer is being truthful. Maybe someone else can chime in here on that.

But with a young family of four and a shorter in height wife I'm so glad I got the 6 foot bed and the power adjustable drivers seat. Sport suspension is great for long road trips and daily driving for my 30-35 min commute to work. For our off roading and exploring the sport is fine.

Good luck with your hunt. Also time is running out to find what you want as shortages continue. This continues to be a popular truck compounded with it being (I think) in even higher demand being the last year.

 

Thanks again for the advice! Your truck looks great, glad it is working out so well for you!