Considering buying a tacoma.

Thought about buying a new tacoma, was wondering are they worth the 50+k.

What kind of gas mileage do they get with 4wd model?
What kind of towing capacity do they have compared to the older ones?
Can you get anything other than in the inline turbo 4 cyl?
Any problems coming up or issues people are having?
Thanks.

 

You can answer all your own questions with a quick google search …..

 

No one can possibly answer the question of whether it is worth your own hard earned money no matter what the dealership's price is or what you negotiate down to. Only you. Obviously us owners think so. You'll have to answer this question for yourself. The rest, as Sharpish mentioned, is all over this board, google, every auto journalist YouTube channel, Toyota's website, Edmunds, you name it. MPG is all on you as well within the range of the manufacturer's stated numbers. Me I am nailing them pretty spot on. But I am not a lead foot outside of the occasional Italian Tune Up.

 

No. If your first question is gas mileage, a Tacoma won’t be “worth the 50k+”.

 

I’m also thinking of getting a new one. The fuel economy / mileage is better than any previous years’ model because it’s a new 2.4 liter turbo charged engine that is stated to get 24 highway but you could get better depending on driving style. All in all about 1-2 MPG better than prior years.

 

Thought about buying a new tacoma, was wondering are they worth the 50+k. No

What kind of gas mileage do they get with 4wd model? crappy
What kind of towing capacity do they have compared to the older ones? same
Can you get anything other than in the inline turbo 4 cyl? yes
Any problems coming up or issues people are having? douchebag trolls

 

The price point is subjective. You'll have to try it out yourself. There are plenty of sub $50K 4WD options.

My SR5 4wd gets around 24-25mpg right now running the AC. No interstate, just rural routes.

Towing capacity is the same as previous years.

Only engine available is the 2.4 turbo. The SR model is detuned.

There's sporadic issues here and there, but not widespread. Plenty more happy owners over sour ones.

 

As to whether they’re worth your $50k+ is subjective, however the market says they are not worth their respective MSRP’s b/c dealers are currently offering large discounts to move them off the lots.

It’s a first-year truck with well under 100k units on the road so far, so we still need you and a whole lot of others to buy one, test quality of assembly and report back on any issues.

My advice is to test drive it. If you like it, just don’t pay any dealer full sticker price for any trim. Good luck.

 

I find it hard to find a truck that's truly worth $50k. Prices are what they are a cross the board. Unfortunately you will pay the going market rate on any truck.

 

My opinion, which is free and worth every penny, is that a ~$60K Tundra is a much better value than a ~$50K Tacoma. Especially since you will likely get two engines for the price of one.

Having said that, if you want a truck with a manual transmission, you have exactly one choice. Which is no choice at all.

 

What alternatives are you considering?

 

Right now I am considering the chevy/gmc 3.0 liter diesel. Before that I was considering, an older dodge/gmc/chevy/tundra as a third vehicle. Right now, I am looking at having it be an all around truck, from doing my 80 mile commute to work, to driving trails in the mountains. I saw one on an atv trail up in the mountains. He replaced his sidexside with it. It seems most manufacturers have had issues with vehicles. Toyota has had the least at times, but they do carry a price tag on the used, and now the new..

 

YW

 

None of the people buying them seem to regret it.

 

No regrets here….4x4 long bed sr5 for 38k….

 

Cheapest 3.0 I could find was a custom grade for 58k… My off-road Tacoma is well equipped for 48K with Katzkins.

 

At the end of the day it's about as reliable as a truck gets. Plenty of guys still driving 1st gen and early 2nd gen Tacomas they've had for 15-20 years.

 

No, the 4th gen is not worth $50K+.

Yes, used 2.5gen (2013-2015) and 3rd gens in the 30K to 75K mileage range from a first owner, with no rust, clean title, and a completely documented service history, are worth $22K to $35K depending on year/motor/trim level.

Get one of those. They're probably going to turn out to be better than the screaming turbo 4-cylinder in the 4th gen anyway, as far as long-term reliability. (Of course the jury is OUT and nobody can draw even provisional conclusions about 4th gen reliability until AT LEAST 2029, with full proof waiting till 2034 or so.)

The 4th gen curb weight is in the same weight class as the 2nd & 3rd gen more or less. A turbo'ed 4th gen is trying to push the same total vehicle weight with a physically smaller engine spinning at higher average RPMs, with the added stress & heat of a turbocharger. This does not seem like a recipe for long-term reliability.

Maybe Toyota's putting a massive 3" coolant pipe on it, & possibly other internal tweaks, are going to somehow make up for asking a turbo'ed little guy to do the same work as a mid-weight 4.0L V6 -- and maybe it isn't. Do you want to pay $55K to find out?

Or would you rather drop $25-30 large into a proven workhorse and put the other

twenty-five thousand dollars (!)

into dope suspension upgrades, stereo, lights, etc etc.

Even in the USA in 2024, $25 grand still buys a metric %*#)(& ton of cool aftermarket Tacoma upgrades.

-- Crotchety-but-satisfied 2nd gen 4.0L owner.

 

It's hard when the price of new chevy's are so high. Been seeing quite a bit of new ones around 60 to 90k. Wondering if they will get larger discounts. The sad part unless it has a 100k miles on it, the used ones they are asking close to 50k or more.. That's why I thought I would check out the tacomas.. But, for my situation, and what I am considering, and what I read, I think the chevy would be the way to go. I think I would add/modify/upgrade things overtime that would hurt the fuel economy on a tacoma!

With the gas mileage on the 3.0, the 2wd was claimed to get 33 that's what peaked my interest. Unfortunately, where I live, you need 4WD.

 

What it really comes down to, for Tacos, is the MPG difference between the 4-cylinder & 6-cylinder engines. 2WD or 4WD doesn't make the much difference, it's maybe an extra 200 lbs or so for the additional 4WD drivetrain parts + small amt of parasitic friction loss at various shafts and bearings.

With my 4.0L V6 I get about 15-16 mpg on average, about 50/50 city/highway driving. Best I can hyper-mile out of it on long freeway runs is maybe 18-19 mpg, that's doing 58 mph on the cruise control. I have about.. +500 lbs of accessories, a full-size lumber rack, and a 2" lift. Stock-size tires with a modest, highway-oriented all-terrain tread. I mention the lift because as I understand it there is significant extra drag when you raise any vehicle, due to increased turbulence. (Unless it's fully treated with air-flow underbody panels, as some sedans/SUVs etc are.)

Surprisingly, all the added accessories etc. seem to have only cut about 1-1.5 mpg from fuel economy. I don't understand at the technical level why the 4.0L 1GR-FE seems to get about 15-17mpg no matter what anybody does to it or to their truck. It's like the Bermuda Triangle of gas mileage... Meanwhile some full-size trucks that are +1,000 lbs heavier can apparently can squeeze 19-20 mpg.

I think if you went with some flavor of 4-cylinder Tacoma & drove it modestly you would probably get 22-26 mpg depending on conditions.

IDK if you need to tow heavy, if so, the Taco is not your truck, it's really only comfortable towing up to about 3K lbs in stock form, even if you get one with the "tow package" that is rated to tow 6.4K lbs. To tow comfortably above 3.5K or so, in my opinion the Taco requires greatly-increased suspension capability. (Stronger springs & coils, heavier-duty shocks.)