Is tacoma a good family vehicle?

T4R Trail Edition...

Matt

 

Get the truck. Make sure its a 4 door long bed, and get a cap. It works fine.
Im set up for twins and a dog with my DCLB.

 

Ive got a dcsb with a cap and can fit my 7 mo old and my 90# dog just fine. Not quite 2 kids, but have all the gear that goes with the fam and the dog just fine.

 

If you're comparing apples to apples, an SR5 4runner is gonna be comparably priced to a nicer double cab and the materials are gonna be about the same wrt to seats and comfort. If you opt for the upper trim 4runner, then yes you are right.

Do a cars.com search and look at the 4x4 SR5 4runner trim. You might be surprised that not every dealer is stocking the top of the line limited trim.

 

I have a 4 and 2 year old and two car seats in the back. I don't have any pets but if they were to be in the bed then you're good to go. As far as cabin space it is just enough I would say compared to say a 4runner or bigger truck. My wife loves the truck as is very comfortable driving it because of the size. When I was in Hawaii I saw a lady with triplet car seats in the back so if it was good enough for her I knew I was good. Lol

 

Why not? Just get a shell snugtop .. And with the 4x4 there are a million place to go that a mini van can't... good luck .....

 

I have a 5&3 year old in car seats and made it work in the FJ cruiser I had , but that was tight. I traded the FJ and my other chevy truck in for my 09 DCSB and the kids love it! More room and they have their own windows to roll down. Just finished a camping trip to lake Isabella packed up to the brim towing a jetski trailer with not one complaint from the kids (at least not about comfort, they complained about everything else) and I am 6'4" 250 so I'm not a small dude. If you manage your space right you can make the truck perfect for you. I love my Tacoma. As far as mpg goes that too is a big improvement for me. My FJ got 15-17 with a 3" OME lift and my chevy truck got a whopping 11 mpg constantly. I have been doing 19-21 in my tacoma 4x4 but no added mods as of yet. I plan on leveling it out with 5100s and keeping the stock size tire just so I can keep the good mpg. Best of luck on your decision, but I feel my tacoma makes for a good family ride.

 

I would go with the Tacoma. First of all vans are ugly and hideous. Having the tacoma you can go to big bear in the winter along with the desert and the beach in the summer with not having any problems what so ever. You said you had dogs. Dogs would rather be in the fresh hair. I have a softopper so i put the sides up and take my dog when I go to trails, beach, river etc. She loves it.

 

Running two car seats in the back seats. Enough room left for full size adult to sit in the middle. Kids have plenty of room.

This is a perfect car for the family. Has plenty of trunk space as well

 

I appreciate all the info and I already made up my mind, I just had to prove to the wife the taco will be the best fit for the family so I'm gonna show her the replys from everyone and if that don't convince her I don't know what will. Hopefully we can get one soon before she changes her mind. I'll be posting pics once we get it. Thank you all!!!

 

Got me thinking about something that happened yesterday...

A friend and I went to the Toyota dealership because I needed to talk to friend that worked there.

While we're waiting we go around and look at the Tacomas. First thing she says about the double cabs is that they're too small and that her truck is more expensive. I kept telling her it was a midsize truck versus her full size Silverado, yet she kept saying that it's too small.

Then we went by the Tundras and she sat in an extended cab Tundra and talked crap about it saying that her double cab is a LOT bigger and more expensive. I took her to a Limited double cab Tundra to finally get her to shut up.

She acts like a 16 year old boy when it comes to vehicles and thinks that hers is automatically better because she payed a lot for it and it has a V8 haha I laughed the other day when another friend of mine who has a completely stock double cab V6 tacoma with just an intake, and he flew by her going 110 and she couldn't keep up in her nice $39,000 V8 Silverado.

 

I guess you decided already, but I'll throw my chips down in also. I'm trading in my current car for a 2013 Double Cab Tacoma for the sake of having room for kids and my dog. I currently have a 2006 Scion xB, which I bought for the high MPG and massive amount of interior space it offers. It works perfect, but I've modded it for myself and although it's fun to drive, it's also bouncy as hell and loud. It's a go-kart with a radio. The backseat space is probably bigger or as big as the Tacoma, but there is no cargo room with rear occupants, not enough for my 60 lb dog, anyway. So I figure in 2 years or so we'll have our first child and it'll work fine, but say 3 years from now with 2 kids, it'll be useless for carrying everybody and I'm not comfortable having babies in the car as it sits now, too bouncy, too modded.

Enter the Tacoma. I've driven a truck (full size Chevy) pretty much half of the time since I got my drivers license at 16, and to be frank, I started driving much earlier than that including a trip to WA from CA with my dad in the passenger seat, usually asleep. My girlfriend has a V6 4x4 Trailblazer with 150k+ miles on it and it breaks constantly. I've been driving Toyota since 2006 and have had no issues at all, so I started looking at Tacoma's, the Double Cab short bed configuration, specifically. I didn't want 4x4, since I no longer have a need for it anymore, and 90% of my driving will just be with me in the cab since I'll use it for work as well, so I didn't want the V6 and worse MPG that comes with it (comparable to full size trucks in some cases).

The back seat of the Double Cab isn't gargantuan, it's still a midsize truck. But it IS plenty big for 2-3 kids or 2 adults. I'm a big guy (6'7" 280 lbs) and my family breeds 10lb kids like it's a normal thing, so I figure with ME in the backseat it wouldn't work out so well unless an asian woman was in the front seat and the seat was all the way forward. I didn't hit 6'4" until 7th grade, so I have 15-16 years before I need a giant backseat, which is what I hope to get out of the Tacoma if not more. So it'll fit the bill perfectly for me for over a decade with ease. When I have 2-3 kids to haul in the backseat, I'll put a topper over the bed and kennel our dog for her safety, which is no big deal.

If anything, should the time come I need to upgrade (if my girlfriend decides she wants a sedan or something), then maybe at that time having a bigger truck with crappier mileage and a higher price tag will be something I'm willing to do. But I fully expect the truck I ordered from the dealer 2 weeks ago will last me, in every sense, for 15 years.

It's not too much truck, but in many ways it is just enough, or just perfect.

 

I've had friends who would have the identical car as another friend of ours, and would ALWAYS talk shit about theirs being better. Those people are annoying, good luck with that!

$39k Silverado today was a $24k Silverado 10 years ago. If she wanted a nice expensive truck, $39k in today's money isn't it.

 

Doublecab 4x4 is the perfect family vehicle for me. Dog and dog bed goes in the back which could be two dogs easily.(I have a camper shell with sliding windows.)

I have two kids, 9 and 10 and the backseat works for them. (especially with 400w inverter for two 110v plugs in the backseat and a roof mounted 12" dvd player.

I like it because we can go to some great campsites that a minivan could never get to.

That being said, I bought my wife a Sienna XLE limited when my kids were younger and it was the ultimate family vehicle. She hated it because she was in her 20's and didn't like the soccer mom stigma, but it was extremely nice for a family vehicle.

 

Sounds like a person very insecure with themselves and their decisions.

 

Right? Worst thing is my former employers kids are all like that 14, 10, and 4.

 

So I went to my local dealer and found a 2013 doublecab taco 4x4 long bed SR5 model. I asked the salesman how much out the door and he quoted me 32,500 with 1K down payment. Is this a good deal or not? I checked on Kelly blue book and that model is quoted at fair purchase price at 28,870.

 

Just had my family (wife and 3 boys ages 9,6,2) out all weekend in our new purchase. Back seat was a little tight but only because of car seats.

 

I don't take first quote, but it depends on your region. Some guys get $4k off sticker, and some guys pay sticker.

You can check a few other dealers within an hours drive from you and see what they have on a similar truck for pricing. If one of them is a grand less, then you'll know your market is more flexible and try to get a price match.

 

This. And there is wild variation depending on location and options. Not sure what you mean 32,500 with 1k down? Does that mean total 33,500?

My 4x4 double cab trd sport with nav/jbl etc was 35 otd for ref, at a super high volume store.