help deciding b/t Tacoma and Tundra

Thinking about buying a pickup in the near future. Don't necessarily need one, but I'd like the change. No one in my family has a pickup (my parents/sisters live nearby and so do my wife's), and it seems like every other weekend we find we could use one.

I have always been a car driver (had a 2003 Access cab V8 Tundra for a little bit & the wife drove it more--long story). I loved how when you stepped on the gas, that thing moved!! It was also pretty smooth-riding. Not as "bouncy" as my sisters' 4Runners even. I was surprised (in a good way).

I like that the Tacoma would get better mpg (apparently not by much though from what I've been reading online), seems like it would be much easier to move around the city (I'm going to teach this year), easier to park, surely would fit in garage.

I like that the Tundra has more room inside, bigger bed, more fun to drive IMO with all the power. I feel like I'd get more truck for my $. Problem is it may be too much truck for me...might be very difficult getting used to. Not even sure if it'd fit in the garage.

I don't do any heavy hauling/towing or anything. Just the occasional Home Depot runs, taking items I wouldn't want to put or wouldn't fit in wife's Highlander, garage sale junk wife seems to always buy, etc. A truck would just come in handy.

Hopefully my posts don't seem repetitive, but I am now open to getting a Tundra, and I just want your thoughts also. Thanks in advance!

 

I went from a little Mazdaspeed3 to my Tacoma. I sat in a Tundra for about a minute before I realized it was WAY too big of a step up. Drove the Tacoma and it felt comfortable. If you really don't need that big of a truck, I would stick with the smaller Tacoma. I would drive both, try parking the Tundra in a store parking lot or something like that a couple times before you really decide which one to get. I think it was get old trying to park the Tundra. Tacomas hold their value better too.

 

Yes, thanks, bj. You've replied to my other posts as well, and I appreciate it.

My old Tundra (03 Access cab 2wd TRD Sport) drove more smoothly than the Tacoma I test drove (a 2wd double cab V6). The Tacoma felt awfully "bouncy". I like the ride of the Tundra better for sure. Not to mention you really move when you step on the gas.

Yes, forgot to mention Tacomas seem to hold their value better.

Over on Tundra Solutions, many (not all) people claim that Tacomas are goofy little vehicles that are too small too even use as a truck. I don't agree with that statement, but I probably would feel like you get more truck for the same money (seems like used Tundras are even cheaper b/c Tacomas value remain so high).

 

If you like the Tundra more, then get it. That's what I would say. My buddy has one and I like riding in it. Like I said though, not sure I'd want to park that thing everyday is all.

 

I bought a new tundra in 08. I loved it. rode good, tons of power, lots of room inside and out, had storage compartments everywhere. it would pass anything on the road except a gas station. after a while it became impractical to burn all that gas just to haul me and my dog around. I got a taco now and love it, but do miss having the full size truck

 

Guess it depends on driving styles and tires. I get excited if I get 18mpg. Since I put the Duratracs and then the lift on, I rarely see 17mpg now. Usually in the upper 15 range. I don't think the Tundra is that much worse on gas.

 

I had an '02 Tundra. Loved it except for two things. Gas mileage sucked (especially when prices peaked a few years ago), and parking was a pain (I rarely could pull into a space, always backed in.) Traded it a few years ago for a small crossover, and traded that for a Tacoma earlier this year. Taco maneuvers fine, and gets decent mileage (haven't been below 20 since the first fillup.) Tundra definitely had better acceleration, and might have been a bit smoother, but was more than I needed and for my purposes wasn't worth the extra fuel cost.

 

OP, here is my outlook

If you want more power, have you tried driving a tacoma with the TRD Supercharger? Plenty of power and would allow you to stay in the Tacoma. All in, the tacoma with the supercharger may end up costing closer to the Tundra, but in 5 years, the Tacoma will probably be worth more.

As for the ride, the DCLB rides a bit smoother, and that has everything to do with weight. The Tundra of course will ride smoother being heavier, but I still think the Tacoma rides great.

You're looking at 2WD tacomas, so I assume you're not concerned with off road performance. If you are, the Tacoma will do better because it is lighter than the Tundra. This is why you see more Tacomas that are trail ready and tundras that are mall ready.

I rented a Tundra for a week from Toyota before making my first Tacoma purchase, as I was torn like you. Where I go and what I do, the tundra was just too big. Parking was hard, moving that tank SUCKED in city traffic, and my city MPG was much lower than people reported. Stop and go traffic and that pig drank gas like no other. If you can maintain speeds, it does better, but my then 10 mile commute each way to work got me about 12 mpg. Same thing got me 17 in the Tacoma. Now I have a lot more highway style driving, and assume the Tundra would possibly do better.

I would rent a Tundra and a Tacoma if possible for a week each. See your experience and which one you enjoy.

 

Hadn't really thought about a supercharger. My wife and I just got back from the store. There was a short bed Tacoma in the parking lot. We quickly looked at it. She agreed with me that the short bed looks tiny! If I go with a Tacoma probably go long bed. I would enjoy the smoother ride--forgot some have said the long bed is smoother.

My new job will only be 3.5 miles from my house. Since it is at a school though, there will most likely be a lot of stopping/going, school zones, etc. along the way. The Tundra might be horrible with that. Tundra would have been better driving to my old job--all highway.

Thanks for the info/suggestions!

 

OP, I'm on my 2nd DCLB Tacoma and I love it. I seriously looked at the Tundra before buying my new DCLB and fell in love with the Rock Warrior. However, extremely poor gas mileage and the sheer size of the Tundra led me back to the Tacoma.

The Tacoma rides very nice and my 2013 is significantly quieter and smoother on the highway than my previous 2007. I fully remodeled my house using my 2007 DCLB so don't let anyone tell you it's not a real truck. To be fair, I do have a bedrack to throw 12 ft baseboards, etc. onto. The 6ft bed holds pretty much everything else including 2 motocross bikes plus a kids dirt bike and all the gear.

Lastly, I have a buddy with a Rock Warrior Tundra and he never parks it in tight parking lots. This is not due to difficulty maneuvering it. He gets door dings every time he parks it because it "fills up the parking spot" so fully.

All in all, I'd love to drive a Rock Warrior if gas was cheap and parking spots were as big as Home Depot parking spots. No regrets on the Tacoma though...it's an awesome truck!

 

It all comes down to personal needs and preferences. I agree with the above posts, try renting each one for a week if possible. To me it sounds like you would be just fine with a dclb tacoma.

 

If your commute is that short, drive whatever you want. I live 5 miles from my job and I spend much less on gas in my 4x4 Taco than my friend who commutes 40 miles with a Prius. I'm saving the environment harder than him.

 

the tundra is a more refined beast than the Tacoma. its nice. its also a truck, like a semi-truck is a truck. its good at hauling lots of stuff but is also pretty comfy while doing so. if it were a dog, it would be like a king-shepherd or something. it will eat a lot, but you will never have to worry about burglers.

the taco is like a lab. always cool, no problems, good manners, and will also keep out most burglars

 

I went through the same debate when looking to buy a pickup, in the end I purchased a Tacoma over the Tundra.

Comfortable & roomy (double cab FTW)
Better on gas
Smaller in overall size (obviously)
Hauling & towing capacity meets my requirements
Looks are a lot better IMO
Easier on the wallet (sticker price)

For what I need in a truck the Tacoma meets or exceeds. I do the home depot run, occasional run to the dump, loads of mulch & firewood ect ect

Very happy I went with the Tacoma

 

hmmm seems like this discussion was just had. take from a guy who went from a '11 Tundra CrewMax Platinum 4x4 to a '12 Taco DCLB ... if you don't NEED the power and size of the Tundra, the Taco is about 95% better suited for what you'll likely need it to do. I do not miss my Tundra. It was a big powerful awesome vehicle that I bought brand new for $54K...and I felt like I was buying another vehicle every month just paying for gas. if its not an "ego" thing and you aren't really going to need that 5% of what the Tundra can do, the choice is pretty clear.

 

Thanks for the above 6 responses! I looked online this morning at Hertz and Enterprise to try to rent a Tundra or Tacoma. Neither were available. That's probably what I'm going to have to do.

Most people on here say go with a Taco. Funny that most are still saying the Tundra is a great truck. Everyone on tundratalk is saying go with a Tundra (figured this much). The thing is I'd rather have the most size possible in cab and bed--Tundra. I'd rather have it if it's ever needed, even if I don't use that space every day. At the same time, I could also see myself getting annoyed by tight parking all the time with the Tundra. We'd most likely use the wife's Highlander anyways for those weekend runs.

 

Look at the double cab long bed with the sport package as it has smoother shocks. For me personally I was in the same situation you are in last year. I ended up with the a double cab short bed because it does everything I need it to do while fitting in the garage and easy to park.

 

I went from a '04 Tundra double cab w/supercharger to my '12 DCLB Tacoma last year. Overall the Tacoma is more useful and fun to drive. The bed is slightly smaller but I don't notice the difference. The only thing I miss is the Tundra acceleration. That was fun.
The '04 Tundra was smaller than the current ones so I don't know if I would like a truck that big. I have to go into Seattle regularly and parking would be an issue. I don't have any problems parking with my Tacoma but my sliders have saved me from door dings more than once.

The community here on TW is great. Tundra Nation was OK and I still have my lifetime membership there but TW is better. Good luck with whichever one you choose.

 

OP, check local dealerships. Some service departments have the Rent a Toyota cars.

http://www.toyota.com/rental/

 

Yes, I told my local dealer call me once they get a TRD Sport Taco in. Long beds are more rare than I was thinking (at least in the color, price I'm looking for).

Yes, the acceleration in the 03 I had was awesome. So much fun to drive!