Tacoma owners with kids...

I love not having to worry about how dirty anything is when I throw it in the back of the truck. This also means I don't have to worry about the kids playing in the bed of the truck (which they love to do for some reason). But when they want to play in the SUV, I sure as heck won't let them.

I have found the truck sooooooooo much more useful than the SUV. With a cap or tonneau, you can still cover your luggage (if you want), but you can also take it off and haul odd-sized stuff.

Also, now that we have a big dog, it's nothing to put him in the truck with the whole family...but it certainly is with the SUV.

 

I've owned plenty of trucks and suv's, cars (even a minivan once... Shhhh) but by far the best vehicle for a family in my opinion is still a pick up truck with a cap. I have a 2013 DCSB Taco Baja T/X (wife's truck) now and it works great for my family. Before that my wife's vehicle was a '97 Mountaineer V8 AWD, it was great but in the winter time the rear cargo space would take a long time to warm up even with rear heating vents. Like others have said having the separate bed for storage keeps all the smelly, dirty, bulky and wet cargo away from the passenger area. If you know anyone with kids, they have a ton of stuff to haul with them when they go out, be it the stroller (takes up most if not all the space in an suv, car or minivan) diaper bag, bikes, toys, and everything kid related under the sun. LOL When you're a new parent you're going to be hauling large boxes with new items like bouncers, toys, crips, dressers, pack n plays, etc...

 

Tacoma is not and does not equal SUV. Don't get me wrong. I am a truck guy and only had trucks the last 18 years. I also have two kids (both teens). For short trips, the truck is great. Enough room to get around town, etc. However, whenever we go more than an hour away, we always take my wifes Highlander. More room in the back, place to put luggage without covering bed of truck/chance of getting wet. JMO.

 

I would not have thought this to be a problem in a double cab... Interesting.

 

We have a 1 1/4 year old and I have the dcsb with a fiberglass cap. Plenty of room for us and the little one and for distance the cap is great and keep everything dry. Even in extreme downpours. Now I don't keep the cap on unless we are going distance or have to put something in the bed to keep dry. It is a two person job easily to get that cap off. But worth what I paid. Now as our little one gets older the tacoma may not be suitable since she will be cramped ( I'm 6'6" she's 5'9") and the little one is in the middle for now. ( still don't understand that one). But we also have the sorento that proved this weekend it can carry all the toys, play pen, and our stuff with ease. But that is the the max we could fit. And had to put the cooler in the back seat. Imho the truck has more room and I can get a bed divider to keep stuff close to the tailgate. And my cover locks with no way to open the tailgate while the cover is down and locked.

 

Truck has changed quite a bit since then

 

I said this before but I'll say it again, if two or more young kids (1-8 years of age), the minivan is by far the best vehicle out there. So much room for everyone, doors open nice and big so getting the kids and their seats in and out is super easy, ride is comfy, third row fold down for allows for tons of storage of play pins and such.

I owned one for 5 years and as much as I hated the thought of driving a minivan it was the best family vehicle I owned and kept the wife and kids happy. It eventually got traded for the truck since the kids are older, but we all miss having the van. As for SUVs, they are over priced and not as roomy as a minivan and not as good on gas.

 

We have two kids, ages 10 & 12. The family vehicles are currently my '13 DCSB Tacoma, and her '12 Acura MDX. For a general family vehicle, the MDX is much better.

The wife & kids don't mind riding in the Tacoma at all, so we use it often, but if it's going to be a long trip we take the Acura for many of the reasons already stated above. It's more comfortable, quieter, the back seats recline, it has TVs, stereo is better, we don't have to to worry about stuff getting wet, etc. (I have a soft roll up cover on the Tacoma, which is not what I'd call weatherproof.)

We've always had an SUV since before the kids were born, and will probably have one until they are grown.

We also need one to fit our dog in - she's a 190 lb. English Mastiff. I haven't tried to get her in the bed of the Tacoma, and probably never will. It's too high for her to jump into, and she's never walked up a ramp. At 6 years old now, I don't think she's going to start. Not to mention, it wouldn't be feasible for a vet visit in the winter or in the rain.

 

I have a Taco DCSB and the wife has a chevy cruze, the truck is my daily buy can still haul our 4 year old around, the cruze is for the long trips where MPG is a concern.

 

I brought my Lil girl home in my 2012 dcsb tacoma was a chance of snow we used it because it was 4x4. My ex wife has a 07 2wd 4runner the truck is not bad so far there is more room in the suv Imo. I got a cover on my truck now I need a bed splitter that way bags and groceries don't slide too far back. Like someone said you can haul toys bikes. But if you have another vehicle unless you like to go off roading all the time i would like a 4x4 suv. I got rid of my truck once I got divorced got a brz had to go back to a truck.

 

I don't have kids yet and don't plan to have any for several years but, I ditched the Ranger (For obvious reasons) and got a Double Cab. Gf, who will be wife when I finally land full time job since I don't want to spend money on a rock when I am still doing contract work has an Escape. My plan is to have my taco fully built before kidos so I am not strapped for MOD monies. We will have her SUV and MY DC. My plans include a SnugTop as we also have a four legged furry guy. But I got the DC instead of an AC so I wouldn't be hard pressed or told I needed to get something "family" friendly.

 

It would all depend. If you're only going to have one vehicle, the Tacoma would be the choice. Roomy inside for up to two child seats, no restriction on vertical cargo, fairly secure with a tonneau. It would be way more versatile if you plan to go outdoors, camp, etc.

Our family has three (me, wife and daughter). We moved into a larger home once we got married and the truck is used constantly for renovations and hardware store trips. Ideally if I owned a 4-runner, I'd have a separate small trailer for tall or dirty cargo. You should see my buddy with an SUV try to pick up a yard of bark.

 

Rear-facing seats just require a ton of front to back space -- it's not just a Taco problem. We had our little ones in a 4Runner and a Volvo S60 and both of those seeminly large cars required the front passenger to sacrafice leg room so we could have the seat shoved forward. You need a minivan or a crossover to get enough space back there to make a comfortable fit.

To echo many others here, if family comfort is the primary concern then a minivan is the best fit. I wouldn't want to go back and try to tackle the toddler years with just the Taco.

But I wasn't able to stomach buying a minivan so we went with a Highlander instead, which we all really like and it's been a good functional vehicle for us (kids ages 5 & 7). But if we're on a vacation where we need to rent a car, I always look for good rates on minivans first because everything is a little bit easier in there.

 

^^^ This is true. It wasn't a problem for us because we have 1 child with the seat behind the passenger. My wife is 5' 3" and she doesn't seem to have any concerns with leg room. The entire first year, my wife rode in back with our daughter so the passenger seat was usually scooted all the way forward anyways.

 

We have two kids, 4yrs and 10 mos. The rear facing seats are bad for the passenger but no unbearable, especially if they are under 6 ft tall. As for cargo room, the tonneau cover is a must. A cap would be better but I have gotten soo much stuff in the bed with the tonneau closed. Thank god I bought the long bed.
Bikes are carried with a hitch mount rack so no sacrificing there.
I installed at 12" overhead DVD player which is a must as well. 4 yr old watches for hours without complaint.

 

I have an 8yo girl that enjoys riding in the truck way more than Mom's turbo Beetle. Good kid.
The back of the passenger seat is a plastic table/tray thing. Works great as a kick plate for kids.

 

minivan is the best family vehicle.

 

Nice - I didn't know the newer Tacos had this feature. I have a map pocket in the same fabric as the seats

 

My daughters are now 8 and 10 (very tall for their age). My truck was fine when they were little, but I have to pull my front seats up a little so they have some leg room in the back. Thus, we normally take my wife's Sienna everywhere. Way more comfortable when all of us go anywhere.

 

We have a 1.5 year old son now. The wife has a Jeep but I had a single cab Chevrolet until we became parents. We already had an SUV and I opted for the Tacoma. We actually use the Tacoma for most family trips and I think it is perfectly adequate for one and probably even two kiddos.