Future Tacoma Owner

I just wanted to introduce myself on the forum. I am currently driving a 2014 Mustang but I will be getting a Tacoma. I have owned two Tacoma's in the past. The first was a 1998 regular cab, 2.7, PreRunner and more recently a 2012 Crew Cab, 4.0 V6 PreRunner. I liked them both although the 1998 did have a few quirks; nothing major. My next truck, however, will be a no compromises vehicle. I will be getting a V6, 4WD, Crew Cab, TRD Off Road package with pretty much every option except leather seats and that is only because I'm just not a fan of the color that Toyota uses for the leather seat option on the Tacoma. I will probably have leather seats added aftermarket. Of course I'm about a year away from doing anything so its entirely possible that Toyota may offer some better leather seat options by the time I get around to pulling the trigger. This will be a vehicle that will have to last me 12 to 15 years so I intend to get one that I know will last that long and furthermore I intend to get one that has everything I want. Too many times I have settled for a vehicle with fewer options than I wanted or lesser options than I wanted. I'm just not going to do that ever again. I'm going to get the vehicle I want with the options I want or not at all. I am in need of a pickup truck because in my line of work we do not get to stay home when the weather turns bad and I need a vehicle that can still get me to work when the roads are covered in snow or there is standing water over the roads in places. To that end I knew that I needed a truck that met two essential requirements.
1. It has to fit in the garage.
2. It has to be able to carry four people.
That means a midsize truck because a crew cab full size truck will not fit in my garage. I'm not sure that I would want a full size anyway given that a midsize truck is easier to manage in day to day driving in heavy traffic or crowded parking lots, etc. etc.
So I started doing my research and I knew that I was going to get 4WD. I ruled out the GM trucks due almost entirely to the low hanging front air damn. It's just ridiculous for an off road truck to have so little ground clearance because of a front air damn. I've driven both the Colorado and Canyon and they are both great driving trucks with comfortable interiors and good feature content but the front air damn is a deal breaker for me. The Frontier is actually the best bang for the buck in a midsize 4WD truck but the interior of the Frontier is very dated and I just wasn't a fan. I seriously considered waiting for the upcoming Ranger as I have watched the videos of the Ranger from overseas and it is a very capable truck in markets like Australia and the far east. Over there, however, the Ranger comes standard with a 3.2 diesel engine and I have serious doubts that Ford will offer the diesel power train here. More likely they will offer the Ecoboost family of engines and while the Ecoboost stuff offers great performance they also come with the inherent flaw associated with any direct injection engine and that is rapid and serious carbon build-up on the intake valves. Toyota has wisely decided to combine both direct and multi-port injection on the 3.5 V6 and that should prevent rapid build up of carbon. So as of right now my choice will be the loaded up Tacoma Crew Cab, preferably in black. So I just thought I would introduce myself on the forum and start getting a heads up on what owners of the new Tacoma are experiencing so that I can have a heads up before getting my own.

 

Welcome to TW. Please get a manual transmission. You'll be so upset with the auto paired with the 3.5

 

Welcome!