And so it begins!

Sold it for 37,000. Took a bath but my therapist says I should be feeling better soon. As soon as the lift is done on the new Jeep I should be able to regain my life back.

 

Congrats on getting rid of third gen

 

The outcome of this story does not surprise me

Everything is a compromise between highway comfort, power and off road capability. But I think the Rubicon is better equipped from factory for off road use than the Tacoma. Jeez, at least they have real lockers front/rear and you can squeeze 35"s easily with a relatively mild lift. The wheelbase is also more suitable for wheeling.

 

funny i had exact opposite issue. i always drove toyotas. 2 fj's and this is my 4th tacoma. the past 2 years i had a 2014 jku with 3.5" ift and 35's i could not get out of it fast enough. freeway drive, wind noise all the creeks and rattles and noise in the cabin. i do not miss it t all. only advantage it had over a tacoma is rock crawling which i dont do. fuel miles where ok down hill. any crosswind at all its an up hill battle like driving a box into the wind. i love driving my new taco. im avg 22-23 miles per gallon the ride is so comfortable and no wind noise in cabin i can actually talk to my passenger.

 

Well I was averaging 15-16 mpg in the taco. I would still have it if did not shift as much and more ponies under the hood.
Yes taco is better on the highway as long as you're going down hill. I tried to trade it in on a 4Runner but Toyota would only give me 33,000 for the trade.
My plan is not going to extreme on the JK, 2.5in lift and 33.5 in tires.

 

What I never understood is people say wranglers are unreliable

There is a huge long thread on this forum with ex wrangler owners trading on tacoma and their horror wrangler stories

I have driven two wranglers; a 1992 MT 2 door 4cyl and a 2015 AT 4door v6

They seem such simple machines
Why are they not reliable ?

 

i dont think they are unreliable as much as its a quality issue to me. . for example my jeep above, and my brother has the exact same jeep almost. there are so many poor quality issues. things that make you say how is this truck 35k? rattles galor, wind noise is unreal, its a 5-0 50 chance on the 4 doors the front tops leak or not. the brake pedal assy rattles and shakes side to side of road or on rough rds. you get a constant antifreeze smell. dealers say its normal. my front diff pinion nut backed off on its own starting a leak. dealer had to rebuild front diff. this was with less the 22k miles on it and hardly any offroading i take great care of my vehs. for what they cost they are built like crap

 

i also heard of head problems etc

But why are they built poorly?

 

ha good question.. this is the answer i get frm jeep people... "its a jeep thing"

i say you can keep the jeep thing for 35-40k ill have a trd thing..

 

So they charge 35k for an agricultural product and not screwing it together properly is accepted as a "jeep thing ?"
I rather have a d90 or a g550

 

Well, you can't have your cake and eat it. Something gotta give...

The Rubicon is definitely better equipped in factory form than the tacoma for off road use.

The Tacoma is definitely better for highway comfort, and Toyota have stepped up their game with interior comforts. But I am sorry, all that electronic traction control crap and IFS cannot compare to the solid front axle and real locker that the Rubicon has when it comes to rock crawling and serious off road use.

Jeeps are known for being the uncomfortable, noisy, "rough" off road vehicles that they are. Jeep fans know that, and that has been the Jeep culture for decades. So yea, many Jeep fans are ok spending $35,000 for something that rattles and has a million quirks.

But....But....

Eventually....after all the glory and excitement fades....many people end up with "rough" tacomas with LT or SAS, scratches everywhere, rought interiors...etc.

 

Buy both and be done with it. Get the best of both world. I learned how to drive in Jeep with manual tranny and loved it with the top down. Now I'm actually thinking of trading my other car for a jeep.

 

The Taco actually has plenty of ponies under the hood. It just doesn't have low RPM torque. This engine makes power about 1000 rpm higher than the one it replaced.

 

You got one before the new JL models come in!

 

Some of it is just the nature of the design. Multi-piece roof, removable doors, and foldable windshield simply have more sealing surfaces to leak from. Some of it is just poor assembly foolproofing at the Ohio plant. JKs are known to leave the factory with different-colored fender flares and wrong-handed brake calipers (bleeder on the bottom).