2016 TRD off road owner with a 2018 f150 rental

Wanted to update everyone here. I returned the rental truck and ended up putting 2000 miles on it.

Overall I really love the engine and transmission in the Ford. I do think that my Tacoma is still enjoyable to drive but I will be looking closely at the Ranger as it comes to market in the next couple of years especially if the trucks show promising reliability and a competitive pricing structure.

In the Tacoma it is still so much easier to drive around the city and on trails. I will miss the ecoboost but I have a soft spot for Toyota trucks and like the Tacoma for what it provides me.

I appreciate the debate And would love to see more opinions posted especially from those here who have owned both trucks.

 

I don’t technically own a Tacoma, but drive one all the time, I do own a 17 F150 though.

I did look at a Tacoma pretty hard before I bought my truck, but it just wasn’t the right fit. I’m a pretty big fella, 6’5” and 250lb. So space was a concern and I wanted more power.

Tech - hands down the Ford is vastly superior. Hands free, back up camera, infotainment center, etc. the Bluetooth and backup camera are pretty terrible on the Tacoma, kind of shocked me on a 18 model.

Drivetrain - my truck is a gen2 3.5 4*4 with the 10spd, very nice combo IMO. I average 17mpg and my truck has 10k. The Tacoma is averaging 18mpg, but only has 1k so far. It’s a v6 manual. Comparing the 2, no real comparison and no point really.

Comfort - they are both comfortable in different ways. The F150 is much nicer, Lariat vs TRD off road, so it’s not really fair. For quick city driving, Tacoma hands down. The Ford is really big, wide and long.

Fit and finish - Tacoma is a Toyota, it’s nice and tight. It does feel cheap to me, a lot of harder plastics and material especially for the cost. I do kind of prefer that feel on most things, this isn’t a 25k Civic though. My Ford is very good and with the up level trim the finishes are really good nice as well.

It’s pretty obvious both own their segments and rightly so, but completely different animals. Both are great trucks, just totally different. There’s a reason they are priced where they are, people will pay that for them.

Think that’s all I can think of at the moment...

 

With auto transmission ill agree.
Manual is "acceptable" lol.

 

Agreed.
The one and only REAL gripe for me as well is Toyota seems a generation or 2 behind on drivetrains (both in software and hardware).
Otherwise near perfect truck

 

Lariat interior is so freaking nice I am excited to see what they do with the ranger!

 

I’m a fan of the Tacoma especially this 3rd gen, looks wise anyway. This forum is great actually helped my fuel up my desire for one and at the same time has been an eye opener. I’m on Ford forums as well and I don’t see near as much buyers remorse and overall dissatisfaction with peoples new truck purchase. Sure there are complaint threads but every forum has em what I find more here (3rd gen) is post in threads that aren’t meant to be about problems but yet a complaint/problem however you choose to label finds a way onto the screen. I’m not even trying to figure out who’s better cause I don’t care but you have to figure in the actual number of trucks sold and then percentile it, are Toyota’s more reliable?are they that much of a value? are they guaranteed 300k miles or even 200k trouble free miles? I’ve owned several Toyota trucks granted this was a long time ago but neither one lived up to the Toyota legendary reliability thing (without details it was not even Fn close). All that rambling just to say I feel at this exact moment in mankind’s history there has been no greater time to be in the market shopping for a new truck of any brand. If anything just don’t buy the first year or two new of anything let em work out the bugs ...but who can wait for that right

 

Disagree on the “new king”. Ford and GM will never touch Toyota’s long term reliability. Also, sales numbers speak volumes and last I checked (it has been a few months), the Tacoma beats the Colorado by almost double as many sales. Two reasons I bought another Tacoma. Long-term reliability/resale value and a manual transmission. I am a loyal Toyota customer because of these two reasons.

Now, if I wanted a truck to drag race, jump over sand dunes and then sell off in 1-3 years, yes, Ford would be getting my attention. Not why I bought my Tacoma. My Tacoma fits the bill for a daily driver, off road (mountain/rock stuff) capabilities, and reliability.

 

Lol

 

Sorry for not multi-quoting. My experience with my past two Toyota trucks before my 3rd gen is much different. 1980 Toyota truck was a tank even though it rusted like crazy. Super reliable and truly built “Ford tough”. Didn’t let me down while I owned it. 2000 Tacoma which was recently replaced with my 2017 Tacoma followed in my 1980’s footsteps. Simply a tank. Only thing I ever had to “deal with” was replacing the timing belt at 100k miles, new tires and oil changes. The thing still drove like a rocket in truck terms and was simply outstanding. Drove just as perfect when I sold it as it did when I bought it new.

Everyone will have their own experiences with auto manufacturers but I’ve simply have had too many conversations with my GM/Ford friends and it’s lots of “truck is in the shop again” conversations.

 

When you add Colorado and Canyon together since they are basically the same truck in the same market they end up about 5,000 behind the Tacoma per month. Still significant but nowhere near double the sales.

 

I have no horse in the race. I don’t care who sells more won’t make me a dime, but it really seems like some are in denial that the mid size market is booming and think Toyota has no competition. Why? It doesn’t mean you don’t have a nice truck just because Ford or GM are ramping up they’re offerings.

 

I agree with not buying early into a new generation of anything before some of the bugs are worked out, I still ended up getting a 17 DCLB OR because my previous vehicle was dying. Originally I was looking for a 12-15 DCLB OR but that combo never came up and what was available was 29-32k with some miles on them so it made some sense to go new....also I love the way it looks and I wanted some better mpg since CA cheap gas is over $3/gal.

That being said I'm worried that this is not cut of the same cloth as the 300-50k+ tacomas of the days gone by (22r). Sure it's an avalon engine that has been around but it's mismatched to the transmission that incessantly shifts even on the slightest undulations or head winds. I've found this to be very obvious in cruise control and even when not using CC. I'm hoping that another trans SW update comes out but that probably won't happen.

 

I have a similar take, have a 2012 ram 1500 slt 4x4 company vehicle since 38 mi and have similar feelings. I didn't want the lousy mpg, spotty drive train reliability or necessarily a full size pick up. Oddly my DCLB OR is the same length as the dodge and I can park the dodge a lot easier!
Just want the tacoma to go past 300k.

 

What is the consensus on Ecoboosts from previous owners? Anyone like the Tacoma more than their F150 or vice versa and why?