What truck did you come from and how does the Tacoma compare - Not bashing

Hey guys,

I came from a 2008 Sierra Z71 4x4 with the 5.3L and 3.73 gears.

I have to say I do miss that truck, if it wasnt 11 years old, with major rust forming and tons of miles on it I would have kept it.

Enter the Tacoma which is obviously a whole lot newer. I'll capture a few points briefly below:

Driving Experience: Sierra wins on power alone (but the Tacoma's 6-speed manual is seriously buttery!)

Gas Mileage: Tacoma wins.... but only by a small margin

Interior: This one is a tie... the Tacoma has more tech, I like the sunroof but the GM seats are like riding a Lazy boy down the freeway (and they were powered)

Offroad: TBD .. my Sierra went everywhere (that a fullsize would go)... interested to see what the Tacoma can do but overall I'm more of a Costco crawler than anything.

Right now its an even split, but I do love this Tacoma. I think Toyota can step up the game in the power department though.

Curious what you guys had for trucks before the Taco and how they compare.

 

I had a first gen Tundra, then a Chevy 2500HD Duramax, then the Taco.

1) The first gen Tundra and '17 Taco on paper are pretty close in weight, size and performance. The Tundra 4.7 was a better motor for drivability and it got better fuel mileage. The Taco is a much nicer car but I can't help but think if they had used the 4.7 v8 in the new Taco it would be a million times better than the mostly good little truck it is right now. The Tundra was pretty damn good off-road too. The bed was larger on the same wheelbase. It towed the same load better. If I'm being honest - I'd give the nod to the Tundra except for looks, and the 17 years of improvement in interior fit/finish. Oh, and the fact that it dissolved back into the earth - it was so rusted out when I got rid of it that it would not pass inspection.

2) There is no comparison. The chevy was an unkillable workhorse, pleasant highway towing monster, and $80k when new. It was unwieldy, expensive, smelly, and didn't fit in the garage but it was an excellent machine for what I needed it for, when I needed it. When I didn't, I couldn't wait to get something smaller. I think the Tacoma would fit in it's glovebox.

 

Traded my 2004 2WD F150 for my first Tacoma in 2005. Kept it 11 years until the 16's came out and got one of those. Just got my 2019 TRD Off Road 4x4 a couple weeks ago.

 

Came from a 2016 Ram 2500 4x4 Diesel with a 6MT

Driving Experience: Ram wins this one, the power came on like a freight train off idle,and the exhaust brake was awesome in traffic.

Gas Mileage: Tacoma wins but just barely and that's only because gas is cheaper than diesel.

Interior: This is a tough one but I feel like the Ram was more comfortable to drive long distances in due to a better seating position and the interior was quieter. Where as the Taco is great for just jumping in an going somewhere.

Offroad: Definitely the Tacoma hands down. The Ram weighed in at almost 8,500 and would get stuck on a loogy in the yard with stock tires in 2wd. I never took the Ram into anything crazy because I knew what a bear it would be to pull out if I ever did get it stuck.

Cost of Ownership: TACO hands down. Oil changes are cheap, and you don't have $200 worth of fuel filters to replace every other Oil change or DEF to deal with.

I am by no means complaining about the Taco, its a great little truck, I just wasn't using the Ram for what it was built for anymore so I downsized to save cash.

 

My experience is almost certainly not going to be of much direct use to you, but I will also compare my 2017 OR to my 1980 Hilux 2WD that I owned many years ago.

Immediate previous truck: 2001 Dodge Cummins diesel, 2500 4WD 6 speed manual trans long bed.

Driving Experience: My 2017 Tacoma actually has more leg room, the drivers seat can go back further than my Dodge did, which is a positive for me. There are two things in this category that the Tacoma can't compare to, however. I'm a dieselhead, so that big Cummins rumbling simply has no equal to me, personally. Secondly, with the modifications I had made to the Cummins (440 hp / 825 #s torque), when I stomp down on the Go pedal, the Cummins would get up and scream. As we all know, the Tacoma is not built for that. Not a bash, just a difference in design and planned use by the typical buyer. But I will flat out say that I love the driving experience of my Tacoma!

Gas Mileage: Pretty much a tie, actually. Or close enough. Tacoma (31K miles to date) gets 18.4 MPG according to Fuelly. My Cummins (142K miles when I sold it) got around 17.0 MPG.

Interior: Tacoma is a double cab, my Dodge was what we would call an "access cab". But the rear seat leg room in both trucks was just about the same. The Dodge was a few inches wider, of course. And being a 2001 model, didn't have the GPS/audio/bluetooth goodies my 2017 Tacoma has. But no significant "wins" for either truck in this category.

Offroad: I took my Dodge on many Elk and Deer hunting trips in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico.... and did some off roading with it. It did fine, and even though I have not done any off roading with my Tacoma yet, I will say that hands down, the Tacoma wins for serious off roading. A full sized truck is too wide and too long for serious off roading. And for mud/soft surfaces...... that extra 1500 pounds of diesel engine and massive transmission sitting on the front suspension can spell nightmare if you sink into a bog.

Maintenance costs: No spark plugs to have to worry about - advantage Cummins. 11 qts of engine oil vs 6...... advantage Tacoma. pretty much a tie in just about all other respects.

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Now I'll compare my 2017 Off Road Tacoma to my previously owned 1980 Hilux 2WD standard cab short bed 4 speed manual.

Driving Experience: Since the whole truck was significantly smaller back in 1980, I was pretty cramped in that little truck. I owned and drove it for 10 years, and it was a great, reliable truck, but very cramped. It also had the 20R (I think...) 4 cyl, carbureted engine, and according to the owners manual, was rated at 85 hp. In all honesty, my 2017 Tacoma doesn't feel all that much more powerful than that old truck did.

Gas Mileage: The 1980 got around 18 MPG, so just about the same as my 2017.

Interior: The 1980 was a base model, vinyl seats and floor, AM/Fm radio, I don't even recall if it had A/C. And manual crank windows. obvious... advantage 2017 Tacoma.

Offroad: The 1980 was a 2WD, so.......

All in all, I was quite happy with the Hilux, and so far I am as well with the Tacoma.

 

I came from an '09 Frontier. The Taco is light years better in every way.

 

I traded in my 2005 Dodge Dakota 4.7 V8 for a 19 TRDOR this last December. Loved that Dakota, I had bought it back in 2008 with 28k on the odometer. Owned it for nearly 11 years. The new Taco beats it in nearly every way I can think of so far.

Power: The Dakota had the old (pre update) 4.7l V8. I actually read an article that ranked it as one of the worst motors built by Chrylser. It only produced about ~235hp from a nearly 5l v8 engine. When people complain about the lack of power in the Tacoma I kinda laugh. Its all about perspective I guess.

Gas Mileage: I averaged 16-17 combined in the Dakota. It never really got over 19 on the highway. I'm averaging 19-21mpg so far in the new Taco. Same driving habits and conditions.

Issues: Plenty...failed seat belt sensor (caused the alarm to constantly go off until it was replaced), cracked header, cracked exhaust, transmission decided it didn't want to exist anymore at 100k miles, transfer case failed this last December which pushed me to get the new truck.

Overall: Despite the issues I still miss that truck. I got a bit emotional at the dealership when I was letting it go, lots of memories. I'm planning on keeping the new Taco for at least as long. It will be interesting to see how it holds up over that time compared to that Dakota.

 

Had a 2011 F-150 Ecoboost an couple of vehicles ago.

The F-150 had a better ride quality and because it was a full size, alot more spacious. The turboed V6 definitely came to life when you gunned it.

Other than that, I dont enjoy driving a full size nearly as much as the mid size Tacoma. I like to be bigger and taller on the road, but I do not like driving a boat. The Taco has better gas mileage and styling as well. Even the technology is better. I also trust the Taco not to grenade at any moment.

The F-150 is fun and probably a great vehicle to some, but for me the Taco fits my needs perfectly.

 

02 Tundra. Excellent truck but at 15 years it died. The Taco is the right size for me.

 

I came from a 2009 Hummer H3T Alpha Offroad. While I severely miss the 5.3 v8 with headers, exhaust and tune I DO NOT MISS being in the shop every month for a week with sensor failures leaving the Hummer undriveable, airbags going off over washboards, a whopping 10mpg highway (barely 8 city) and ZERO replacement parts available.
My '16 Tacoma was amazing but the offer I was given to upgrade to my '18 sport was far too good to pass up.
I miss being able to go anywhere I pointed it but after replacing a transmission, a transfer case and a GM dealer jerry-rigging an electric fan setup into it because there were NO replacements for the OEM fan anywhere after the dealer cross threaded the fan on the water pump afyer replacing the power steering pump I'll take BSM sensors not working in -40 as the worst inconvenience I've had with either my '16 or '18 Tacoma.

 

I traded a 2002 F-150 Supercrew 4X4 with the 4.6L V8 and 3.73 gears for the Tacoma 12 years ago. Three years ago I went back to a 2014 F-150 SuperCrew with 5.0 V8 and 3.55 gears and kept the Tacoma as a 3rd vehicle. All are 4X4 trucks.

In 2007 I no longer needed a full size truck and the Tacoma was a no-brainer. I only gave up 15 HP under the hood and 300 lbs of towing capacity. But I also had a 1500 lb lighter truck and the Tacoma just felt much more powerful. The Ford 4.6 engine was a dog. The Tacoma got about 3 mpg better city and hwy and over the 194,000 miles I've owned it I've spent less on repairs than I did on the Ford in 60,000 miles.

By 2016 the Tacoma was just too small for my needs and I started looking at full size trucks again. I could have traded the Tacoma on a brand new truck, or keep the Tacoma and buy a 2 year old used truck. The out of pocket difference was about the same money either way and I opted to keep the Tacoma. It is now my wife's truck for her gardening and craft projects. The 2014 Ford is the one we use for longer trips as well as a 10 year old Honda for running errands around town or shorter trips.

Driving comfort and interior is not even close in favor of either full size.

The Tacoma was enough better on gas to make a difference compared to the 2002 Ford. Compared to the 2014 Ford fuel mileage is no more than 1 mpg in favor of the Tacoma. But the 5.0 V8 is so much more powerful than either the Tacoma or the 2002 Ford. Towing and payload are much better in favor of the 2014 Ford.

Off road the Tacoma will fit in some places too big for the full size. But if the Ford fits, there is no real advantage either way.

Long term is hard to predict, but I know I've gone almost 200K on the Tacoma with no serious issues. The 2002 Ford didn't make it 60,000. But so far the 2014 has been very reliable with no issues at all at 68,000 miles. If I were a betting man I'd say I'll spend less getting the Tacoma to 300,000 than I will the Ford. But if the Tacoma isn't big enough, it isn't big enough. If it is big enough for someones needs they are great trucks.

 

Spark plugs to worry about? Assuming the Tacoma is like the other modern Toyotas I've had that's going to be <$100 about every 120,000 miles. Not really even worth mentioning.

 

Had a 2017 Silverado Z71 All star edition. It really doesn’t compair to my 2018 Tacoma Off-Road in any category, V8 Chevy beats the Taco by a long shot in gas mileage, ride comfort, I had heated, power seats, remote start from a fob or app, tons of room, built in Apple Car Play that I don’t really miss unless I’m taking a trip. Was a beautiful truck but in the end we bought a townhouse and it wouldn’t fit in my new driveway or garage so we sold it and bought my Taco. The Taco has been way more fun to mod and I love the looks of the Gen 3. I have no complaints at all.

 

2014 Ram1500 RCSB--->2017 Trd Sport AC

The Tacoma has been better in every category except power. The Hemi was great, more than enough power, but when it comes down to it i don't buy my trucks based on power.

 

1989 Toyota 4x4 - owned 17 years
2002 Toyota Tacoma - owned 16 years
2018 Tacoma - i'll let you know in another 15 years or so

 

Last truck was a 1993 4x4 GMC Sonoma that I had from 1998-2007. Went without a truck, switched to Jeep, for several years. Then got rid of the TJ and picked up the Tacoma.

Driving Experience - From what I remember I enjoyed driving the sonoma, it was a manual so that made it fun to drive. I really, really enjoy getting out in the Tacoma though. It rides a lot more comfortably, interior is more comfortable and just makes for a more enjoyable experience.

Gas Mileage - To be honest I don't even remember what that sonoma got as far as mileage goes. Right now we are averaging a bit over 22 in the Tacoma which is double what I got in the TJ so I'm pretty happy.

Interior - Hands down the Tacoma beats the Sonoma in every way imaginable. A lot of that just has to do with what is available in 2018 vs 1993.

Offroad - A bit TBD. The fact that the sonoma was a bit older and I was a lot younger I drove the shit out of that thing all over the place. The Tacoma is still so new that my wife and I are babying it quite a bit. We still need to get some better tires to replaced the SR5 minivan tires.

Reliability - TBD but I will say that I had so many issues with that Sonoma that it really won't be that hard for the Tacoma to be better.

Overall - Overall my wife and I just love the truck. We both often have buyers remorse on things but we love the way it looks and enjoy driving it. I think some of the enjoyment is that it isn't our primary vehicle so when we use the Taco it is typically to do something fun.

 

Nissan Frontier. No issues. Basic transportation.

 

I also had a 2005 Dakota with the 4.7. I bought mine brand new the day it rolled off the transport truck. I did like the Dakota but after 13 years it was getting to the point where it heading downhill. Also the lack of support for aftermarket parts was killing me. I tried to do some updates to it to make it last me a little while longer, and I probably would have kept it a few more years, but I really wanted an Inferno Tacoma. When I found out the Inferno was going to be discontinued I had to jump on the next one I found. I taught my daughter how to drive in the Dakota and she drove it for a few months to her job during the summer. The gas mileage was the worst thing about it, plus I drove it much harder than I drive the Taco.

 

I came from a 2016 Tacoma and now have a 2018. Drives pretty much the same



I'll show myself out

 

May I ask after two years why did you buy an 18? I own a 16