Is it wrong to compare a '19 Taco vs. '19 Wrangler?

Not quite.
2016 Tacoma SR5 0-60 6.8 --- 2018 Jeep 6.8 Same
Quarter mile, same 15.2

https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/toyota-0-60-mph-times/
https://www.zeroto60times.com/vehicle-make/jeep-0-60-mph-times/

Chrysler f***** Jeep up when they took it over and also when the 4.0 left. It's a Chrysler/Fiat, pos, not actually a Jeep. People like to say Jeep because it sounds better. The Liberty was a disaster, and so the sage continues.
I would never buy any Chrysler.
As for the ride, a friend of ours has one and let me say it sucks big time. Feel like a rock being polished in a tumbler.

 

Your story sounds a lot like mine. We only have one very shitty Jeep dealer in town, and another less shitty 35 miles away. I owned Jeeps for 10 years and thoroughly enjoyed them. But the Jeep dealer pissed me off so bad I traded the Jeep for a Tacoma.

Owning a Tacoma is not a bed of roses, though. There’s that retarded automatic transmission. Following the advise on here I filled up with 92 octane gas: it’s helped, but that transmission just refuses to do its job. And my body still can’t find comfort in that seat.

I took the Tacoma off-road twice: it is no Jeep but I am pleased overall. What Tacoma lacks in maneuverability, articulation and “fun”, it compensates in comfort. Them Bilstein shocks do a good job soaking the trail bumps. And the rear locker works well.

The Toyota dealership experience so far has been 100% better than with either Jeep dealer. But my Tacoma only has 1,600 miles, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

The tacoma they use on that test is a sr5 acces cab 4x2 that weights 3980 lbs. The one that I have is a trd off road 4x2 that weights 4180 lbs. Thats 200 lbs more and my tacoma has the 265/75r16 bf goodrich ko2 that makes it even slower. The wrangler that I have has the rubicon tires, wheels, bumper and suspenssion take offs that will make it even slower than a stock sahara and still it will leave behind my tacoma. Both are fun to drive but i'll take the jeep first.

 

If all you needed was an suv and not a truck I would have bought a highlander before the fiat. Way better quality reliability and resale.

 

I didn't need another suv because there was already one at home, I was actually considering the 4runner but is looks too old, bad mpg, too much money on gas and no tss. Highlander has the 8 speed tranny and I already had a bad experience with a 2018 camry xse with a bad one. Tacoma was the right option for the reliability and resale value and price.

I'm from south america and I had 2 fiats back there, those cars are unbreakable and can last until the end of times. Fiats are not bad cars at all. What we get from them here in the States is crap. I will get a Fiat before a citroen or renault.

I work for a Japanese XXX manufacturer and i can tell you that even them do brake a lot, brand new from the lot, american cars are not that bad if you compare them to Japanese, you'll be surprised.

 

Bahahaha Holy shit you were right.
LMAO

 

Wranglers (especially modified ones) are high on the cool factor scale, and loooow on the driving manners scale.

I was a die-hard Wrangler fan, and my 2015 never had a problem. The few times I had to deal with the dealership (squeaky seat TSB), everything went smoothly. I had no reason to be unhappy with my JK.

After years of off-roading, I realized I don't really use/need the full OR capabilities of a Wrangler. The trails that I like can be done in a Taco, and I can ride in comfort while doing it, and with tons of extra space!

So, two months ago I sold my JK and never looked back. For the life of me I can't understand how people buy them for 100% street driving. I know, I know, their money, their choices. Just saying... there are better options out there for the money.

The Taco is not perfect, but coming from years of daily driving a JK, the Taco is awesome.

 

My 2018 JK also had the squeaky seat, but the local dealer refused to touch it because the Jeep looked “heavily modified” to them. It only had a 2” Mopar lift and 35” tires. Whatever...dealers are the worst part of owning a Jeep. I don’t miss that part one bit.

What I miss about Wrangler isn’t the “cool factor” as much as its genuine “fun to drive.” Even driving around town in a Wrangler with its shorter wheelbase, tight turning and compliant suspension, it just feels fun. Plus you can pretty much see every corner of the vehicle from the driver seat.

My Tacoma’s powertrain is okay...as long as I don’t ask too much of it. It does handle better on the freeway and feels well built, but there isn’t much about driving it that I would describe as “fun.”

 

Aldo, are you the one from wranglerforum.com who owned several Wranglers? If yes, I remember your post there about jumping ship I did the same, obviously.

I agree, Wranglers are fun to drive (not necessarily on SoCal freeways!). I will overgeneralize, and I will say that my JK was fun to drive, while my Taco is comfortable to drive (seats aren't great, but as I said, just generalizing). I decided to go with comfortable over fun. (And reliable, spacious, plain practical)

 

Yup. That’s me. Welcome to TW!

Of all my Jeeps my favorite Wrangler was a Tank green 2015 Unlimited Sahara —see below— with 2” Mopar lift, 34x10.5 KO2s and a rear TrueTrac. That thing was trouble free, fun to drive and it would get me to hell and back. I should have never sold it.


By contrast my 2018 Unlimited Rubicon Recon was disappointing. It had the squeaky seat, poor assembly inside and out, and the worst dealership experience. Unconscionable for a vehicle that cost an arm-and-a-leg and, at that point had been in production for 12 years.

 

Yeah, I remember reading your experiences with the '18 Rubicon. Absolutely crazy. No reason to put up with anything like that.

My JK was my daily driving, and I was driving quite a lot on the freeway. Eventually, the "fun" factor became tiresome. I remember one particular Saturday morning driving to San Diego and thinking "I am SO tired of this noise", with the hard top on. That was the first alarm signal. The fun was becoming bothersome.

If I were living some other part of the country, with less freeway driving, I might still have the JK. But then... who knows, I still wanted more space for off-roading. The Taco just fits the bill

 

Agreed. If you put lots of miles on the freeway, Tacoma is a better choice.