considering buying a third gen tacoma

This, OP. Especially if you cruise those 40 miles in your Civic at 80+ mph. A Taco will not get nearly what it's advertised at those speeds.

 

I purchased new a 2017 Double cab short bed .....,,,DCSB Trd Sport 4x4.
i drive 122 miles per day. On the highway my 17 sport gets 20.9-22.8 mpg. I drive fast. It’s stock. Got new tires after 50,000 miles and kept the stock tire size 265/65/17 but they are
Dueler Revo 2’s A/T mounted on my stock 17” Trd sport wheels
I removed the air dam, added the 2 piece off road skid,and the faux pro grill. Otherwise stock. I love this truck. The sport is built for the highway with a stiffer suspension and 17” tires. I put 65,000 miles on it.

The off road has 16’s for bigger sidewalls and taller tires. The softer suspension absorbs the dirt roads.

The SRs have some good options

I personally picked the Trd Sport for 4 Reasons!

1. Price
Absolutely the best deal for colored bumper, 4x4, radio upgrade, Skewp, new truck smell.
I worked all the dealers to get the cheapest price. All Toyota dealers within 200 miles. Got a ton for my 2015 trading in, tax savings(trade), plate transfer
I think the dealers had more wiggle room on the sports or the sports sold slower due to the Trd off-road popularity.
2. Interior

The sports interior in all black, Trd seats, larger screen radio

3. Sport suspension

I drive all highway. It handles great at high speeds.

4. The SKEWP


I know I said 4 but......

5. I wanted the Blazing Blue pearl paint




I wanted a sport since I saw them in 2015 when I purchased my 2wd Prerunner.


It’s your preference. I like them all. Test drive to decide. A long test drive. Get it up to highway speed. Stomp the gas from a dead stop. Stomp the gas doing 30mph. Some think they are sluggish and slow. The transmission needs to learn your driving style. I commute daily with it and it sits around 2,000rpm
Good luck on the purchase

 

Welcome to TW friend.

Expect to love being able to have more forward driving visibility over most other cars on the road. You may need to get used to the different angle of blind-spots with the double cab. Also expect to spend anywhere between $60-90/wk in fuel...but that shouldn't really be a hit for you if you're considering a 3rd Gen Taco which isn't the most affordable of mid-sized trucks available. Now as far as your physiology is concerned...some people have proportionately longer torsos than legs, so you might not have excess headroom in that way; and some people have longer legs and shorter torsos which will be fine with headroom and "okay" leg room to the pedals...

 

Love my third GEN. Had two second gens over the last decade. 50k on this truck. This one is my favorite.

 

im 6 foot. I went without the sunroof because of the lowered ceiling.

 

I too have a 40mile round trip commute. 2018 V6, doublecab 4x4.

19-24mpg. Average was 22 before I got bigger tires, now its 21.

 

Be sure to test a auto and 6mt.

 

The EPA MPG ratings were pretty accurate in my experience, but know that not all "highway" driving is the same. Depends on your speed and road conditions.

As others said, try to do extensive test drives. Also maybe drive the the Ranger and Colorado to compare.

 

6'5". 230lbs. No issues

 

I average 22.5 MPG in mixed driving in area with flat terrain and some hills (Central WI); '19 DCLB-OR. Nurse it like your Civic and you'll do pretty well.
Stock tranny is fine by me.

 

Loving my truck so far. Just keep in mind it’s a utility vehicle, not a great commuter, and you’ll be fine.

It is comfortable and reasonably quiet on the highway, but gas mileage not great—21-22 on the highway, less in town and MUCH LESS with any kind of load. But that’s the compromise for a do-it-all vehicle.

I got a manual because I like slogging through the gears. You may prefer just push on the pedal and go. Nothing wrong with that.

Anyway, my advice, such as it is, is look at what you want in the vehicle. If you want something which can commute, haul stuff like bikes and kayaks, pull a (smallish) trailer, go offroad prn, and look super cool while doing it (important!), this is your vehicle. Oh and reliability.

If you just want to get from point A to B on a regular basis, seriously consider another Civic or an Accord or a CRV. Or maybe a Passport or Ridgeline, we won’t judge.

 

Get a tundra and a beater civic for the commute to work

 

I average ~17 MPG. Now before you start to worry, it's a 14 mile round trip to work. I get stopped by almost every street light on the way home or to work and sometimes I'm a bell ringer so I do step on the gas some days. If I had highway miles instead of city and I wasn't always rushing then I'm sure I'd see much better results.

 

The Sport is kinda bouncing on the highway almost to the point of being out of control

 

Nice review of your reasoning for the truck you bought. Good info for the OP here.

 

I had a 2018 Sport as a loaner while I had my frame replacement. I couldn't wait to get my 07 back for the reasons you stated. Otherwise, it was fine.

 

Don't skip legs days

 

Owned several trucks. Nothing about the 3rd gen screams “lots of power”! I got much better fuel economy out of my 2004 Sierra crew cab with longtubes, aggressive tune and 20” wheels than I did out of my stock Sport 4x4.

 

Agreed. I still daily drive my 2nd gen, but the 3rd gen gets around 2-3 mpg’s more. The trucks are completely different in my opinion OP. If you’re wanting simple (basic necessities), then I’d definitely look into a slightly used 2nd gen. They’re proven to be reliable besides the rust issues up north. I love my 3rd gen as it is much more modern, but sometimes it’s nice to have a simple truck you can count on.

 

Really? I didn’t notice that when I test drove a Sport.

My Offroad is pretty bouncy on city roads, though I’m used to it by now. It’s fine on the highway. Not the best cornering beast in the world I’ll admit. I really appreciate the setup on pockmarked roads, gravel and dirt roads, and trails.

Frankly it drives like a truck. If I wanted a more refined ride I would have gotten something else.