1st gen or 2nd gen?

Wow - That's some really convincing anecdotal evidence that newer trucks are less expensive than older trucks. Guess you showed me.

 

1st Gen all the way!! 2nd Gen half square and half round fender flares look stupid!!!!!!!!

 

I love my 2nd gen. Super happy with it


But the 1st gen is why I fell in love with tacomas. They rule. If money allows I'm going to buy a second truck, and it will be a 1st gen.

 

I won't disagree with that statement... but, I don't know if I'd base which one is better on that. haha

 

The 2nd generation doesn't look ugly at all especially the 2012+ ones with the 4runner style grille.

 

Both generations are beautifully designed trucks.

 

It's not only that, it's also the interior. The dash, the seats. I dislike the headlights, and grill.

 

driven both and own a first gen. hands down first gen is the best truck to get.

 

Both good looking trucks, but Going with the 1st Gens. If I could have found a nice 98 I would have bought it. Love that body style.

 

I wanted a 1st gen but the prices people were asking were ridiculous, after looking at 2nd gens I decided to just take the plunge and buy brand new

 

When I grow up I want to own 2nd gen, but for now I'll have to vote 1st gen.

 

I love the 1st gen and pre-tacoma 4x4 regular cab trucks so much that when I see one in decent shape it makes my heart skip a beat. But those are hard to find without 220k miles, beat to fuck, and a shitty "body lift and axle block" type lift kit. The older trucks have that simple but durable go-kart quality about them that the Japanese manufacturers had before they all started making their vehicles conform to what they think a stereotypical corn-fed American would want. I got a 2nd gen when I couldn't find a 1st gen with low enough miles and I'm quite happy with it. But it doesn't have that "Japanese" feel to it that I loved about the '77 Corolla and '89 Tercel hand-me-down vehicles I drove when I was a teenager.

 

I have had 83, 89, 97 toyota 4x4 trucks, currently have 01 and 03 tacoma 4 wd, 4 door trucks and the wife has 07 fj, I love the 4.0 engine in the second generation trucks, I will not bash either generation, they are toyota, love both generations.

 

Turns out, I did end up selling my 2nd gen and getting a 1st, no regrets! Only thing different is I didn't get a 5 speed, was sick of daily driving a manual. Love my 04 DC and would never go back to my old access cab 2nd gen. They are good trucks, don't get me wrong, but like another user said, they are pretty much a Dodge Dakota. Compact trucks is where it's at and I know the build quality of my 04 trumps my old 11.

 

Both are nice trucks. I chose the 1st gen because I was building a trail rig and like the size of the 1st gen for this. Plans are to do a solid axle soon. To me the 1st gen is more of a truck. No frills and built to last. 2nd gens have more creature comforts. Also the 1st gen is the original and like most things the remake of an original is never as good..

 

I agree, the first gen was the last true Toyota truck in my opinion, it shared many of the same tried and true attributes that the legendary Toyota pickups did that made them famous. It's like the 4Runner today compared to the original, back then it was a badass off road Jeep eating machine, nowadays it's more of a soccer mom SUV, and has grown to a near full size and is much more suited for the road than it is for trails. It's no longer really a direct competition for the Jeep Wrangler like it was originally intended for.

 

I really wanted to replace my red 02 extended cab I sold back in 06, so I started looking for a 01-04 about a year and a half ago but couldn't find ANY that were still somewhat clean/lowish miles for a reasonable price. I ended up getting a new 2015 trd OR AC a couple weeks ago and am super happy with it, but doesn't seem as tough as my first gen.

 

1st gen has a more of an original toyota feel to it. 2nd gen seems more generic, appeal to the masses kinda thing

 

I love my 2nd Gen, especially switching from an AC 5 speed 1st Gen to an automatic DC 2nd Gen.... but I will admit if I went with an automatic DC 1st Gen to begin with then I would never have even thought of a 2nd Gen. Really wish I went that route sometimes......

 

Gotta go with 1st gen. Ultimately they both can get dam sexy, and appeal to different people for different reasons. I grew up with my dad driving a beater Toyota 4x4 pickup, then to a 97 t100 so naturally I have some nostalgic attachment to the looks and feel of being inside a 1st gen Toyota.
I was at the dealer the other day and noticed they are goin for 30k these days, I believe back when 1st gens were new they went for 22k. Obviously inflation is a bit of a factor, but couldn't be that much? These newer gens are definitely geared toward average people looking for bells and whistles rather than solid off road/utility trucks.
Like I said earlier, both gens can look really good, but I'd definitely go for 1st. Their reputation is just unbeatable.

Oh and ps.. If you haven't seen the 2016 yet (I believe this will be the start of 3rd gen) they are looking more like tundras (ugly)



Here's my 97 when I bought it. LOVE IT