1st vs 2nd vs 3rd Gen Size Comparison

The new Tacomas are identical in width to the 1st Gen Toyota Tundras. huh - Might as well go V8 when you're that width

 

Yeah, the early 2 Gen trucks operated much like the 1st gens.
Primitive ABS, no VSC, mechanical LSD.
If Toyota would have left the the manual transfer case. It would have been the great.
But no, we got a switch and flashing lights.

 

I think the 1st gen's interior is similar to a newer compact car size wise.

My 2016 Scion IM (Corolla Hatchback) is only an inch narrower than my 2003 Tacoma. I think the Taco's wheel base is like 18" longer.

And the IM actually has slightly more more interior space as far as headroom, shoulder room and leg room in the front seats goes.

 

I didn't think about the DCLB...it's 225.5 vs the 212.3 inches on the rest of the trims.

 

I had a 2008 access cab for years until an accident at which time I replaced it with a 2004 extended cab. I never liked the boat-like size of the second gen, but it did have some nice features like the access doors and a 110V outlet in the bed. Now, my wife doesn’t hit the side of the garage and there’s space so I can walk the trash past the garaged truck without gymnastics.

 

Old thread I know, and there is some probably valuable discussion going on, but I would say that a few pieces of the original information in this thread was factually incorrect. It's not comparing apples to apples, per se. For example, the wheelbase of the 2005 and 2023 is identical, but it's listed as being different.

Let's compare the closest to the closest and see how different they are.

2005 Tacoma 2.7L Access Cab 4WD 5MT (TRN245L-CRMDKA) vs. 2016 Tacoma 2.7L Access Cab 4WD 5MT (TRN245L-CRMSKA)
Length: 5285 mm vs 5392 mm (+107 mm)
Width: 1895 mm vs 1910 mm (+15 mm)
Height: 1775 mm vs 1792 mm (+17 mm)
Wheelbase: 3235 mm vs 3235 mm (Same)
Front Overhang: 845 mm vs 937 mm (+92 mm)
Rear Overhang: 1205 mm vs 1221 mm (+16 mm)
Ground Clearance: 235 mm vs 239 mm (+4 mm)
Curb Weight: 1764 kg vs 1872 kg (+108 kg)

The box and cab are basically the same, in this example you can see that the front overhang has increased considerably, it's where almost all of the increase in length comes from and has to do with improved impact performance more than anything (aside from aesthetics). You can also see the jump in weight, due to added chassis/body rigidity and the larger rear axle.

Comparing two back to back years for the V6 can also be interesting.

2015 Tacoma 4.0L Double Cab 4WD 5AT Long Box (GRN250L-PRADKA) vs 2016 Tacoma 3.5L Double Cab 4WD 6AT Long Box (GRN310L-PRTSHA)
Length: 5620 mm vs 5727 mm (+107 mm)
Width: 1895 mm vs 1910 mm (+15 mm)
Height: 1780 mm vs 1792 mm (+12 mm)
Wheelbase: 3570 mm vs 3570 mm (Same)
Front Overhang: 845 mm vs 937 mm (+92 mm)
Rear Overhang: 1205 mm vs 1221 mm (+16 mm)
Ground Clearance: 235 mm vs 239 mm (+4 mm)
Curb Weight: 1918 kg vs 1995 kg (+77 kg)

Jeff

 

Every time I see access doors on a 2nd or 3rd gen I always think I would love to have doors like that.