Back In A Taco! ('25 DCLB TRD OR)

Once upon a time I was an avid Toyota fan, driving a nicely modded 2014 SR5. However, I went over the pond for a bit during the peak of COVID and sold the truck (foolishly, in retrospect) for what seemed like an eye watering amount of money.

I have been driving a 2008 Subaru Outback since returning from working overseas, about three years ago. While it's proven to be a fairly useful car (when it works) I have learned the hard way with this project that the 15+ year old car with under 50K miles would still present me with many of the "high mileage" maintenance issues due to age. Lesson learned, and Dave Ramsay be damned. While I have been frequently frustrated with repairs on my "beater," nothing new on the market hit what I considered a proper "cost/value/utility" intersection for me to take the plunge. Toss in a career change, with a substantial reduction in income for the first few years, and I have tolerated the quirkiness of the Outback.

That is, anyway, until I noticed it was burning coolant. A trip to a local specialist, and sure enough, it's showing the early signs of the dreaded head gasket failure that this generation of Subarus is known to have. I hemmed and hawed quite a bit about repairing it versus ditching the car, but see above about being underwhelmed by the current vehicle market. Fortunately I wasn't driving much, so I was able to procrastinate on the decision.

Enter my local Toyota dealer, with a tantalizing email advertising a significant amount off of all new Tacomas on the lot. At first I resisted, but a few days later I got a text from the sales manager that they were upping the discount by another 15%. Logic be damned, I'm tired of driving a car I don't like. I perused their inventory, and found one to my liking. A few phone calls later and it was reserved in my name.

So, without further ado, behold my new 2025 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road:

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Definitely not the compact pickup of yesteryear, but still noticeably smaller and more nimble than a modern half-ton. The Off Road package, and heated seats, pretty much tick all my boxes of wants and needs in a vehicle. I've only made it through one full tank so far, but it returned 22 MPG, which I am quite pleased with. Additionally, the comfort far exceeds that of the old Outback (and, to be honest, of my old 2014 Tacoma).

I'm a happy camper so far! I already installed WeatherTech floor liners, and have Rokblokz on the way, but I have no big mods planned yet beyond rock sliders, though it will probably get severe weather rated tires before the winter hits.

Great to be back in a Taco, and I'm really enjoying the 4th Gen so far!

 

Welcome back and nice truck! Pay it off first before mods IMHO.

 

Love the color congrats on the new truck.

 

Great looking truck! Welcome back to TW.