Can you sell me on a 3rd gen? Update: You did!

10 years, I foresee this...




There is a 1980 HiLux long bed sitting near where I work...wonder if I am better off making the guy an offer and sink $35K into it, instead of buying a new truck...because that is what I really want...wonder if I cold squeeze an LS into it. hmmm....

 

I don't compare any vehicle now to any vehicle I had back in the day. It isn't Apple's to Apple's. For example I had a 84 4Runner. I also had a 16 4Runner. Definitely not the same! Both had their good and bad points. This Tacoma is not worse or better than the one I owned in 95. It's different is all.

Even comparing a 150 to the Tacoma is unfair. The big difference between the two is size. And residual value. And reliability.

I rarely go off road for fun but I do for work. Not a lot, once or twice every month, but so far, I feel that this truck could take serious abuse and still get you out of the woods. It's almost unquantifiable but it' just a feeling from driving in crap conditions for 40 years.
Sure it is set up more for efficiency than power but it has some power if you want it. Yes it has a bunch of electronic gizmos but name me any new vehicle that doesn't?

I have had Ford trucks in the past. Right now, if someone gave me a choice of either vehicle, free, I would still pick the Tacoma. I tow but not heavy, I haul but not tons of stuff, I go off road but not at 60 mph or rock crawl and the Tacoma does all this pretty damn good.

 

The new Tacoma drives more like a F150 than it does an 80's HiLux...not as nimble as they once were if you're talking about squeezing into places.

The track width between the Ford and the 3rd gen isn't all that much different. Honestly I can't tell too much of a difference driving wise (I test drove them back to back, just out of curiosity), other than the Ford has a hell of a lot more power. Gawd damn that V8 & 3.5 Ecoboost are nice.

Not too worried about wheeling either one, since I like exploring the back country by 2 wheels. I dunno, trucks are kinda boring in comparison. Well... unless it is a full on Trophy truck, can't exactly afford one of those though.

 

Well put.

 

Believe that is my issue, for the price they are now commanding, they should be leaps and bounds better..but they aren't. Just kinda rehashed the same old thing...and super sized it.

I think it is a fair comparison, since prices are very close. Heck, I can find V8 F150's cheaper than Tacoma...and that is the other issue...I don't necessarily need a bigger truck...but why would I not buy one, if I can get more truck for less than a Tacoma?

I am not buying into that "Toyota" reliability thing either, gotta remember I have owned Toyotas for 26 years now, and I think they are slipping in the reliability department.

Like the OP...I need some convincing on the 3rd Gen. Where in the past you couldn't get me not to buy a Toyota...wouldn't even look at anything else, but now I am.

 

Lol, I wonder if the 2 Gens of the Colorado have pissing contests like this.

 

Might not seem like much on paper, but the size is a significant difference, just as there is quite a difference between LB and SB Tacoma’s off-road, even though they only differ by 6” of wheelbase.

The f150 is 6” or so wider, and a couple feet longer in the 4door version. Also several inches taller. It all adds up. The F150 is popula for good reason. They are nice trucks, but are not really like Tacoma’s in my mind. The airdams, low profile tires, and motorized running boards on their “off road” trim package pretty much sum up the market Ford is chasing. I suppose the Raptor is it’s own thing again.

I think it’s hilarious they get the same mileage, or slightly better for ford. That is funny. “Way to go Toyota”

 

I think your challenge is your expectations. You talk about them being expensive. In 2016 the AVERAGE price for all new vehicles sold from all manufacturers was $34K! So what you think is expensive is really average.

Now, why would you think these are gonna be less reliable? From this forum? Ha. Imagine this: What if, back in 1984, we had all this social media and internet. Can you imagine what would have been said about those vehicles? I can. This truck is very similar to the 2nd gen except engine and transmission. So far how many engines have you heard about that broke? How many transmissions?

Now Ford. You claim that you can get more for your money. Question you should be asking is, how much do you need? If I was buying you lunch and I bought you seven 1/2 lb cheeseburgers, would you eat them all? Of course not. You don't need or want to eat seven cheeseburgers in one sitting. The same applies here. Do you NEED the torque of a V8? Do you NEED the physical size of the Ford? If you Do, fine. Get one. If Not, even if they were the exact same price, why would you get something you won't use?

If I were going to tow a lot I would get an F350 dually. Right tool for the job. For what I do Now, a V8 and a larger truck is not the right tool for the job. The Tacoma is.

 

I like your logic.

This is the most truck you can get for your money. Oshkosh surplus HEMTT 8x8. Only $5000. You could put the left over $35,000 towards fuel for the year.

http://www.govplanet.com/for-sale/Heavy-Expanded-Mobility-Tactical-Truck-(HEMTT)-1989-Oshkosh-M985-HEMTT-8x8-Truck-w/-Rear-Mounted-Crane-Texas/729169

 

Resale? Don't care...as I run them into the ground. I don't get bored and flip vehicles with the slightest change of wind like most people do.

Just because $34K is the average price, doesn't mean I want to spend $34K...the less I have to spend the happier I am. $34K for a truck that can't really do truck things, man I dunno...under powered Toyotas make sense at $25K but not at $34K...I can buy a stripped down gasser F250 for $32K.

Yeah the heart of the truck the engine and transmission, that has me worried, all I read about on here is the constant complaints of the tranny. I have driven the auto, it "seems" fine to me...but all the complaints isn't encouraging. The new V6...feels a little soft to me, and that is coming from a guy who is used to underpowered Toyotas, maybe I shouldn't of test driven an Ecoboost. Too early to tell if the 3.5 Tacoma engine will be a legendary engine like the others in the past.

Speaking of transmissions, I like manuals...Toyota makes it really hard to get a manual in a ACLB...it is either the Sport or the Pro...don't want to spend that much. made sense in the $25K SR...and now those are auto only..SR is pushing $30K OTD...waaay too much for such an underpowered truck.

So I if I have to give up my beloved manual trans and go with an auto, why shouldn't I get a fullsize? Since I don't tow that heavy, I am finding NA V6 F150's sub $25K..which have nearly the same specs as a $35K Tacoma V6.

Do I need a bigger truck? Good question...the Super Cab swallows my MX gear bags better than the Tacoma, the 180º rear door opening, and the flat floor is nice too. The rear leg room is about the same as a DC Taco...don't haul people very often...but when I do, that is another perk.

May get a 7X14 enclosed trailer to make into a camper/toyhauler. And I say "may" because I am trying to decide to stay compact like I have done for years and years...or should a go a little bigger. F250/350 is not totally out of the question...but a bit over kill. Since a V8 Ford 1/2 Ton would tow that 7X14 just fine. Tacoma would struggle.

Yeah, not too much difference in the size...you both and I know Tacomas don't get 24 on the highway...even under my old man foot.

I am not looking at the bedazzled edition F150's either, looking at the XL's...and I'll probably put on some aftermarket coil-overs to get the nose up a bit. 4WD systems on the both are about the same, but Ford lets you add an e-locker to the base model trucks...where you have to buy an OR or Pro for the Tacoma's.

36 gallon tank is real appealing too. Having to stop at the gas station twice a week like I do now gets old.

 

Don't think that thought hasn't crossed my mind, there is a surplus dealer just 20 minutes up the road from me. There is somethign about a bobbed Deuce...

 

Then my only advice is go to the F150 forum and post there awhile. Read their problems and then decide. Good luck.
I will say that what you want no longer exists except in your mind. There is no small reliable cheap truck anymore. Gone forever.

 

Dirt bike buddy of mine is a fleet service manager. I get to hear all the nitty gritty. He has Ecoboosts with 200K on them, no major issues. Usually the company turns their trucks in at 100K, but they have been solid...so they have been hanging on to them.

Yeah the small reliable cheap truck is gone. Which is too bad. Wheels of progress I guess. Waited too long for my old one to die...blame it for lasting too long and I have missed the boat. As they all have gotten too expensive and a little too big.

 

No, you need to fo read their forums. Get their point of view. Good luck and see ya around.

 

Sage advice right there.

I can only imagine Ford owners looming to try a Toyota, silently reading the threads here and thinking that every 3rd Gen is a basket case.

Like someone said a while back. If you spend enough of your time at a hospital, you would think that there was some ravaging illness being spread outside, because there sure is a lot of sick people in the hospital.

Toyota reliability hasn't changed. It's just got a lot more channeled focus with those folks here that feel it is their duty to bad mouth an entire generation if trucks because theirs had a problem. TW does not represent very much of the population of the large mass of trucks being sold every day by Toyota.

 

Then what would we argue about?

 

Tires, lifts, bumpers, mall crawling, how often to change the oil.

You know things that are "really" important.

 

Have a look at the sticker of this 2003 AC 4X4 OR and plug it into 2018 dollars. You might be surprised to see how much more truck you're getting now for your money.



Fyi the sticker on my 04 was 29k and the comparison is night and day to my 16 which was 36.8k in 2016.

 

I use my truck for a lot of heavy towing and according to all lot of Gen3 guys the new trucks are just as capable so that makes me feel better.

 

They're capable, you just need to use a little more foot to do the same thing. With a higher top end and no tow load, i run lower rpms at 70 than you might do so performance wise it's probably a wash between the two.

I'm not worried about the motor / transmission for reliability, it's all the additional computers and displays I have in the new truck that nay or may not age well.

It's that way for all new vehicles though.