Convince me that a midsize is worth it...

I just never bought the aforementioned argument. "Don't worry about what others think, you do you!" This is absolutely silly because I know that I don't know everything. I've gone on my own path before and it turned out to be the wrong decision, only for me to share my tale with others and realized had I talked to them before then I could've avoided said wrong decision from the beginning.

 

I think the title of the thread pisses some people off (not me), I'm not sure people want to convince you. They probably would want you to read threads of real owners and their experiences.

 

I have a 06 dcsb with 176k. I've had it for almost 3 years and 44k. Besides p.m. have only replaced front brakes, battery and tires. It is easy enough to drive and park that my wife took it from me for six months and made me drive her financial mistake Buick Enclave. In the first four months of it I had to replace the alt. twice. At 80k the trans went and shortly after the a.c. quit in the summer in Phoenix. Traded Buick for a Toyota Venza. Good bye Domestic hello TOYOTA

 

If you offroad than midsize is really the ONLY way to go. I laugh when friends want to join us on trails in their F150s... my crazy ass neighbor actually did join us one time in his lifted F250 diesel, was hilarious seeing that thing crawl through tiny canyons in Anza Borrego, he surprisingly made it a lot farther than we thought he would, but we still had to pull him out 4 times and he still couldn't go half the places we wanted to.

If you tow and haul more than you offroad... get a full size

If you offroad more than you tow... the only smart choice is a Tacoma.

If don't tow 5k+ loads at least every month I wouldn't even consider a full size, just rent an F150 from Uhaul for like $30/day for the rare times you need to tow something heavy.

 

No one knows what your needs are in a pick up so that is probably why he said you need to convince yourself. It is a little different if you are asking why we chose a Tacoma, I personally like the size and wanted a Manual transmission and had 3 prior Tacomas.

 

A studious student needs no teacher. If you truly believe what you wrote then the concept of learning is lost to you.

Try reading the Book of Rites by Confucius

 

I love Toyota but for me a Tacoma didn't make sense for my every day uses.

Went with a F150. Paid $32k for a 2017 Crew Cab short bed with the 2.7 Ecoboost. 2wd and the STX package. I average between 24 and 25 mpg and thats combined city/hwy.

Tow rating is 7600lbs and it's quick as hell for being a truck. But it has it purposes and for Offroad, that is not one. I use my 4runner for Offroad and even if the Ford was 4wd, no way would it go where I can take the 4runner.

 

I traded an '11 Tundra that I'd owned for 6 years for my Tacoma, and haven't had a moment of regret. The Tundra served me quite well, but mileage sucked big-time, 13mpg overall, the truck was so big and bloated that it was miserable to park, I would avoid driving it to places where my destination was going to be a crowded parking lot. And even though it had the 5.7L V8, the transmission 'hunted' as much or more than the Tacoma. My Tundra was not a particularly loaded one for its vintage, so didn't have a back-up camera. I had a tough time backing it up, would literally have to back, get out and check, get in and back up some more, get out and check again, etc. It was also wide, so I always felt like I was about to sideswipe something or someone. It did have a big bed, but reaching stuff in it was a real challenge, it was so high and deep, and I'm not a little guy at 6'2".

I love my Tacoma. No comparison. I don't tow anything heavy, and that is the only real advantage I see to having a full-size truck.

 

There are way more 20 year old domestic trucks on the road than Toyotas..... And it ain't close.

 

Drive a bunch of different trucks, and buy the one that closest matches your needs and the one you like the most.

 

Actually, for about that amount you can get a F150 STX super crew 4x4 with vinyl floors(because carpet in a truck is stupid) and an 8" touch screen with Sync 3(Much better than previous Sync crap).

 

Get an SCT tuner and some custom tunes for your 2.7 and you will be grinning from ear to ear constantly.

 

It really is

 

Not to toot Ford's horn as I have my issues with them when all of my Toyotas have been bomb proof, but there is a ton of stuff you can do to them with programming as far as activating remote start, global window activation, changing DRLs, adding different instrument clusters, etc. all by using a free software program and an OBD2 reader. I have changed my DRLs to my fog lights, reprogrammed my APIM, changed my instrument cluster and programmed it with my as built, and added remote start(which is built into the truck from the factory). The newer trucks can be modified even more.

 

Don't tempt me. I try to go easy on it since it is my DD.

 

I purchased my new Tacoma almost 2 months ago and went through the same decision process (Ford F150 with EcoBoost vs. Tacoma V-6) my decision boiled down to a few significant factors:
1) I have had long term success with other Toyota vehicles having logged approx. 300,000 trouble free miles on all previous Toyotas I have owned over the years (none were trucks.)
2) Availability of the 6 speed manual in the higher trim levels (I have a TRD Off Road)...I would have been ok with auto trans, but I do love manuals.
3) A similarly equipped F150 would have been about $10,000-20,000 more than my Tacoma...and would have been worth less in short order based on historical retained values.
4) Though I keep vehicles an average of 10 years at least, the legendary resale value of the Tacoma made it the right "financial" decision for me
5) In my test drives, I found the full sized F150 just too big for most of my daily needs...hard to park, hard to garage, etc. Though the bed size on the F150 would have come in handy occasionally, it wasn't enough to move me to the Ford.
6) My towing needs do not exceed 4,500-5000 pounds (Tacoma is rated at 6,500+ but I would never try towing the max in any vehicle.)
7) The interior comfort of the F150 was a positive in the Ford, but I seldom need to seat more than 2 adults and dogs...and the interior details on the Tacoma were far superior in my opinion (in most respects anyway...sure wish Tacomas had a bit more internal storage, another USB port or 2, another 12 volt port or two, power seats, and at least 2 max sized cup holders.)
8) The Tacoma is just a much more bad ass looking vehicle to me...unless I moved up to a Raptor which would have been significantly more money than I was interested in spending. And, long term, I still believe the Tacoma would be a better 'value' than the Raptor.
9) For my needs anyway, the Tacoma fit the bill as the best all-around truck...certainly the F150 won a few points here and there, but when I totaled up the pros and cons, the Taco won (and so did I me thinks.)

 

I don't doubt that statement at all...but isn't that only because millions more domestic trucks are sold annually than Toyotas (specifically Tacomas?) I wonder if we looked at what % of domestic trucks sold in the last 20+ years are still on the road vs. Toyota trucks or Tacomas specifically if the number would far favor Toyotas? I would think so, but I don't have the data to prove it. Seems retained value which no doubt favors Toyota is related to this expectation or assumption that a higher % of Toyotas sold 20+ years ago are still on the road?

 

You can get a ram power wagon, even you Tacoma guys can't argue that is more capable for like 2-3k more than a Tacoma. They are sitting on the lot in az for $40k

 

This is why i went with the Taco over an F150(and the like). For each dollar spent, you get more in the Tacoma IMO.

 

Tacoma OR is 6100 pounds Max.