Deciding between 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen....need feedback

I will be buying my first truck to use as a daily driver in the next few months. I know that I want a Tacoma TRD Sport Double Cab and am trying to decided between 2nd gen and 3rd gen. I like the body of the 3rd gen better but everyone tells me that the 4.0L V6 in the 2nd gen is much more reliable than the 3.5L V6 in the 3rd gen and that the 2nd gen rides better. What does everyone here think? Thank you.

 

Welcome to TW.
Go do some test drives and then do some more. Then do a couple more and compare the 2 for yourself. The 4.0 engine is much easier to work on.

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

I think you should test drive both and see what you think. Any opinions given here are just that (opinions), and are going to be biased.

With that being said, I am happy with my 2nd gen!

Honestly I don’t think you can go wrong with either.

 

Thanks and I have driven both. I am not mechanical so any work would be done by a mechanic. I drive about 30k miles per year so reliability of the truck is more important to me than ride or body style. My most important deciding factor is whether the 2nd gen or 3rd gen is more reliable.

 

They seem to be the same in reliability. I don’t remember his username but there’s a dude that’s already logged in over 150k miles & changes his oil every 10k with no issues on a 3rd gen.

 

I've never pushed a 3rd gen yet. They are reliable, just have a lot of complaints of small things.


Pick whichever you are comfortable in, both perform roughly the same, but the 3rd gens have much better tech.

 

Welcome to TW!!

 

Welcome to TW

 

I like less “options” while they’re still available so a new base model 2.7 3rd gen would be good

 

One thing you might consider avoiding is the first year of the 3rd generation. Sometimes the second year is a better choice, bugs worked out and all.

 

Welcome to TW!

 

2nd gen. 3rds seem to have a lot of issues and its a hassle to get all the tsbs taken care of. Both are good trucks, I just like my 2nd gen lol.

 

The 2nd gens have proven to be very reliable. Still too early to tell on the 3rd gens, but if ypu maintain it, it will last a long time no matter what truck you get.