First Tacoma, need guidance

Hey guys,

I'm looking to replace my first car and I'm looking at the TRD Off-road. I've been driving a 2012 Focus manual since 2012, it's at 140k miles and I'm starting to get little nagging maintenance issues so I'm ready to move on. I do a lot of hunting and with the places I go, 4WD seems most prudent. I am sure I want another manual transmission, not interested in an automatic. I've taken my Focus in places many people wouldn't take a pickup and been stuck once, not fun, I want the underside armor so the OR is pretty clearly the trim I need.

After doing a lot of reading, I feel pretty comfortable with the gen 4, but I've got some questions.

-I won't be purchasing until February or March at the earliest. I'm deployed until late January. I reached out to a couple dealerships in North Carolina and both stopped responding (Toyota New Bern and Hendrick Toyota Wilmington) to email when I clarified my purchase window. Are Toyota dealers moving Tacomas quickly, or has the market died down? Are all Toyota dealerships likely to blow me off? Is there likely to be any wiggle on pricing when the 2024's drop, or do you expect they'll go over MSRP?

-What is the general consensus on the long-term reliability and longevity prospects for the new Tacoma? I am worried about a smaller turbo-charged engine. I am buying with the intention to make this a daily driver for 10-15 years at minimum.

-Are manuals particularly hard to come by? I know the proportion is very low but do they move faster or at higher prices relative to MSRP?

-As an alternative, how is the Colorado Trail Boss? No manual, but it seems like a lot of truck for the price. Are they built to last?

Thanks guys.

 

I assume they will be hitting the lot in January or February so don't expect any discounts. If you are decided on a 4th gen you will want to give them a deposit if you get a price relative to MSRP in writing (which of course Toyota still hasn't released pricing). You're going to get a lot of opinions on the 4 cylinder (mostly people shitting all over them despite never driving them, but of course "I need my V6"). In the current gen the manual is difficult to come by, some regions they are popular, where I bought mine they don't sell well so I was able to snag a deal on it.

The Colorado is being received well, the 2.7L is a popular motor with years of service in the half ton and no issues to speak of other than poor fuel mileage (people probably driving aggressively, I've seen some Fuelly accounts of people getting 22-25mpg). Trail Boss is a nice package for what you get, I would look into the AT4 personally since every GMC comes with a 2" lift and the HO engine.

 

I had a new '17 colorado v6 4x4 provided by my employer for a service vehicle, the job required a fair amount of windshield time so it got driven 120K in 4 years, I spent allot of time in that truck. My job sometimes had me driving out to remote oil well sites or transmitting towers on top of mountains. It saw some 4x4 action and did well.



I'd drag a motorcycle along if I was going somewhere with nice riding.



Probably the best truck I've used over an extended period. It never went back to the dealer for anything. Drove nicely and had good ergos in the cockpit, OEM tires lasted 80K. The truck never gave me a bit of trouble and despite having a work shell and a pretty good load the 50mi average was always 22~23mpg on the highway and I drove around @ 70~80 on the highways in the southwest, I can't remember around town mileage but it was pretty good. The mpg kind of shocked me, that motor had great power and still got great mileage. My V6 tacoma would have gotten about 16mpg doing the same type driving. I really don't have anything bad to say about that truck.

 

Thanks guys.

I know new stuff has more inherent risk of failure due to increasing mechanical complexity but I'm a gun guy not a car guy so I'm kind of illiterate on this stuff. A new truck needs to give me at least 150k miles, but I'd really like to drive it for decades with reasonable maintenance. We have F150 fleet vehicles out here and a brand new one blew a plastic coupling for the radiator recently while we sat at idle. I get to drive around the country in 70-series Land Cruisers that are pimped out with armor and stronger suspension, those things are so damn fun. The Hiluxes are cool, too. I'm just tired of hauling deer in my Focus like a goober. Vehicle prices are crazy and I'll miss the fuel efficiency of the Focus, but I need off-road and tow capability.

Any other trucks worth a look in lieu of the Colorado Trail Boss or TRD Off-Road?