GM, Ford or Toyota...

I sold the '97 F-150 4.6L V8 4x4 4spd auto for an '09 AC 4cly 5spd 2wd Taco. My biggest compliant was gas mileage, even in the summer the Ford would only get 13 mpg in town, interstate cruising at 65 mph only managed 17 mpg. My wife used the truck primarily to go camping with a light pop up camper. The 4x4 was nice but not a necessity, when it was in 4hi mileage was less than 10 mpg, it was fun but painful at the pump. My lovely spouse missed the size of the bed and the rather large interior but the Taco grew on her. She went from a bench seat to buckets and a even though the pickup bed was a smaller she has an easier time getting stuff in and out of the bed because the sides aren't so high and lower overall height. She had to repackage some camping gear but she still has some space left over.

When I was in the trying to make THE decision I was comparing the Ford Ranger and Taco. I have a '99 Ranger 2wd 4cly 5pd std cab and box, so I'm familiar with the Ranger setup. After comparing the same configurations the Ford was easily at least $2000 cheaper, but Ford hasn't really overhauled the truck in more than 10 years and it shows. The Taco easily out scored the Ranger for interior quality, there just is no comparison. The 4 cyl engines again the Taco blows away the Ford 4 banger, more power, smoother, not much left to hot rod, and a timing chain vs a timing belt. Ride quality of the Taco is also much better, the Ranger setup hasn't significantly changed since my '99. The Taco as I have spec'ed out can tow my wife's pop up (about 2000lbs), gear in the bed, the kid plus or minus one friend, and driving a conservative 65 mph will return 18-20 mpg, mission accomplished.

The access cab seats are only good for short hops around town or small children like my 5 year old who don't know the difference yet. If your after real back seats for adults the double cab is a must. The Taco V6 is a solid power plant, for comparisons sake the old Ford 4.6L V8 in the '97 F150 produced around 210 hp with about 260 lbft of torque. The Taco V6 betters the V8 with a better transmission, and if you don't have enough power the Taco aftermarket is solid for just about any upgrade you can dream up. Given commercial size of any full size truck, doesn't matter the make, I would not consider them a viable option, none of them will fit in my garage. A V6 DC LB 4x4 Taco is roughly 4100 lbs, the '97 F150 weighed within a couple hundred pounds, length wise they're within inches.

Ironically, in a 3-4 years I'm going to be looking at a double cab, long bed, V6 Taco as my son out grows the current truck, especially as more of his friends start to appear, the wife will need real back seats. I haven't decided on a Pre-Runner or 4x4 the mileage between the two is only 1 mpg difference. Maybe, just maybe, I can finally retire my '99 Ranger at that point.

 

I've had an F150 I can't stand Chevys And so far I really like the Taco

 

I test drove a 4.6L V8 a year or two ago, and my god...that thing was completely gutless. I was used to driving around the 5.4L....and the difference was huge. I'm really glad that engine isn't around anymore.

 

I've owned Yotas all my life. I couldn't believe this when I first saw it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCAuHbEmC74

 

The tundra may look bad on the first track but there is something to be said for compliance. Like the old saying goes: better to bend than break!

Nobody will drive a truck like that for any length of time, it's just a test and as they noted the Tundra did hold together. All it does is point out there are two design solutions to the same problem, not that either is necessarily flawed IMO.

No doubt though, the F150 comes out very well overall. Still, since it's their adverts they would demonstrate those things it does best wouldn't they?

 

Yeah, that was after a Gibson cat-back and K&N intake, it sounded good that was about it.

 

I've always owned Fords or GM full sized, with one ranger in there. Ranger was too little and no power. After retiring, and with gas rising, I did the research and tacoma seemed the best. New price was ridiculous so went second hand. Got a v6 access, which has been solid, with 22 mpg. It is what I expected, better than a ranger but its not as tough as a full size. My former GMC 5.3 regular cab hauled a ton and pulled a 22 foot boat with no effort. And got 19 mpg. More power, more comfort.
Being older, I don't work as much, and the boat is gone, so the tacoma seems to fit the bill for now. Haven't had to visit the service dept. yet. I hear that'll cost a fortune. But after 15,000 miles haven't had any issues.
i guess it all depends on what you really need out of a truck.

 

This and I was in the market for a truck with a V6 test drove a chevy and a ford, both with a v6 and they wern't as "peppy" as the tacoma. I would have gone witha FJ but at the time they only ran on premium.

 

Owned new full size Chevy, GMC, Ford, Dodge 4x4 gas and diesel and now my first Tacoma 4x4 DC. I miss the room found in the cab of the bigger trucks. My Tacoma so far has never been back for warranty work (30,000 miles) and is way better on gas. My big 3's had a reserved bay at the dealership for warranty work and I needed a cheap handy repair shop to keep them on the road.