Help me pick my first Tacoma

Its wise to avoid known Poop Years

 

Awesome so what I'm getting from here is try out the sr5 or OR. I'm not looking to do any serious off roading other than trails but I'd like the flexibility. Mainly looking for a smooth ride on the road. I get it it's a truck but still

 

if you want the 4x4 get the off road one because the SR5 v6 4x4 is only less than 2k cheaper than the trd off road 4x4.

 

Generally a smooth ride, and 4wd pickups do not go together. You'd be better off with an suv.

 

This is a true. You have to realize you're driving a Truck, not a BMW. I'm totally happy with my SR5 ride. But then again I come from a long line
of driving crapola cars to begin with so anything new was like hell-yea. If someone told me I couldn't drive a truck anymore I'd buy the
Subaru Wilderness. My wife has a Forester and the AWD system is great. Contrary to belief it's not a real off-roader per-se you really need
to keep all the tires on 'something' and spinning around on dirt can damage these things, but for easy dirt-roads it would be great. And it is
a great drive and a great ride and gets good gas mileage too.

I say go take an SR5 and/or an OR and the Sport for a decent test drive. You can't go wrong with any of 'em.

 

If I were to do it again, I would be buying the cheapest, most bare bones, 4x4 I could get. Once you mod it, the SR5 vs Sport debate goes out the window.

 

Yeah, I get that, but if I had one thing to avoid it would be 05-07 with the head gasket issues. That's not an entire generation. People are stuck in an old fashioned mindset that makes them predisposed to "hate" 3rd gens with absolutely zero evidence that they are any worse than second gens. Every generation has their own undesirable issues, and it's people like you that are blowing it out of proportion.

 

Trd off road is the best value for the tacoma. I get mine in a few days, went with the manual transmission.

 

As of now sr5 or OR would be my bet. Is the OR suspension good for handling on the road? I read that the suspension needs to be stiff to make it more responsive

 

My first time off road with my Tacoma I did something stupid; I drove to the shoulder of the dirt road. She slid right down into the ditch, I didn't realize how soft the shoulder was. I was on my way out so I had her in 2wd so she wasn't moving, switched to 4wd and still no dice, 4Lo and nope, I even tried those funny buttons overhead, only one worked, the locker. As soon as I locked the rear diff, she climbed right out. I did a bit of off roading in my 20s so I knew I wanted a locker which is why I got the TRDOR.

Since then, I've gotten stuck one more time and not even the locker could save me, thank goodness for nice people on the trails! I was pulled out without incident, since then I've gotten myself recovery gear and a winch and have helped other people.

I had a '91 SR5 and loved it but I'm old now and like heated seats and I knew I wanted a locker, I also wanted a 6' bed so that narrowed it down to one vehicle, the TRDOR premium with a 6' bed. I use the multi-terrain monitor more than I care to admit, it's a surround view monitor that I figured would be good for the wife to navigate this relatively long vehicle, I use it about 4 times a week and she doesn't even know where the button is.

You can't go wrong with the SR5 but if you want to go off road then get the TRD Off-Road because it isn't much more expensive but has significantly more ability. With the SR5, you can always get the locker afterwards but that'll eat up most if not all of what you saved in not purchasing the TRDOR, and then the warranty hassles, the down time, the questionable workmanship.

Either way, good luck!

 

Mine is a daily driver and I have no problem on road. As long as you manage your expectations not expecting sports car handling.

 

I originally bought my Tacoma because it was easy to park if the wife had to drive it. Now I'm mod-dicted to upgrades and I'm the only driver. 1st and Only truck purchased. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

Which model is it?

 

I'd rock an SR5, but happily chose the Off Road. The Sport is an SR5 with makeup. For what your paying, your not getting the Off Road goodies...

 

I 'm just the opposite. I use to mod many of my Toyotas, only in the end I had wished I got all those options from toyota. Sure, I saved some money, but in the end the truck was only worth what it originally was. So far on this tacoma, I figured at 70 years old, I was going to get everything in this sr5 I always wanted to have, and let toyota do it. Right now after 3 1/2 years, I couldn't be more happy with my purchase.

 

I had a second gen Sport, I would say it is a worse ride all around. Body roll in turns is better, yes, but like others said it's a truck, so better doesn't mean good.

The Sport also beats you up on speed bumps, rough pavement, etc. I don't know if the 3rd gen still does this, but I recall the OR models having progressive coil springs, which make for a nice ride. But my friend's SR5 rode a lot smoother too, so they're probably both good.

They all ride better with 500-1000 lbs of stuff in the back, though. Small trucks all ride like crap with the stiff suspension and jiggly frame.

 

get the best bang for you $$ look at a SR5 limited edition trail

what kind of driving do you do ? let that help you .. why get a off road truck if you never go off roading
same go’s for sport if most of your driving is mud ,rocky roads don’t get a sport ..

 

I just put deposit down on a 4x4 Sport. This was pretty informative video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsJ_RKmCTCI

I liked the comments. Lots of people have both and both love them.

I got the Sport because it was available in lunar rock I wanted and only 2 weeks out from delivery as I don' have a vehicle now. I really don't need 4WD but it was a good price and think with the color and 4x4 won't have any problem with resale value and love the color so could just keep it.

So far I've only test driven a SR5 a very short distance as there is none available. So depends on how long you plan to wait, what what your priorities are. right now new ones in the color you want are only 2k more than 2 year old used ones, so need to find one on the Toyota site in transit and put deposit down as they are about a month out. Then next month they will probably start building the 2024, as that usually happens in August but I'm not car insider. I just can't even wait a month as I'm without a vehicle so this is safest bet for me. I can live with either a Sport of OR three years. ha

 

You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose. But, you can’t pick your friends nose.

 

TRD Off-Road double cab long bed or TRDOR DCLB. Oh, after driving it for a couple months, I removed the sway bar. Now a bump on the left front doesn't affect the right front and vice versa, the trade off is a little lean around turns.