Most desirable year?

You would have a point if there was an increase in failures of this new and "more complicated" piece of equipment. But there simply isn't. The newer TBs are just as reliable, and arguably more efficient. Sure they are more expensive to replace IF they fail, but that's not a common occurrence.

The complexity you speak of has just been transferred from a mechanical complexity to an electronic complexity, and being mostly solid state, is pretty damn reliable. Old timers (of which I technically am one) confuse the fact that because you can't fix it with a hammer and screwdriver, it must be "too complicated".

As someone who lives in/near a floodplain, I like to laugh at the people who get flooded then complain about how expensive it is to repair the damage.

 

LIES

 

Hah! Not quite..., although I do admit to liking the SU carbs on my 1962 Triumph TR3. I think cruxofthebisquet was referring to something like Hilborn or Lucas mechanical injection systems.

 

No, more like "I'd rather drive a car that breaks EVERY time I use it but can be fixed with a screwdriver" than "My car breaks every 20 years and has to go to the dealer".
If I use it everyday, no brainer.
If I use it once a year.....hmmm.
If I drive it once every ten years, no brainer.
Flood insurance used to be cheap too.

 

Only because they were designed to run WOT and were installed on engines designed to run WOT.
I didn't mean to go so far off topic but it does lead back to one of the main reasons people like first gens. They're reliable. If you like fancy stuff there's a lot of choices for you avail. new. I don't find it as reliable, I've seen problems.
You pays your money and you takes your chance.

 

Not sure there is anything between a 1st and 2nd gen size wise. The interior of the 2nd gen is still kind of small, if you went a half size up from 1st gen you would probably not even notice the difference.

 

03/04 got the electronic throttle and they also relocated the ebrake cable on 03/04 to below the diff which is a worse location. Both of those take the 03/04 down a notch in my book. And 01 doesn't have the oh shit handle for the driver so I give the nod to 2002 (and 2001).

 

Maybe, I've never sat in one of those. The newer colorados are bigger than 2nd gen tacomas though

 

let's argue about those cable operated heater controls, I LOVE 'EM!!!!

 

This is the internet, isn't that what we're supposed to do?



That said, neither one are likely any more or less reliable, although cables do tend to need to be lubricated to have a smooth operation.

From a construction point of view, a purely electronic system is easier to route the wiring.

 

Vacuum operated HVAC or gtfo.


I'm a keep it simple stupid kind of person, but the line with electromechanical systems is fuzzy. If they're well designed they're great, if they're not, they're a horrible pain in the butt. EFI is mature enough to be in the good category, and I suppose HVAC controls are too . But Im not complaining about the mechanical HVAC in my truck, it works fine.

On the other hand, electronic throttle bodies don't give much benefit to the end user imo. They're far easier to design with and they give the computer complete control over the engine, which is probably both good and bad. But they can introduce throttle lag and allow the computer (and thus the car company) to limit throttle at certain times, which gets into nanny territory. My preference is probably mechanical throttle bodies.

 

I had an '89 2wd regular cab w/ the 22re 5spd manual transmission. Lowered in the front about an inch. American Racing Directionals with Cooper low profiles.

I sold it to help me get into the '01 Tacoma that I own now. Hated having to sell it. That thing was awesome to drive.

 

Hehe. I was referring to an 80s Volvo, so....close enough?

Nothing like finding a vacuum leak that's behind the dash and screwing with the engine. I think we just capped it off at the firewall and left it.

 

My recent cable obsession is from learning a lesson about trying to keep an antique (25 year+) vehicle with electronically controlled air mix doors usable. The air mix motor failed. The heater on this car runs non-stop. You burn up in the summer time. Parts have been discontinued. So I'll be donating the car to some charity to get a tax deduction. Sad ending.

Living better electrically is great for as long as you can get replacement parts.

 

For sure the 2002 the first year of the refresh (looks way better IMO) and doesn't have the dumb drive by wire that the 03 and 04 have.

 

Literally it is not. I was not literally talking about fuel injection, I was talking about the throttle body

Figuratively it probably was though.

 

What vehicle is this?

 

Lmao jeez louise I wouldn't have ever guessed it was older than 2000 by the condition shown in the pics

 

I say the 2001 year because Toyota took the already stellar, well-steeped in quality/reliability attributes of the '95-2000 trucks and nicely blended them into the 2001-2004 style upgrade. The working components were already tried&true, but got new skin. So our Tacomas of 2001 hit the ground running, and still had Mother Japan's staunch discipline of build quality behind them