Tacoma for long distance commutes

Hello!

I just graduated and am moving from Michigan to Kentucky for a job. I got an awesome apartment 45 miles from where I work (the only non-awesome part is its distance).

Right now I have a 2008 VW GTI. Fun car. Lots of reliability issues and I only just hit 72k. Transmission, AC, electronics, bearings. Also extremely costly maintenance.

I am at the point where I am torn between getting a totally awesome, impractical sports car or something practical. The long commute is also a factor in my decision; I have been looking at TDIs.

A truck would be good for general utility of hauling stuff around. Except for the poor fuel economy, you really can't get more practical than a truck. It would also be INCREDIBLY useful for if I bought my own house. If I bought a house, it would be relatively cheap but require maintenance... a light-to-moderate fixer upper. it's hard to do big projects without a truck.

Now, I landed an excellent job; cost isn't too much of a factor. After bills, expenses, taxes, etc I will have a disposable income of $2k a month. But just because I can afford something doesn't mean it's a good purchase.

I have been looking at a completely bare bones, stock, regular cab, 4cyl Tacoma. I can get one for like $18k. Really the only thing I care about interior-wise is a good (read: fantastic) audio system. I was wondering if the Tacoma had the integrated climate/audio controls, because this would be a big issue in installing my own system. I would probably get some new wheels because the stock ones are ghastly- but that's it, as far as aftermarket goes.

Also, because it's Kentucky, I would feel safe getting a 2WD. I have no intention of off-roading. If I go visit family in Michigan I will just dump bags of rocks into the bed.

I'm just wondering if anyone here does large commutes in their Taco. It will be mostly interstate for me; what do you guys usually get for interstate (70mph) economy? I regularly see these trucks for sale on Craigslist with 200k+ miles at a price that would be absurd for any other vehicle.

 

I have an 06 4DR 4x4. I work out of my house and my area is from Long Beach CA to San Diego Ca. i do a lot of commuting and although I average 16mpg, I love this truck. i have 133k miles on it, and so far it has not let me down. I have had to replace the battery twice and thats it, other then the usual maintenance, it has proven very reliable. I find her very comfortable, i did upgrade the stereo but not the speakers, still sounds good to me. make sure what you get will be comfortable.

 

Where at in Ky are you living?

 

The audio and climate controls are not integrated at all, you'll be fine there.

Don't expect great gas mileage, even from the 4-cylinder. Very low 20s, upper teens in the best you can really expect for the most part.

 

Louisville, working in Carrollton. Yourself?

I'm having a hard time finding the fuel economy for 4cyl @ 70mph. Is there anyone here that would have those numbers?

Right now my GTI gets ~26 on premium which has been bordering or above $4 for the last several months (where I live, anyway). It's basically diesel cost without the efficiency.

 

I am a big fan of driving what I like. Trucks. I have also had the luxury of living 15 miles or less from where I work since...1998. If I needed to drive a good distance I would do what many people do - buy a great gas mileage basic vehicle and then have my "desireable" vehicle for weekends, evenings and occasional work drive. I have a buddy in Maryland that lives out and drives toward DC every day. He has recently driven a Civic Hybrid and a Nissan Altima (4cyl) to work and keeps his full-size Chevy at home. Something to consider.

 

Tacoma is fine for the long distance commute as long as you're not expecting Prius gas mileage. I believe the 4 cyl is rated 26 HWY. Try Fuelly.com and see what people average with the 4cyl.

 

I get 21 to 22 when average between 70 mph and 75 mph with a 4 cyl. 5spd 4x4 access cab. The last tank I ran through the truck this weekend was just over 24 mpg and that had about 100 miles of 70 to 75 mph on it it. The other 300 were probably averaging 45 mph and the gas light never came on. It was a 402 mile tank and 16.618 gallon refuel.

Don't do fast acceleration and the 2 wheel drive 4 cyl could probably get you mid to high 20's off the highway.

 

104 mile round trip to and from work. Wouldn't trade the Tacoma for anything.

 

I've owned my Tacoma since January 29th 2013 and have but on 6,795 KM. I walk to work but I would love to drive everyday if damn parking wasn't $500 a month

Driving too and from is "your time" to relax and prepare my friend. Love it

 

Although my Tacoma drinks gas like no other, I still love it as a commuter vehicle.

 

I have a 2013 regular cab 5-speed which I use mainly for work. A typical month, the truck averages about 2-3K miles. Average daily commute round trip is around 100 miles. Surprisingly, the bench seat in the regular cab has been very comfortable for me. MPG is averaging 26-28 with mostly highway miles and about 20-30% city/heavy traffic driving.

Overall, I'd say the Tacoma is a great commuter vehicle, especially when driven conservatively.

 

What are you referring to as highway? 55mph? Do you have any issues at all with it, no matter how small?

I have the option to carpool but it just isn't worth it to me. The carpool meetup is ~5-10 minutes in the opposite direction. I also don't want to be stuck in a car with four other people for 1.5 hours a day. It's honestly worth it to me to have the time to myself.

I went to school 9 hours away from home and would come home for vacations. I did some of my best thinking and inward reflection on those drives.

 

I commuted in a TDI 100 miles a day if I drove it like I stole it I never got less then 50 MPG it also was the only car I ever owned that I could drive 600 miles with out stopping and still be able to walk when I got out. The best I ever did on a tank of diesel was 902 miles all that being said it also was the most expensive car to maintain I ever owned. If you are looking for some thing that won't cost a small fortune to commute in the Taco ain't it, it will run forever but the mileage will suck.

 

Check out this thread for some real world mpg for the 4 bangers. In my experience they can get good mpg for a truck if you keep them below 2.5k rpms on the freeway. For me that means going 65 instead of 70 means getting 24-25 mpg instead of 22.


http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/4-cylinder/174620-4-bangin-fuel-sippin-full-tank-challenge.html

Edit

Here's another
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/4-cylinder/279574-mileage.html#post6967689

 

I've have 4 friends that have had Golf TDI, they've all come to the same conclusion. These cars have cost them much more money when compared to buying the equivalent gas non VW car.
Reliability, diesal engine premium, fuel cost premium, and maintenance have made them more expensive to own. A civic will get great gas milage, maybe not quite as good as a TDI, but not that far off.

I've always owned practical Toyota vehicles, sure there great cars, last a long time and are cheap to maintain, no regrets.
However, if I could do it over, had some extra money, why no buy something that will bring a smile to your face everytime you get in, regardless of milage etc. And for some, that maybe a Tacoma, others something else.

Your only young once, cars can be sold for something more practical in the future, but at least you would have had some memories of that awesome car.

Shawn.

 

with that far of a commute, go with 4wd and go with sport models for the better seats. get the v6 for sure also, not that much better on gas and the extra power is great. if I drive 65mph I get 20mpg with a lift and bigger tires, closer to 23 mpg with the standard donuts. in Kentucky they do not much for clearing the roads when it snows, hence the 4wd.

 

i too commute about 60 miles a day on interstate and from an elevation of 300ft to an elevation of about 3000ft more or less.

taco is great for the power goin up the hill but if you want the best mpg get a car.

 

When I was commuting 148 miles a day I had a '07 VW GTI. Although a nice comfy car, it turned me completely off of VW's due to reliability and maintenance costs. I sold it and got my '06 RC 4X4 2TR-FE and haven't looked back. The VW could get almost 30 mpg on my long commute whereas the Tacoma only gets about 22-24 mpg driven like a granny, but I'd rather pay the extra money for gas than always be wondering if something's going to break that will cost a fortune to fix and possibly leave me stranded (like the VW did twice).

Also, I've read that the new TDI's ('09+) have had issues with the high pressure fuel pumps grenading (like the FSI engines) and issues with cylinder pressure sensors going out, meaning all new injectors. I'd read up on the VW forums before considering a TDI, VW may have fixed these issues on the newer model years.