Talk me out of getting a Canyon

This is by far the dumbest reason I've ever heard for someone to not buy a certain car, you care way too much about the opinions of others.

 

Wow, people like you exist. Lol

 

I also have long term rental trucks as a company vehicle for the past 4 years. It’s great until I get that phone call saying “your truck been sold” which means I have to transfer all of my personal belongings once again from the old vehicle to the new one. So far I have been assigned the following vehicles;

-Nissan Frontier crew cabs
-Ford F150 crew cabs (both 2wd and 4wd)
-Toyota Tacoma crew cab TRD Off Road 4x4 (current)

*The most comfortable truck? The 2wd F150 by far. I understand why Fords sells nearly a million of these a year, the truck is simply a dream to drive and my #1 choice for long distance highway commutes. It doesn’t feel like your driving a truck. Really.
*The crudest feeling truck? Hands down the Nissan Frontier. It also had a TERRIBLE turning radius.
*The best fit and finish vehicle? The Tacoma wins this round with excellent panel gaps and zero rattles or squeaks. I can’t say this for the F150 or Frontier.
*Worst fuel mileage? The 2wd V6 Frontier
*The worst drive train? The V6 in the Fords. I had the EcoBoost and base V6, they both seemed a bit unrefined and I HATED the auto start/stop feature. Both trucks stalled when sitting at stoplights for no reason with the start/stop system disabled.
*Best looking dashboard? The Tacoma
*The best feeling truck for solid build quality? Tacoma. I can hit big pot holes and the truck doesn’t flinch, squeak, rattle, etc.

 

Yes youre right. My dad just bought the ZR2 midnight. It's nice, but I can't stand the interior. It's paradoxical to me: it looks decent but it bears too much resemblance to an old junked out silverado. Also, maybe its because I'm not used to it, or maybe its because the interface is truly not as intuitive as the tacoma, but I think the Taco's controls are laid out better. I got flamed for saying this once, but Ill say it again - I can operate the common tasks on the Taco blindfolded. Turn on the a/c, cancel cruise control, return from downshifting back to O/D, all without looking. Switching between radio and bluetooth is a minor pain in the ass with Entune, admittedly slightly easier with carplay. The colorado definitely had a few more eyes-off-the-road moments though.

 

This is the primary reason I switched from my 05 6.0L F250 to a new Tacoma. Really loved my F250, but I was getting really fed up with such high maintenance and fuel costs. Even after I bulletproofed it, regular MX was much higher than I wanted it to be, especially since I didn't really haul as much as I thought I would.

Since switching to the Tacoma I have definitely noticed the lack of space (both in the cab and the bed) that I used to have with a Crewcab F250, but I find that it suites my current camping/offroading/light hauling/ commuting lifestyle much better than the F250.

OP my biggest complaint with the Tacoma since owning it is one that most 3rd Gen owners share; the transmission and factory tune make it feel a little sluggish, but honestly I just turn on ECT mode and it drives much better (sometimes regret not going with the manual but I'm thankful I don't have to drive manual in commute traffic and I like having crawl control with the auto). Every time I took the F250 in for a repair or regular MX I thought about how much I missed my FJ Cruiser. Now that I'm back in a Toyota I couldn't be happier. Moving forward I personally will always have a Toyota in my garage, but who knows, maybe a Raptor or Rubicon will also find its way in for weekend fun someday.

 

I’m in a somewhat similar situation, but I get different vehicles every two weeks for about half the year. I also agree with 99% of what you said. That auto start feature BLOWS.
The one you didn’t mention are the Ram pickups. Personally, I think they drive better than the Ford’s, and that 5.7L Hemi is a Highway driving, mileage making powerhouse. Too bad they fall apart at 60k.
This is why I bought another Tacoma for my personal use. I keep vehicles until they die. Do all of the maintenance and generally take good care of them. I expect 15 years from this taco. Couldn’t say that about anything else.

 

Not any worse than burying your head in the sand and buying without really knowing what else is out there.

 

Ruled out the Canyon and Colorado due to researching the transmission problems. Still haven’t ruled out the Ranger but impressed with the TRD off-road.

 

Actually its a lot worse. The person thats just "blindly" loyal to toyota obviously doesn't care what anyone else thinks.

The person avoiding toyota because too many people are loyal is basing THEIR purchase decision on the opinions of OTHERS, ironically its positive opinions too lol.

And if you're going to be blindly loyal to any car manufacturer Toyota is the one to do it with. They literally invented the modern supply chain and vendor relations, spends more on R&D than any other single brand, and has a well earned reputation for reliability. Honestly who else would deserve blind loyalty if not Toyota??

Toyota strategy is taught in business school, "the machine that changed the world" and "the toyota way" are literally required reading in most programs. Toyota doesn't just make good cars they're an incredible BUSINESS in general.

 

It’s also why Toyota could get away with making cheap products one day and just use its reputation to drive sells and catch everyone off guard.

 

Except you have zero evidence of any of that BS lol.

But if you say so

 

I don’t need to be lectured on Toyota. Thank you. I have been working with Toyota for 20 years, and I have seen upclose how Toyota went from being humble to becoming arrogant in the early to mid 2000s, and how that got them to make mistakes that cost them dearly.

Fortunately, Toyota is unlike most automakers and learned from those mistakes. You will be hard pressed to find a trace of that arrogance inside the organization any more. Toyota executives are among the few in the industry who show the courage to make candid statements without spinning everything. Humility is once again a key element in its culture.

Today Toyota is constantly scanning the landscape to make sure it stays ahead of the competition and leaves very little to chance. Do they get it right every time? Apparently not. But that’s what finally got me to take a chance with a Toyota this time.

 

From my shopping experience:

Pro Taco:

-Tacoma will almost certainly have a better resale.

-PROBABLY more reliable. I say this because the 3rd gen is still young. People who bash the GM product due to transmissions should also acknowledge the issues people have had with 3rd gens. Both are fairly new, kinks are getting worked out.

Pro Canyon/Colorado:

-Canyon will be a more comfortable ride with a nicer, more comfortable interior. "Nicer" certainly is subjective and depends on trim level, but I did find it more comfortable.

-You can probably get the Canyon a bit cheaper too, at least ideally. Chevy and GMC are much more willing to cut deals on trucks than Toyota is, from my experience.

 

I had a 2004 GMC Canyon that I bought new. 210,000 km on it when I traded it, in the last 35,000km of owning it I spent over $8000 (Canadian) on needed repairs/maintenance. (Throttle body, steering pump, suspension parts, sensors etc etc) $1000 of that was tires, the rest things breaking, putting out check engine lights etc. IDK if they've changed it on the new models but the first, hubs had to be pulled to turn or change rotors. 4.5+ hrs labour charged each time, plus ABS sensors went quite a few times too with hubs needing to be pulled to change them. Overall it was a decent truck but $$$ for brakes throughout ownership (Front every 25k ish) and while there weren't any problems, I wouldn't trust to get too many more miles than I did without engine/tranny problems or again spending what I had in the last 35,000km.

 

OP needs a Ridgeline.

 

Yeah, what he ^^^ Said.. Year after Year Best Resale Value says it all my friend. We all buy what we like, looks, power, sound it all factors in. If your wanting the best investment advice think resale, that's where the rubber meets the road.

 

Yuck

 

I assume you must be single and looking to pick up a matching babe.

The Canyon is perfect for you, the pre AARP crowd.

Please join the Canyon/AARP Forum with your peeps.

 

Is it me, and I know this is weird, but does anyone else think the shifters on Chevys and GMCs look so freaking cheap and 90s/early 2000s? For some reason, it’s the first thing I notice.

 

And if Toyota was an American company I would agree with you. The "Big Three" wish they had a reputation to squander.