Thinking about downsizing

I see a 2nd gen in your pic and your profile shows a 2015 DC Sport. Did you get the Taco? What year is your Tundra Pro again?

 

Hey Adam, No I did not buy another Tacoma. That was my 15 I traded in on my 17 4runner Pro. My tundra Pro is a 21 LunaRock. I love my tundra except for the size sometimes. The wife thinks I’m nuts lol trading it in if I do for a Tacoma Pro. I don’t know if will happen. But like she said you are the ones that drives it all the time. I feel like I will regret it if I trade it in. Decisions lol.

 

Well, you've had a Taco and a Tundra, so you are in a better positions to make the decision than I was. You know what both can do and can make a really good comparison from personal experience.

So far I have no regrets downsizing, but the Tacoma was what I really wanted when I bought the Tundra anyway. The small size makes everything except loading gear, groceries, or passengers a major plus over the Tundra for me. Easier to park, way easier lines (and more options) when off road, easier access to the bed, etc. were all the things that put me over the edge after driving a friend's Tacoma. The Tundra is a beast of a truck, and if I were towing something that needed a half ton, or if I had little kids in car seats, I don't think there's a better pickup. Not towing and with no kids, the Taco is just so much easier day to day.

Now, I may have regretted leaving a Pro Tundra, as a big part of the decision was the fact that I was upgrading trims from an SR5 Tundra to the Pro Taco. The Pro is basically a nice blend of the 3 vehicles I had before it: 2017 Subaru WRX Limited, 2018 Jeep Renegade Trailhawk, and the 2019 Tundra SR5 TRD OR. It's nice having the features I lost from the Subie and Jeep in a truck package. Leather, heated seats, remote start, smart handles, remote tailgate lock, sun roof, terrain modes, decent stereo for a non audiophile, town manners, sporty feel, and NGL having the apex trim of a model is kinda fun for me personally. Not in a "i'm better than you" way but more of a "I worked hard and treated myself" kind of way. New stuff that I've never had before is nice too, and that's the in bed lighting and all the cameras!

The only two things the Tundra had that I miss were the whole rear window rolling down with a rear defroster and the V8 grumble. Neither are huge for me as I got used to not having the rear window features last year because of a bed rack and RTT on the Tundra, and the Pro Taco actually sounds pretty good for a little 6er.

Sorry for the ramble.

 

Awesome dude. Very well spoken about the difference what everyone takes into consideration. It is nice having all that room when someone goes with you. But like I said to the wife she has a Acura suv so we can take that. When we are going somewhere I always look to see how the parking will be. If it sucks we take hers. We have no kids. I don’t tow and don’t off road. Basically I like having a truck being a home owner where you need one. I traded my 20 AG 4runner in on this because we did not need 2 SUV’s.
I’m in a good position with my tundra because all my Toyota’s were paid for when I traded them in. And got really good money for them. I love the LunaRock color and the only way to get that is a used 21 Pro or buy new sport or off road. I don’t want the 21 because I like what they did to the 23’s so that leaves me with only white which is one of my favorite colors. Or the Octane. I found 2 Octane close to me with no mark ups. I prefer the white. Also the tundra pro is great when I need to put our 2 big Akita’s in the back. Tacoma not much room for dogs. Unless I do the rear seat removal. That was a thought. Sorry about the ramble also. I may have missed stuff. And yes also my Pro only has 11,000 miles on it.

What color is your Tacoma?

 

You'd be in a pretty good spot to trade. Toyota value retention is excellent, and Pros are just that much better. Interest rates aren't the best right now, but that's also something that can be solved by paying extra each month or refinancing later.

As for the color, the dealership I worked through explained that the TRD Pros are done in stages for the colors. They know demand for the unique color will be high initially so they start production with 60% being painted whatever the new color is and then 15%, 15%, and 10% for the greyscale colors. I cannot for the life of me remember which one is the 10% to start, but I wanna say it was the white. After a few months they will scale them to 25% per color once the initial spike in demand for the unique has mostly been addressed. If you don't mind waiting more white ones will become available as production continues.

For the dogs, if you don't have kids and aren't planning to, the seat delete wouldn't be super hard. Or take the wife's rig if the doggos are coming. Generally, it sounds like a midsize would fit your lifestyle/use better, purely because of the easier parking and slightly better MPGs, but it definitely costs you interior space. One of the unibody minitrucks like the Maverick might work too, and I know Toyota is looking at putting something out in that segment. I personally go off pavement a bit too much for that, but I do like the idea of it.

Another option would be to get a small utility trailer for the times you need to move a couch, buy hardware supplies, etc. and just get a fun car to drive and use the SUV to haul the trailer? Personally I think it's worth having a pickup bed, but some people prefer the refinement or excitement of a unibody or a sports car.

 

I appreciate all the input you have given me. First I don’t have a problem waiting for a white Pro if I decide on going back. My safe bet on the Octane would be like I did before put deposit down and look at it when it comes in. It’s refundable so that is a no brainer. Second there will be no kids. Wife and I are way past that. Lol. Love them with all the nieces and nephews have plenty for us to enjoy. We just never wanted them.

My wife is retired for last 3 years and I only have one year to go. That’s the reason I decided to sell my 22 Camry I only had a few months. I only need my truck and her’s I have my fun car parked for the winter. I thought about keeping my 4runner pro and do the trailer thing like you said. But I did the easy thing and go back to a truck. I do feel like I would be fine with the Tacoma but I am the type of person I have never bought anything on the spur of the moment. I really have to look at all the Pro’s and con’s. And the 2 Octanes Pros probably speaking with them one is maybe a month away and the other is 2 months.

 

Plenty of time to mull it over and think hard on it. Definitely see if you can get a test drive in to see if you are ok with the different powertrain than your previous Taco. So many complain about it, but if you just realize it's rev happy (and needs to be for power) it's not that big a deal to have it shift a bit. The bigger comparison I'd suggest you really pay attention to on a test drive is the suspension between the two Pros. I don't know what a Pro Tundra feels like, but I had a pretty comfy set up in mine, and I don't feel like the Pro Taco is a huge downgrade at all. You may feel differently and it'd really suck to downsize and then feel like you lost some cushion.

 

My local dealer a few months back when I was selling the Camry I test drove a 22 Tacoma sport with him. I did not have a problem with the engine and trans shifting. I thought it was fine. The only thing I felt pretty much was the power and the exhaust sound. But the Pro is a total different set up and I agree I would need to drive one of them before I pull the trigger. And the only way is put deposit before someone buys it unless you can find one local that is not sold. I will keep you posted when my next move comes. Thanks Adam.

 

The Pro definitely sounds different than other Tacos, but still nothing like the Tundra. It honestly reminds me of my WRX with the Nameless exhaust I had put on it. It's a bit more rowdy than a stock taco, but not obnoxious. More sporty sounding than the powerful growl that a V8 has.

Looking forward to the news either way. Best of luck!

 

Thanks dude!! Happy holidays! I did not catch color of your Pro?

 

Had to go for the Solar Octane. The color is actually part of what made me look into the downsize more seriously. If I couldn't have gotten the SO I would have gone for a white one. They pull off the black/white Stormtrooper contrast so well.

 

I don’t think you can go wrong with either color!! Awesome.

 

I believe you are correct!

 

No rear window defroster on the Taco, even in the top trim?

 

I've never seen rear defroster on any Toyota 3 piece rear window. Double cab Tundras don't have it either, do they?

 

They may not. I've never looked that closely.