Tundra to Tacoma

I had a 2016 Tundra CrewMax before my Tacoma, and size was my biggest concern (TWSS). I spent a lot of time looking and driving them before I bought, and re-evaluated my "philosophy of use". Since my boys are older now and I'm not towing a huge camping trailer, the Tacoma is perfect for me and how I use it. I do occasionally miss being able to change clothes and fit my MTB in the backseat...

 

I got lucky and it had cloth seats. Mine was grey with red pinstripes and in black with red outlines it said turbo at the bottom of the doors. I let a friend drive it at a party (never let a drunk friend drive your car) and he hit a parked car. Totaled it. Sad day ....

 

I have a Greco 4-Ever, which seemed on the larger end of high safety rating car seats when I was shopping around. Fit just fine behind my driver's seat rear-facing without me needing to adjust my seat. In the rear middle and seating position shouldn't even be an issue If worse came to worse, it's not like your kid will be rear-facing for a long time. I could live with my seat a notch or two forward for that time before I'd feel the need to get a bigger vehicle.

Obviously people have different uses than I do, but this truck has had more than enough space for my family of 3 and I can't see a second or even third child changing that. Probably the best thing the salesman did to convince me to get this truck was showing me his personal Taco with two car seats and a booster in the back. Plus, the girl has an Equinox which is the more preferred 'family' vehicle. The Taco is just a jack-of-all-trades.

 

I actually have stock tire size on there. The only upgrades are 3inch leveling kit and bumpers.

Ever since kids I drive like a grandma


Is the new v6 & tranny combo really that bad? The 4.0 was awesome when I had it. I've only towed my dad's boat once with the truck other than that I've never tried anything lol.

 

I used to have a 2010 tundra, and that thing was very roomy in the front and back seats. I miss the size very much, but I dont hate the size of the tacoma, but it is much much smaller inside. You need to take your family and go crawl around inside one and see if itll work. Then decide what's more important, gas mileage or space. I average 24.8 mpg in my 3rd gen tacoma

 

Make sure you test drive a new Tacoma, the engine is a little different, the old 4.0 feels much stronger at low RPMs whereas the 3.5 feels much stronger when you Rev it out or at higher speeds.

 

Had a '14 Tundra DC and went to a '17 Tacoma AC - no regrets. Like them both.

 

I bought the new Tacoma knowing the engine tranny issues. But I also knew I’d be purchasing the OVTune. It made a huge difference. The new TSB that’s out supposedly makes a huge difference in shifting and drivability.

Yes, the engine tranny combo is completely different than the prior 4.0. I put near 200k miles on my FJ and knew it like the back of my hand. I knew exactly what it would do in any given situation. And it did have more low end grunt than my taco. But when it got to mid range it sort of ran out and made more noise than acceleration. The taco on the other hand is just coming online at about 2.5k and just keeps pulling if you keep your foot in it.

Don’t get me wrong, it will go at low end too, you just don’t get that immediate response like the older 4.0. And, there’s more computer involvement in ALL the new cars so there’s the occasional WTF just happened when it couldn’t figure out what to do and froze for a second. Even my Porsche Macan did that to me a few times over 3.5 years.

I don’t drive aggressively, but do commute at 80mph in the am, and the rest is city stop and go. I’m averaging around 18... check my sig for fuelly average. The thing I like about the taco, is that it’s a very good compromise vehicle. It doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well, but it does damn near everything pretty well.

If you truly drive like a granny, then the TSB is a must for you. With that light of a foot, it’s going to be up in the high gears before you know it. That may be ok for you, but it’s something to think about.

I would probably still have bought it without a tune available, but the truck is much more drivable with it. The Toyota TSB supposedly gets you close, but not quite. There’s a bit of power and torque gain down low with the tune.

 

The more I think about it, the more I agree with my conclusion that it’s a great utility vehicle. I wanted a specialty car, and needed to figure out how to make that happen. At the time I had an FJ and a Macan. Perfect pair; beauty and the beast. The FJ had a full Gobi rack and I hauled all manner of crap with it from lumber to masonry. With near 200k miles I drove it like I stole it. The Macan was my commuter and evening car. Perfect for that.

But I wanted a Cayman, so both the Macan and FJ had to go. I needed a vehicle that would do what the Macan and FJ did together. It had to be nice enough that I could take us out on the town in it. It had to do Home Depot duty. It had to commute well. It had to be customizable if I wanted. It had to haul 4 if necessary. It had to haul dogs regularly. It had to tow reasonably well once or twice a year. It had to be reliable. It had to have enough tech so that music and phone worked well.

I sold the FJ for the Taco in prep for swapping the Macan. It took me another 9 months to find the right Cayman and I swapped the Macan for a Cayman. The Cayman only does two things well, the Taco had to do everything else well. In my opinion, it does them well. I can probably keep both vehicles for 20 years of intake care of them.

 

I’m 6’3...wife is 5’7” and have a 10 year old. Sure we would welcome a little more room but it isn’t as bad as the 3 series I had. Have taken a number of road trips to CO and even 2400 mile round trip to MN from NM hauling old reclaimed lumber, doors ,etc from our old family farmhouse and barn on the way back with my brother and Dad. It wasn’t as bad as I had thought...although i had the best seat (drivers) for sure . My brother went from a 2nd gen taco to a tundra. He hated how big it was... I borrowed it a few times before my Tacoma and man that thing drove like a boat. Felt like I was driving a living room with wheels. I drive a 40,000 pound Pierce type one Pumper for a living and would rather drive that for a daily driver. But hey, there are trade offs for both, can’t go wrong with either one in the long run, both are solid time tested trucks . Enjoy whatever you have.

 

My bad guys! Maybe I heard 2.7 and assumed an engine that small was 4 cylinder. Hell, my Subaru engine is a 2.5 4 cylinder.

 

I had a 2017 TRD Offroad Tundra with the TRD Upgrade package and TRD Pro exhaust. Sold it for an 18 TRD Pro a few months ago. Love the switch. I miss the power of the V8 but I love the Taco!

 

There is no way I would go from Tundra to Tacoma with two young kids. Tacoma's rear seats are TIGHT. Way tighter than any normal sized SUV, and way, way tighter than the Tundra.

I'd start by getting rid of excess weight on your Tundra, like those Iron bumpers, and then making sure to drive conservatively. You'll see your MPG improve. If it's still not enough, look into a reasonably priced (preferably used) SUV and a small, folding trailer for those Home Depot runs.

Since you're worried about MPG, that means you're tired of throwing money into fuel and are conscious of finances. Buying a new (or new~ish) vehicle is very rarely a good choice from a financial point of view.

 

Forward facing and 4 years old takes up more space then any other age. Plenty of room for my soon to be 4 And 5 year olds. My wife and sit comfortably up front and they have room as well. They will go to boosters next which take up less room.

 

What in the hell? lol

Did you have to gas station hop to go down the road?

 

I’d hate to drive around a behemoth for the <5 times a year when you haul the family. I came from an F150. Full-size was nice on road trips with the kids. But 99% of the time, driving to work, parking at restaurants, squeezing into the garage. Tacoma won out. (Besides, like you, my wife has a minivan for the road trips.) Great size and has plenty of power for me. That’s comparing it to having one of the fastest trucks out there (Ecoboost).
Has enough truck bed to make it very useful (HD runs, biking with kids, fishing, etc). Manageable size, and love the look. More street cred for you with your kid’s friends.

 

I think rear facing convertible seats take up more room since hey have to be at a certain angle. Can’t wait till my daughter turns two so I can make it forward facing and get a little bit more room back.

 

Been driving a taco for 5 years now. Went out west and picked up a rental, managed to swindle a new tundra..had 18km on it

Size wise it was great. But big trucks take big gas. My taco handles the light to medium stuff I through at it because I'm definitely not a contractor or builder. I think you'll do fine in a taco but will probably a little disappointing for the first few months. But if not you could tow a trailer! lol

Again I'm just a dude here, mine taco works amazing for my lifestyle and myself so it's not a one size fits all

 

Here is a picture of the Tacoma and my Tundra i was looking at.

Still undecided, had the family in the Tacoma and drove around. It wasn't bad when it comes to the size, but it definitely wasn't the Tundra.

Pretty torn cause the Tacoma is awesome. I also love the inferno color.

 

tacoma gets small fast thats for sure... i'll be moving to a full size truck in the future..