Talk me out of a 2019 Tacoma Trd Pro

All great points. I guess further down the rabbit hole I go with mods on the Tundra!

 

God speed.

 

Be advised and be forewarned, the Gen 3 Taco has a steering wheel that is in an awkwardly low position. Even at it's highest, it's barely out of your lap. I'm 5'10 and it was barely tolerable; I let my friend who is 6'2 drive my Taco once and it was borderline comical watching him try to squeeze in. The only thing you can do is move the seat backwards. You can move the steering wheel down, but I can't imagine anyone other than a garden gnome would want it in that position. The gas mileage isn't worth it. My Tundra is leaps and bounds better than the Tacoma. Add to this the Gen 3 Tacoma's infamous 3.5 torque-less engine mated to the dreadful 6 speed and it's a recipe for disappointment.

"Downgrade" is too polite a term. Don't do it. You'll be sorry.

 

Different body proportions at the same height lend to different comfort levels in the same given vehicle. The problem with the tacoma is the lack of seat height adjustment combined with headroom and minimal steering wheel adjustment. I'm 6'4" with long legs so by the time I have my legs in a comfortable position I can barely reach the steering wheel unless I make the seat back very upright and then my head hits the roof. Additionally, the rear seats become virtually useless. I think the Tacoma is one of the worst vehicles made for taller folks. I'm more comfortable in a mini cooper or GTI than a Tacoma. Keep the Tundra!

 

You want to drive it in SF? Better install a winch, that 3.5 ain’t gettin you up some of those hills anytime soon

 

The 3.5l works just fine on the highway and going up hills.

I don't really like how it delivers power; it seems to prefer higher RPM's for torque/horsepower delivery, which is the opposite of what you want in a truck engine IMHO. But it still works well enough for cruising. It can get decent mpg's if you keep your foot out of it as it relies on the Atkinson Cycle.

Personally, I think Toyota went the cheap route by putting that engine in the Tacoma rather than revamping the old 1GR-FE 4.0l or developing an emissions compliant diesel.

 

It's my understanding that they use that engine in several other vehicles, albeit tuned a little differently. So perhaps it was the cheap route for Toyota. It was a massively disappointing engine to suffer through for 2 years, and in my opinion, Toyota has killed the Tacoma. But those things are selling like crazy so what do I know?

 

I think it sells like crazy because tons of people don't know that the Tacoma used to have a good engine.

They think this is what it's supposed to be like.

Plus they love all the gadgetry.

 

They should have kept the 4.0L added manual locking hubs to reduce rotational mass and added a 6-8 speed transmission.

 

They're selling like crazy because the Toyota brand still carries a lot of credibility and cache with the offroad crowd. And to be fair, that truck is still a decent, reliable vehicle even if the engine isn't the best and the platform itself hasn't been changed much in 15 years (still using drum brakes and a c-channel frame).

With that said, Colorado sales have picked up a lot and the Ranger is inbound. If the domestic midsized trucks continue to improve, Toyota may find itself pushed out of that market.

 

Drove my buddies Tacoma TRD Pro. Did not fit in it, and did not enjoy the drive. Keeping the Tundra until new body style, and re-upping again

 

That's sort of been the theory I've been working with as well.

What is interesting to me is that when I traded in my 16 Tacoma, it had 41,000 miles on it and they gave me about $26K on the trade in. My friend has a 15, the last year of the Gen 2, and has similar mileage, and Toyota offered him $28K to trade it in. Higher resale with the previous Generation might not bode well for Gen 3 owners in another 5 or 6 years.

Anyway, at this point I just tell people to buy a Tundra. I love mine.

 

When I traded up to my Tundra, they gave me one thousand less than what I paid for my '16 Tacoma after owning it for a year. What else holds resale value like that?

 

Nothing. I'm not complaining about what I got on resale, it was great. I was pointing out that the previous Generation was fetching a higher number, that's all. I anticipate that Tacomas will continue to have very good resale value, but maybe not as good as in years past. Time will tell.

 

I hear ya, loud and clear.

The good news for the Tacoma, is that all its competition also comes equipped with minivan engines.

 

I went to the dealership with every intention of buyin a Tacoma. While waiting on the sales guy to copy my driver's license for the test drive I went and sat in the Tundra and the rest is history. Ride quality and space is so much better in the Tundra. I had to get a little bit older model (2014 Tundra Crewmax vs. 2016 Taco Double Cab) to stay in my budget but I have absolutely no regrets. The transmission in the 2016 Tacoma was just downright awful and at just under 6'0" I had trouble getting comfortable behind the steering wheel.

 

I only lost 2-4 mpg when I stepped up to the tundra. Well worth it, I had an 08 with the 4.0. Test drove the 3.5 and was so disappointed, then I drove the 5.7 and I was sold. Not to mention the space, and I'm only 5'9" with one kid. I'll never go back.

 

I've also noticed that the 5.7 MPG is much less affected by a load. An RTT or a trailer would destroy the mileage with the 3.5 liter, but the Tundra is barely affected.

 

I had a 2017 Tacoma. I’m only 5’5 and I was a little cramped but all of my taller friends hated going places in my truck lol they couldn’t fit in it. I loved it, but my wife also hated how small it was on the interior. And honestly road trips did suck in it, especially with my daughter in the back in her car seat. Way to cramped for that mess, but if you’re a solo kinda guy then it’s a cool truck. Get it with the JBL system though. Won’t be disappointed with that lol

 

My Tacoma felt cheap and underpowered compared to my new SR5 Crewmax. No comparison. I am so damn glad I dumped that Tacoma. Dreaded driving that thing. The transmission and motor are complete dogshit and I had a litany of quality issues including rear differential needing to be replaced due to howling, rattles, squeaks, driveline vibration, drum brakes seizing up. The list goes on.... avoid the Turd Gen.

Also bought my Tundra for 39k out the door. SR5 with as many options as you can pretty much get. That's less than I paid for a fully loaded TRD OR Tacoma with JBL.

 

If you are going to consider a 3rd gen Tacoma make sure you test drive the shit out of it first. Make sure you're OK with the driving/performance characteristics. In my experience they got worse once the computer learned driving habits. I had every software update they ever released for that tacoma and it always reverted back to shit shifting once it learned my driving habits (maybe 2000 to 3000 miles later) also fuel economy was avg mid 18s. Not worth the dead gas pedal feel, delayed kickdowns (downshifts) upon throttle demand, not worth lack of low end torque.

 

If you are taller than 5'8, you will not fit comfortably in a 3rd gen taco. On top of that, the seating position is awkward and uncomfortable. AND that new 3.5L V6 sucks. They use it in a couple other Toyota sedans to my knowledge. Yeah, not cool.

 

Yeah I went 2010 Tundra to 2016 Tacoma back to 2017 Tundra. I actually miss everything about the Tacoma except the weird tuning. The engine I think had the power and I think the transmission would have been solid. The two just didn't talk to each other right. l follow the chatter on the tacoma forums and a very recent tsb is getting great reviews as fixing driveability and there is always the option of aftermarket tuning. I would like to drive one with the most recent tsb to see how it compares to my old 2016. I do love my Tundra and the V8 is amazing, the downside is that it is huge. The upside is also that it is huge. I love the size cruising long distance on vacant interstates but then hate it in bumper to bumper or city driving. Wife prefers the Tundra but she doesn't drive it. I had a fully loaded Tacoma where I have a pretty basic Tundra. So I miss some of my gadgets. I think eventually the Tacoma will get straightened out.

 

I had all of the TSB updates. It didnt fix it. Every time they released a transmission software update there was a huge hoopla on the forums about how it improved and the reviews would start out great then transition into mixed feedback. I had the update on mine before I traded it and it was not significantly different than any previous update from my experience over three years with the truck.

 

I wanted a taco before the tundra, mainly for the aftermarket parts and smaller vehicle to get in and out of places. The mpg isn’t much better. With a lift and tires, your probably at 16mpg. Sitting in the drivers seat felt like sitting on the floor. It was low. Bed space was small. Seat all the way back where I needed it left not much room in the back. I’m 6’3”. I still wish it was a touch bigger, better motor I would of no doubt got one but the sluggishness with the size ruined it for me

 

It was just released last month. Did you have this one?

 

I have 16 tundra. Just drove my brothers 17 taco out in Colorado. The thing is awesome. But couple things. The gas really isn't as great as u may think. Tundra says 13-17 I think or 13-15 idk but I get 13 period. Same thing for Tacoma. You only get 16 really. Now I'd freaking love to get 16 in the tundra. But it is what it is. Tacoma is awesome off road. More nimble. But I'm only 5'10". And that thing is cramped. Really nice but compared to the tundra it's crazy how small it is and the bed is real small. I love them both maybe Tacoma is more practical but well you know.... tundra

 

Yes. In fact I started test driving tundras when my taco was in the shop again for high pressure fuel pump issues and the latest TSB for the tranny.

 

Yea and if you tow, the mpg in the taco really dives! I got 12 to 13mpg towing a small aluminum boat.

 

Ok Maybe i was trying not to bash on my bro truck but like I said it is cramped. Driver seat doesn't adjust up and down. And yeah. Romping on the gas doesn't even make it go fast.