need opinion on truck

[BBQ BOY]

Ok. i drive a Prius now as an everyday driver. I am wanting to get rid of because I need a truck. i have always had trucks but was kind of pressured into getting the Prius by my father because we were suppose to be opening a restaurant in Holly Hill and I would be doing a tom of driving. Well it still hasn't opened and everyone knows how bad I need a truck. I have always had full size trucks but got tired of driving such a big vehicle everyday around town. I am leaning towards a new Tacoma 4x4, long bed, 4 door. I am just a little concerned that later down the road I wish I would have gone with the new F-150 or even just a nice used truck. i love American trucks but love Toyota's as well. i am a conservative guy and don't care for modern vehicles too much but some of the newer stuff is nice. I just wonder if the Tacoma is too "teenish" looking. I like the size of the truck for around town driving and off roading and obviously Toyota's reliability and resale value. Maybe someone here can give me an opinion and say something I may not have thought of that might help make my decision.

 

[Happy Trails]

My good friend up the street just got a killer deal on a 09 4dr Tacoma 4x4 shortbed. 0% finan, he says.
Anyway, after driving it, I was pretty impressed with the engine power/acceleration and the roominess
inside. Having owned several Ford products in the past and now own three Toyotas and a Lexus, I'm
pretty much sold on toyota products. BTW the new F-150 does look pretty good, my issue with Ford
products is that at around 80,000 mi, things just seem to beging to fail/break. I've got 196,000 mi
on the FJ60, 90,000 mi on the Tacoma and 88,000 on my 4Runner-NO major issues whatsoever. My
wifes Lexus IS250 is the best car we have ever owned. Best of luck in your search!

 

[sls019]

My .02 :
Go with the Toyota trucks. They offer a great mix of options, cost of ownership, off-road ability and reliability. New F150 looks good, but...

 

[hoch]

Why not a Tundra? Full size. Bigger bed. More comparable to the F150. You also have to realize that a 4door Tacoma with a longbed is VERY close to the dimensions of a Tundra double cab (see chart below).

Tacoma's still nice, though. I don't do any heavy hauling/towing (I mean anything over 4,000lbs), so I don't need a V8. The Tacoma does nicely and I like the size.


Here are the exterior dimensions from the Toyota site:

Tacoma longbed:
Overall height (in.) 70.1
Overall width (in.) 74.6
Overall length (in.) 221.3
Wheelbase (in.) 140.6

Tundra double cab:
Overall height 76.2
Overall width 79.9
Overall length (Standard Bed/Long Bed) (Short Bed on CrewMax) 228.7
Wheelbase (Standard Bed/Long Bed) (Short Bed on CrewMax) 145.7

 

[slow95z]

what are you using the truck for? we use f150/250s and have an e250 van for big stuff and use tacoma's for small stuff. if you are using the truck as a "truck" then its hard to argue with the power of the american ones for pulling and hauling but for light duty the tacoma would be 10 times better. unless you plan on towing and hauling really heavy stuff get the tacoma, if you have a boat or something like that to tow then find a F250 diesel and tow away. i really wish we could get the toyota diesels here but since we cant detroit is the only way to go for real pulling power.

 

[hoch]

The new Toyota 5.7L have awesome pulling power. Not like TD's, of course, but I'd pick it over any gas V8, american or not.

 

[cavemancaleb]

these days "american" trucks are built over seas and toyota trucks all built in america. So if you buy a toyota you kind of are buying an american truck.