Author Topic: Test Drive: 2014 Toyota Tacoma (Read 27988 times)

2JDM · « **Reply #40 on:** July 22, 2014, 08:58:03 pm »

1993 Toyota Pickup, 260km.

$12,000

http://wwwb.autotrader.ca/a/Toyota/Pickup/GATINEAU/Quebec/19_8141911_/?showcpo=ShowCPO

2004 Tacoma, 344 km.

$10,000

http://wwwb.autotrader.ca/a/Toyota/Tacoma/WHITBY/Ontario/19_8153777_/?showcpo=ShowCPO

rrocket · « **Reply #41 on:** July 22, 2014, 09:01:18 pm »

I always liked the "old" Tundra. The small one. Just the right size and a silky V8

OliverD · « **Reply #42 on:** July 22, 2014, 10:33:25 pm »

Quote from: Winklovic on July 22, 2014, 08:41:32 pm

This is what I think of when I think Tacoma.

Strange, because those are practically nonexistent in Canada.

This is much more typical:

dragonfly · « **Reply #43 on:** July 22, 2014, 10:57:31 pm »

Even accepting the fact that this is an ugly, useless POS...do you still sit on floor? I hate the driving position on the older Tacomas..There is nothing here...Nothing..Jack

dirtyjeffer · « **Reply #44 on:** July 22, 2014, 11:02:07 pm »

my wife really wants a small truck...in a few years, when we are in the market, we'll be checking these out...don't mind the Taco, but it is dated...the Frontier is pretty nice, and you can get 4x4 King Cab with v6 for $30k (Pro-4x trim)...that's not too bad...there isn't any D3 to compare to, but the new Colorado looks like it will be really nice...Nissan may be bringing out a 2.8L Cummins diesel for their new Frontier as well.

Fobroader · « **Reply #45 on:** July 23, 2014, 01:31:12 am »

So $40K, about 15L/100 in the city, bad interior, bad seats and only tows about 6000Lbs for a Tacoma.......hmmm....or, really nice interior, lots of room, great seats, will tow about 9-10000Lbs, gets better mileage in town and on the highway and costs less than $40K, GM 1/2 ton please.

Unless they put in a diesel so these start getting great mileage and cost less than a 1/2 ton, these "compact" trucks dont make sense at all. Toyota should go back to this truck, simple, reliable as a chunk of granite, cheap, great on gas

rrocket · « **Reply #46 on:** July 23, 2014, 01:36:23 am »

Quote from: Fobroader on July 23, 2014, 01:31:12 am

So $40K, about 15L/100 in the city, bad interior, bad seats and only tows about 6000Lbs for a Tacoma.......hmmm....or, really nice interior, lots of room, great seats, will tow about 9-10000Lbs, gets better mileage in town and on the highway and costs less than $40K, GM 1/2 ton please.

That GMC is a 4x4??

Fobroader · « **Reply #47 on:** July 23, 2014, 01:38:27 am »

Quote from: rrocket on July 23, 2014, 01:36:23 am

Quote from: Fobroader on July 23, 2014, 01:31:12 am
So $40K, about 15L/100 in the city, bad interior, bad seats and only tows about 6000Lbs for a Tacoma.......hmmm....or, really nice interior, lots of room, great seats, will tow about 9-10000Lbs, gets better mileage in town and on the highway and costs less than $40K, GM 1/2 ton please.

That GMC is a 4x4??

Yup Z71...check out the fender badge

rrocket · « **Reply #48 on:** July 23, 2014, 02:06:17 am »

Talk about no ground clearance with the front lip and step bars. I think my Forester has more ground clearance...

Fobroader · « **Reply #49 on:** July 23, 2014, 02:15:32 am »

Quote from: rrocket on July 23, 2014, 02:06:17 am

Talk about no ground clearance with the front lip and step bars. I think my Forester has more ground clearance...

Remember when everyone on here whines and complains about how trucks ride and handle like crap or different from their cars....well, thats what you get, a low slung truck. Apparently these were too high and handled too poorly for "new age" truck buyers.

dkaz · « **Reply #50 on:** July 23, 2014, 04:42:26 am »

Full size hands down if you need a truck for work or road trips with a huge camper and want to be able to do a bit of offroading. Tacoma if you want a truck for play, just need to tow a medium sized camper, and/or want to be able to do some major offroading.

fixer · « **Reply #51 on:** July 23, 2014, 06:37:16 am »

There is no good reason to buy this truck, it sucks. Smart people who Need a mid size truck will wait for the new GM's.

Ex-airbalancer · « **Reply #52 on:** July 23, 2014, 06:40:50 am »

Quote from: Fobroader on July 23, 2014, 01:38:27 am

Quote from: rrocket on July 23, 2014, 01:36:23 am
Quote from: Fobroader on July 23, 2014, 01:31:12 am
So $40K, about 15L/100 in the city, bad interior, bad seats and only tows about 6000Lbs for a Tacoma.......hmmm....or, really nice interior, lots of room, great seats, will tow about 9-10000Lbs, gets better mileage in town and on the highway and costs less than $40K, GM 1/2 ton please.

That GMC is a 4x4??

Yup Z71...check out the fender badge

There is no decal on the box

Great_Big_Abyss · « **Reply #53 on:** July 23, 2014, 08:33:48 am »

Quote from: airbalancer on July 23, 2014, 06:40:50 am

Quote from: Fobroader on July 23, 2014, 01:38:27 am
Quote from: rrocket on July 23, 2014, 01:36:23 am
Quote from: Fobroader on July 23, 2014, 01:31:12 am
So $40K, about 15L/100 in the city, bad interior, bad seats and only tows about 6000Lbs for a Tacoma.......hmmm....or, really nice interior, lots of room, great seats, will tow about 9-10000Lbs, gets better mileage in town and on the highway and costs less than $40K, GM 1/2 ton please.

That GMC is a 4x4??

Yup Z71...check out the fender badge
There is no decal on the box

It's on the front quarter panel, just in front of the door.

OliverD · « **Reply #54 on:** July 23, 2014, 08:40:18 am »

Quote from: dragonfly on July 22, 2014, 10:57:31 pm

Even accepting the fact that this is an ugly, useless POS...do you still sit on floor? I hate the driving position on the older Tacomas..There is nothing here...Nothing..Jack

Been a while since I've been in a Taco but this seems to be a common complaint. Is the seating position similar to what you experience in a car and just relatively low for a truck or is it really that bad?

johngenx · « **Reply #55 on:** July 23, 2014, 09:14:47 am »

Quote from: rrocket on July 23, 2014, 02:06:17 am

I think my Forester has more ground clearance...

Foresters have more clearance than a lot of vehicles that supposedly have good clearance. Subaru does an amazing job of "tucking up" the various bits that might dangle down.

Sir Osis of Liver · « **Reply #56 on:** July 23, 2014, 09:36:13 am »

Ground clearance is deceptive on that GM. It's a huge truck rolling on 22" rims. Still lots of clearance.

Sent from my G3 using Tapatalk Pro

Great_Big_Abyss · « **Reply #57 on:** July 23, 2014, 09:55:36 am »

There is actually a lot less clearance on modern half-tons than on half-tons of a decade ago. They install these massive air dams and spoilers in order to improve fuel efficiency...you can blame CAFE for that!

Anyway, somebody who buys a new Silverado isn't going to go off-roading with it. The worst it will be made to do is drive up a rocky and rutted cottage driveway, or maybe through six inches of snow. Or, at the very worst, through a slightly muddy field towing a horse trailer. Anybody who is doing real off-roading isn't buying a half-ton anyway!

blotter · « **Reply #58 on:** July 23, 2014, 11:02:52 am »

Quote

Even accepting the fact that this is an ugly, useless POS...do you still sit on floor? I hate the driving position on the older Tacomas..There is nothing here...Nothing..Jack

Been a while since I've been in a Taco but this seems to be a common complaint. Is the seating position similar to what you experience in a car and just relatively low for a truck or is it really that bad?

My wife claims the Taco is the BEST LOOKING truck, bar none. Useless? Whatever....
It's the truck that flies off dealer lots the fastest and there's a reason for that.

Quote

Been a while since I've been in a Taco but this seems to be a common complaint. Is the seating position similar to what you experience in a car and just relatively low for a truck or is it really that bad?

I spent 8 hours in the back seat of the same Taco with 4 of us driving to Vermont.
4 adults, 4 mountain bikes and lots of gear. The ride was great and it was acceptable in the back seat.

My first test drive I didn't even notice the seating position, but it was a very short drive around a few blocks (empty light on gas tank was on). After that I read a bunch of comments and reviews on this site / forum and did a second test drive for about 15km. That's when I noticed the seating position.

As mentioned, the seats themselves aren't uncomfortable (when comparing to my Matrix) but the seats are set very low on the floor and you end up with your legs pretty much straight out. It seems the truck is designed this same to keep the massive ground clearance and sit have lots of head room in the cab.

When I asked the sales guy if he gets a lot of people thrown off by the seating position, he shrugged and said "well it's a truck"........... when I told him not all truck have you down on the floor and while I like the utility of the truck but want the road trip comfort of say something like the Highlander, his reply was "then you need to look at the Tundra"

KD · « **Reply #59 on:** July 23, 2014, 11:53:36 am »

^ When I tried one out in 09 I didn't immediately feel uncomfortable, but the low seating position reminded me of my old 93 Civic Si that caused me lower back pain after driving for only an hour and ultimately had to sell it for that reason. That was the main reason the taco got scratched from the list. I like the looks, utility and virtually endless options for customization, but it didn't fit me.

There is really no gas savings over a full size truck, but I have several friends that own one and none of them chose it for that reason. Two of them are mechanics and claim they are the simplest vehicle to work on and parts are relatively cheap. I drove a 4-door Dakota for several months at work a few years ago and it was no better on gas than my regular full sized 3/4 ton truck at the time and worse than my current truck. I still liked the size of it though.