Midsize Truck, Big City - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

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Midsize Truck, Big City - 2016 Toyota Tacoma Long-Term Road Test

Midsize trucks like our long-term 2016 Toyota Tacoma might be priced higher than they once were, but they're still worth buying since you can live with them in the city.

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longtimelurker

In a garage like that, there are one or two spots in which your F150 would have cleared by around an inch...that is true. But very few...it would not have been scraping its antenna along the roof, as you describe it...most of the garage ceiling looks to be around ten feet high, in that photo.

Basically, you are correct...this warmed-over ten-year-old vehicle is a better fit in a big city than the freshly-minted F150 that will do more and do it better for the same money.

legacygt

Comparing pricing is never easy and it's almost impossible with pickups. The combinations of trim levels, powertrains, options, packages, cabin configuration, bed length, etc. make it impossible to compare. Still, I don't think you're getting a comparably equipped full size pickup for this money. You can get a full size pickup for this money but it will not be comparably equipped. And you can get a Tacoma for a lot less than this if you gave up some of the options. Remember that your TRD Off Road package is in the upper half of the available packages.

nomercy346

legacygt said:

Comparing pricing is never easy and it's almost impossible with pickups. The combinations of trim levels, powertrains, options, packages, cabin configuration, bed length, etc. make it impossible to compare. Still, I don't think you're getting a comparably equipped full size pickup for this money. You can get a full size pickup for this money but it will not be comparably equipped. And you can get a Tacoma for a lot less than this if you gave up some of the options. Remember that your TRD Off Road package is in the upper half of the available packages.

still tough to compare, most midsize trucks can't be optioned up the way a fullsize can. Even the top trim levels are similar in features and interior material quality to a midgrade fullsize, think SLT Ram, XLT F-150... Only the Canyon is a little more luxurious inside. Still not coming close to a King Ranch etc., though.
Plus you'll get bigger incentives on a fullsize...

aspade

This truck isn't nearly as loaded as you're spinning it as. The TRD package is less than $2,000 and only adds a handful of gimmicks to the base SR5. In either $36,000 TRD or $34,00) SR5 flavor this truck still doesn't even have power seats or a decent radio, much less a sunroof, leather, etc. The only meaningfully cheaper option is the SR which is a fleet special to the point it doesn't even have cruise control or a trip meter - and it's still $31,000.

You can buy a lot of half ton for $35,000.

misterfusion

I never got the "just buy a fullsize" argument. You're not buying a midsize to save money, you're buying it to save your sanity.

legacygt

aspade said:

This truck isn't nearly as loaded as you're spinning it as.

I'm not really saying it's loaded. I'm just pointing out that it's not a value oriented model either. And it is significantly more expensive than the SR-5 and the stripper SR. If you're going to option an F150 as an XLT with the crew cab and 4WD plus towing you are over $40K. If you want your XLT priced like this Tacoma you need to go with a smaller cab and give up 4WD. These are meaningful differences. Maybe it's true that full size trucks get you better value but they are still more expensive.

agentorange

misterfusion said:

I never got the "just buy a fullsize" argument. You're not buying a midsize to save money, you're buying it to save your sanity.

At last, somebody who gets it. There are MANY places in the US where a fullsize truck is simply too big. I've been through this when I dumped a perfectly running 01 Tahoe for an 05 Xterra. Why? The Tahoe was too big for many of the tracks I wanted to explore.

Yes, I understand this is a concept that doesn't sit well with some contributors, but it's the brutal truth. That said, can you imagine the conversation between the "but you can buy a fullsize" advocate and the "it's too big for where I live" potential truck owner?

MrBuyFullsize: "Hey, I can get you a fullsize for that money"
MrTooBig: "Yeah, but it doesn't fit in my garage".
MrBuyFullsize: "Mmmmkay, but you know you can get a bigger truck for that money".
MrTooBig: "Oh sure, but it won't fit on the trail up to my cabin and it's a PITA to get it up my narrow street". No thanks."
MrBuyFullsize: "Yeah, right, gotcha. But you can get more truck for your money, ya know"......

You see the "more truck for the money" crowd just don't get the concept of "too big".

aspade

". If you're going to option an F150 as an XLT with the crew cab and 4WD plus towing you are over $40K. "

I actually did option my F150 XLT with the crew cab and 4WD plus towing, and another $3,000 of sticker options besides, and I paid $34,4xx for it before taxes. $10-12,000 off sticker is par for course on the domestic lots. $1000 off sticker on a Tacoma is doing pretty well.

Buying trendy will cost ya.

longtimelurker

agentorange said:

misterfusion said:

I never got the "just buy a fullsize" argument. You're not buying a midsize to save money, you're buying it to save your sanity.

At last, somebody who gets it. There are MANY places in the US where a fullsize truck is simply too big. I've been through this when I dumped a perfectly running 01 Tahoe for an 05 Xterra. Why? The Tahoe was too big for many of the tracks I wanted to explore.

Yes, I understand this is a concept that doesn't sit well with some contributors, but it's the brutal truth. That said, can you imagine the conversation between the "but you can buy a fullsize" advocate and the "it's too big for where I live" potential truck owner?

MrBuyFullsize: "Hey, I can get you a fullsize for that money"
MrTooBig: "Yeah, but it doesn't fit in my garage".
MrBuyFullsize: "Mmmmkay, but you know you can get a bigger truck for that money".
MrTooBig: "Oh sure, but it won't fit on the trail up to my cabin and it's a PITA to get it up my narrow street". No thanks."
MrBuyFullsize: "Yeah, right, gotcha. But you can get more truck for your money, ya know"......

You see the "more truck for the money" crowd just don't get the concept of "too big".

I get the concept of "too big" - but it looks to me as though Toyota does not believe that the size of that market warrants spending real $$$ to make a midsize truck that is anywhere near as good as a Silverado or an F150, and Toyota is way better at assessing this market than any of us are.