Help choosing the right vehicle

[skrypj]

The frontier cab sucks. I have rented a few for work trips and one time we went as a family. My wife had to be up against the dash to fit the infant car seat in the back. Super uncomfortable. The new frontier seems to have the same cab. Other than the new motor, it seems to be more of a facelift/update over the previous gen.

The turning radius of the Frontier is also terrible, and again, it sounds like maybe the chassis didnt change much and might still be bad. I drive a f150 supercrew 6.5’ bed with a 157” wheelbase and was astonished at how terrible the frontier turned. Tight parking lots were obnoxious and I really was thrown off by how small the truck was yet how bad the turn in was. I would not want that in the woods.

But honestly, any mid-size truck is gunna be a sacrifice for 4 people. I took a serious look at the mid-sizers around the time my son was born and there just was no way it was gunna work well. I do have a Lexus GX460 now which is based on the same chassis as the 5th gen 4Runner and it works, but even that is tight now that we have two kids(4 yrs and 1.5 months.) It really needs a roof box or something to make it good for anything but local driving.

 

[skrypj]

I am with the others on a front LSD. If you could get a torsen/truetrac style diff with the combination of the crawl control/a-trac style system you would:

1. Have 99% the capability of a locker
2. Never have to think about engaging it. It just works.

I had truetracs front and rear in my Liberty CRD and it was such and awesome all around setup. Great on road and in the snow, and great offroad. My Lib had the full-time awd t-case so when I would be on the road in the snow I would just slap it in full-time mode and it made for a super drama free experience. I could also run it like that off-road and not have to fight with binding but still be powering all 4 wheels.

 

[calicamper]

The frontier cab sucks. I have rented a few for work trips and one time we went as a family. My wife had to be up against the dash to fit the infant car seat in the back. Super uncomfortable. The new frontier seems to have the same cab. Other than the new motor, it seems to be more of a facelift/update over the previous gen.

The turning radius of the Frontier is also terrible, and again, it sounds like maybe the chassis didnt change much and might still be bad. I drive a f150 supercrew 6.5’ bed with a 157” wheelbase and was astonished at how terrible the frontier turned. Tight parking lots were obnoxious and I really was thrown off by how small the truck was yet how bad the turn in was. I would not want that in the woods.

To be fair the F150 and Expedition have a really tight turning radius considering their size. My expedition is only just very slightly larger space needed in practical Uturns than my Subaru Outback which surprises me every few weeks lol.
It does really help when getting through tight areas.

 

[Overwatch21]

Just an update:

Located a ZR2 Bison for a good price. And also a 4Runner TRD OR Premium. Tough decision but I'm heavily leaning towards the ZR2 Bison. A guy bought one and returned it with 2,100 miles. He is wealthy and wanted something else. 6yr 100,000 mile warranty.

 

[Overwatch21]

It's a CPO on the Bison/ZR2. Better than new warranty. 6 years, 100k miles.

 

[deserteagle56]

Just an update:

Located a ZR2 Bison for a good price. And also a 4Runner TRD OR Premium. Tough decision but I'm heavily leaning towards the ZR2 Bison. A guy bought one and returned it with 2,100 miles. He is wealthy and wanted something else. 6yr 100,000 mile warranty.

The ZR2 look fine....but that whole series of trucks has an abysmal reliability rating. The Toyota is rock solid dependable.

 

[Overwatch21]

The ZR2 look fine....but that whole series of trucks has an abysmal reliability rating. The Toyota is rock solid dependable.

That is a concern, but honestly the reliability is hard to really know. One year it was top, next year at the bottom. You also have to consider why the ratings are lower. Often it is for little things.

 

[GA Native]

I have heard more than one person express regret after buying GM/Chevy products. Hard to beat Toyota.

 

[skrypj]

I have heard more than one person express regret after buying GM/Chevy products. Hard to beat Toyota.

I have heard of a LOT of people expressing regrets after buying the current Tacoma.

The 4Runner is a different story though.

 

[skrypj]

It's a CPO on the Bison/ZR2. Better than new warranty. 6 years, 100k miles. View attachment 657851

I have seen guys running 37's on the ZR2 with the AEV fenders. It would be a sick truck without a ton of effort.

AEV HighMark Fender Flares for Colorado ZR2 and Bison

Get the AEV Highmark Fender Flares for your Colorado ZR2 and Bison. These durable fender flares open up the front and rear wheel wells substantially.

www.aev-conversions.com

 

[GA Native]

I have heard of a LOT of people expressing regrets after buying the current Tacoma.

The 4Runner is a different story though.

That is true. A lot of people seem to love or hate the 3rd gen (mainly how the automatic transmission shifts which is noticeably better but not perfect with software updates). I own a 2017 and 2021 Tacoma. The 21 seems smoother than the 17, but the 17 is fine after getting a software update covered under warranty. I am also not aware of any widespread major mechanical failures involving the 3rd gen Tacomas. Most complaints, again, involve shift patterns and minor issues such as a leaking rear cab taillight, problems after ill advised and executed lifts, paint occasionally bubbling, etc. Much of the complaints originated with the 2016s and were mostly resolved 2017 and onward. All of these are easy fixes and do not leave people stranded (outside of the early 2016's and faulty crank position censors which were replaced under recall and the current fuel pump recall that involves many Toyota models including the 4runner).

I also suspect a lot of Tacoma owners are first time truck owners and are not used to driving a truck and want the performance to be similar to a car. That being said, Toyota did not nail the 3rd gen Tacoma, but it seems to be much more reliable than Chevy/ GM products. My wife has a 2019 4runner. It is much better than the Tacoma as far as it quality and the engine/transmission combination. Given the choice between the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger, or the Chevy Colorado, I still think the Tacoma is of better quality and engineering.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

They had a rear axle recall early on for locking up at speed too.

I looked into a taco for awhile in 17, followed a taco group for awhile on FB. Stuck around long after I wrote the truck off for the comedy factor as a fly on the wall. Constant chatter if the newest update fixed the trans (general consensus as far as I know it never did as of when I left the group about a year ago) and people complaining about sub 20mpg fuel economy and subsequently getting eaten alive by the masses for complaining about the fuel economy of a 4wd truck.

Just nothing really to write home about and they didn't seem that much better thought out than anything else. Lots of weird excuses that people just eat up too to justify an outdated brand new truck. I didn't plan on lifting one if I got one but it struck me as weird the commotion you had to go thru to lift one correctly. The cab is in general poorly designed. The seat is like on the floor and the roof is too low but the rockers are high. I sat in a few and never mastered the art of falling into one. A guy has to like curl up so you dont hit your head while getting your legs pulled up at the same time getting ready to basically sit on the floor... just not a great plan for a sasquatch like me.

I did like the shallow bed which most guys don't like. A lot of people rag on it for "bed volume" but I like a bed that is actualy useable.

So combine a peaky V6 with a confused transmission with a horrible cab = no dice for me.

So I wrote the Taco off for a Ranger when it launched which has a far superior powertrain IMO (2.3 can actually get decent mileage when not making good useable power and the 10spd actually knew what it was doing) and was enamored with that until I entered the realm of rear facing car seats and then a slide in camper side quest last year finally killed the midsize plan for good. Now I am thinking '150/250... maybe 2500 Ram... I dunno.

Not a first time truck buyer by any means, I started out with my '85 in 2000 the same year I got my license. I have had my current F-150 dd since June of 2005.

Just my $.02

 

[Grassland]

Isn't taco still offered with a six speed manual? Or is that limited to certain trims?

 

[Buddha.]

We had 2016? taco v6 work trucks for a couple years. Never had a problem with them, didn’t notice any funny trans issues. They burned oil but they idled 24/7.
Not much low end power but what do you expect. I doubt the Colorado with the camaro engine is any different.

 

[rruff]

So I wrote the Taco off for a Ranger when it launched which has a far superior powertrain IMO (2.3 can actually get decent mileage when not making good useable power and the 10spd actually knew what it was doing) and was enamored with that until I entered the realm of rear facing car seats and then a slide in camper side quest last year finally killed the midsize plan for good. Now I am thinking '150/250... maybe 2500 Ram... I dunno.

Think you'd like the F150 with the 2.7l and increased payload option... don't remember what they call it. It isn't the HDPP with that engine, but still >1 ton payload.

Unless you want a bigger camper...