[engineer]
You may consider making a simple spreadsheet, itemizing and weighting your priorities, and see what floats. Some things like MPG are easy numbers, others like seat comfort will be more subjective (1-5 scale is usually helpful). The safety aspect is conveniently converted to some semi-objective numerical device for you by the NHTSA. Just a thought.
[/engineer]
On the other side of the coin, not all vehicle purchasing decision points are completely rational. I just spent ~$50K on a diesel Bison. Was there solid rationale? Yup. Were all elements of the rationale rational? Noop. It's the most common letter in the English language, but sometimes it makes a huge difference...
I used to go through a lot of cars. I averaged about two a year (I always netted a few hundred to a few thousand). I bought cars for other people, and far more would ask me for car buying advice. The first question I asked was always, "Before we get into anything, what are you leaning toward?" Nine times out of ten, they just wanted validation. One woman asked me, and her answer was a Prius. I would never buy a Prius, but I understand the appeal. I offered her a variety of cars along the same general ethos just for consideration, but in the end she just wanted a Prius and wanted me to tell her it would likely get good gas mileage and be reliable. The reality we inhabit provides a wide variety of safe, reliable automobiles. All of them will do you quite well. We're spoiled for choice. So, knee jerk, what truck do YOU like the most? Ceteris paribus, it'll serve you beautifully, and that's probably the one you should get. You stated at the start that the ZR2 was "leading the pack". It's a solid choice. You'll undoubtedly be very pleased with it. You've clearly given it a lot of thought, and maybe some over thinking could have colored that initial statement, but if you knee jerk want a Tacoma, maybe give it a really good hard look. Sometimes those irrational decision points make the car more reliable in the long term because you're more likely to want to be with it long term and more willing to put in the work or the dollars to keep it going strong.
Just make sure you check the "big engine" box (or option package equivalent, since I think the Colorado is the only one that even gives you an engine option). That's the one that maximizes resale. ;-)
