'05 taco opinions

[TURNER]

ok so as much i hate to say it, my opinions of the new taco have gone from "growin on me" to "borderline loving them" got passed by a speedway blue DC today, TRD, thing was gorgeous, so now i ask:

do you like them?
to big?
to mall queenish?
worth the $$$?
would you wheel one?
any other thoughts to share?

im not gonna buy one obviously, but i thought this might be a good discussion to start just to see what everyone thinks

[jdanna]

I tought they are absolutly hidious, i have to say they have grown on me a bit. That said, i think they still are too big. The angled fender flares look too much like a chevy colorado. And i hate the new interior, i despise the kind of "gauge pod" thing it has going on.

On the good side, however, i think what toyota has really gotten right: Power outlets and bedrails in the back, 6 speed, more power, option for an overhead console (tho i still want them to bring back the sunroof) and mostly, SUICIDE DOORS. Thats the best thing that the 05s have going for them, i absolutly love that shit.

Yes, i would wheel one, but I wheel my stock 04 (yay bunny trails)
I still think the 04 is perfect in every way. I'll alwyas think mine looks massively better then the 05.

[Mike]

do you like them? Yes
to big? No longer a sport truck, but for the class, they are a decent size
to mall queenish? It would be a nice parts hauler/daily driver/family vehicle
worth the $$$? Considering its larger than Taco's of Past, I would say the pricing is fair.
would you wheel one? Absolutely not. I'm done beating the piss out of brand new trucks.
any other thoughts to share? Towing capacity is a bit low. I'd like to see it get a Towing capacity around 7k. Guy at the Takeover Towed his buggy with a new 05 D-cab. I juts wish Toyota will sell something that could Tow ~9k lbs. They are roomy and comfortable. The new design grows on you and the body has good contours. Gas Mileage is ok, but I think they spec for premium gas? All in All they are decent, even though they killed the Light Truck Line.

[TURNER]

i am also not a huge fan of the interior though i think it does go well with the new design, a more basic interior like the 3rd gens would just be weird

the fact that it is so big threw me off at first as well, i didnt (and still dont) like the fact that toyota has gone away from the light/compact truck, however i do enjoy the fact that toyota decided to do something new and they went for it, they didnt half ass it, they didnt "phone it in" so to speak, they made the motor trend truck of the year and they're selling like crazy

as far as looking like the colorados, at the first few glances of them side by side, thats what i thought as well. but if you really take a few minutes and look, the only similarity they share is the wheel wells, and on that note i dont believe GM offers as large of a tire as toyota does on their off road pakage. ive seen several new Z71 (or whatever that gay shit is called) colorados and the squared off wheel wells look really fuckin dumb with 28" tires. toyota did a much better job with the rest of the truck than GM did

[jdanna]

I agree with you on the towing thing, and i keep hearing all these rumors about how beastly and huge the next tundra is going to be. I would love to see a big (maybe diesel) Tundra. Unfortunatly, im betting the new tundra will share a lot of the chevy colorado styling of the 05 taco.

[jdanna]

toyota did a much better job with the rest of the truck than GM did

This is true. The colorado (and just about everything else gm is pumping out these days) looks like it was just hacked together on sombodys day off. Even if i dont like the 05 taco's styling, if you look at the way it all goes together, especially the way the inerior is built, at least it is of quality construction and fit. I may not like the way it looks, but its still built like a toyota truck.

I havent driven one yet, I'm thinking about heading down to the dealer and checking one out eventually.

[hecull]

do you like them? Yes, I think they're great trucks. They are what the Tundra should have been IMO.
to big? Yup. Toyota had the chance to have the only "mini" truck left, instead they went and made the Tacoma nearly as big as the "full size" Tundra
to mall queenish? No, I don't think so
worth the $$$? Yes, I think so. I think you get a whole lot for your money. Toyota's are more expensive anyway, but with everything that's been added, I think it's a fair price
would you wheel one?I never get tired of beating the crap out of new trucks :D Of course I'd wheel it, but I'd worry more about smacking rocks and trees with the larger size. As it is my pre-'05 D-Cab(or an X-cab) adds a lot of concern on trails made for ****s. It makes the fire roads go by quicker, but in the trail itself, I'd rather have something short and narrow.
any other thoughts to share? I bought my Tacoma 9/06/04. I knew the '05's were coming soon, and knew roughly what to expect with them. I did my research. I wanted a 4-door truck I could wheel. The '05 engine specs weren't official at that point, and had they been, I might have held off specifically for more horses with better economy. Plus, I assumed that they wouldn't have the six speed with a double cab, which, they did end up doing. Now I'm stuck with an auto. But, I knew the '05's were going to be quite a bit bigger, and I didn't and don't want or need the extra size. All the same, I'm very happy with my decision. I like the simplistic interior of my truck, I am much happier with the size of the pre '05, and the original Tacomas have been on the road almost 10 years with no major gripes from anyone. I really do like the '05 Tacos, I just had wheeling in mind when I bought my truck so the pre '05 made more sense. I love my truck and have no regrets at all
Kyle

[JasonCM]

do you like them? i love mine, I have a 4X4 Xcab 2.7, the 4 banger is no speed demon, but it pick up is really all i need and it cruises really nice on the highway.

to big? No, i've had mine right next to a bunch of the older ones, its really not THAT much bigger, i think it just looks bigger then it is, its not quite a compact, but damn you guys make it sound like a f-ing monster Truck.

to mall queenish? Hell no, i've beat the hell out of my truck so far, and it has taken it in stride, the interior is built solid, i looked at a lot of other trucks when i bought mine and toyota still has by far the best finish quality. The frontier might be a mall queen, but the new tacoma isn't just for show.

worth the $$$? The 4.0 is a whole new motor, which is among other things, one reason i didn't go with it. I don't know if its the best idea to buy a motor the first year its out, the 2.7 is basicly just the old motor with the VVT-i. I didn't get all the options so in turn the price wasn't insane, i couldn't justify paying for options i was going to replace anyway... (ie. e-locker for an ARB, or pretty rims and suspension for a real off road set up.)

would you wheel one? I do, not really hard, but its on it's way, and its doing well.

any other thoughts to share? There are still a few problems being sorted out by toyota, even more for the 4.0, of course like with any new truck the after market parts are coming along slowly. This is a not as new a truck as most people seem to think, this chasis has bee in the states as the Lexus GX470, and on the international market as the Land Cruiser Prado it has been tearing up the off road scene around the world including a previous dakar class win (of course they get the badass 3.0 Turbo diesel). Overall i think because of the increased size and power they are going to be more popular in the desert and other wide open areas.

[jdanna]

I would kill for a diesel taco. If you go to the toyota uk site, you can see how much cooler the overseas tacos are. Check it out, i downloaded the toyota uk brochure:

http://www.wjoe.tv/~jdanna/hilux.pdf

styling is a bit different, but i think it looks great. and you can get it with black leather, and freakin blue gauges that look *awsome*. and since its right hand drive, i bet you can actually see the clock.

More importantly, its a diesel, and you can still get it with that awsome marty mcfly rollbar from the factory!

Only problem is that they dont offer the Xtracab in any 4wd configurations (i dont think)

[toyotanuts]

to big for me
need something like old fj-40 to make me happy :D
pretty much a **** unlimited rubicon with a toyota emblem and a 3.4 s.c..