Overview & Reviews

Since its introduction in 1995, the Toyota Tacoma has been a mainstay of the compact and midsize pickup segments. The original Tacoma fell into the compact category, while the second-generation truck's 2005 debut marked the transition to midsize dimensions. Typical advantages to a new or used Tacoma include a variety of body styles to choose from, useful off-road abilities, strong resale value and a better than average reputation for reliability.

Downsides are few. Even when modestly appointed, this Toyota often costs more than competing trucks and prices are high on the used market as well. In addition, taller drivers might feel cramped inside the first-generation Tacoma's compact cab. Otherwise, the Toyota Tacoma is a very capable pickup that's highly recommended for nearly all truck shoppers.

User Reviews:

• 

  Tacoma 1998 4wd - 1998 Toyota Tacoma
  By Larry F - November 8 - 10:33 pm

  The ride is a bit rough but its a durable truck thats well suited for work or play. The Tacoma would be a bit of a drag as an every day driver. I do my own maintenance and can attest to the fact that this is a superbly designed truck.

• 

  Missing Nemo! - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By dirk diggler - November 7 - 11:23 pm

  I regret buying this truck... there are no real improvements in this truck compared to my 2005 Taco. I bought it on a whim. The cabin materials keep getting cheaper in quality. The steering will fatigue you after a while. It still has the drum brakes on back. The engine is now a 3.5 ltr vs a 4.0 from previous years therefore the engine revs higher to make power. Getting my old truck back.

• 

  Toyota 4 door - 2003 Toyota Tacoma
  By Toyman of San Diego - November 4 - 2:00 am

  I have always owned a Toyota and I know I am paying extra for this privilage! Tiyota will last for 150k to 200k miles with just an oil change! They are worth every penny!

• 

  I love my truck - 2000 Toyota Tacoma
  By Jordan - November 3 - 3:16 am

  This little truck is a beast, and more reliable than you can imagine. I bought it with 30k miles and have put 80k on it since. I have driven it all over Oregon and put it through its paces. I have taken it off road, put hours of stop and go traffic on the engine and loaded the bed with concrete and dirt with only one problem. The thermostat went out on a three hour trip to the coast. After I fixed the problem the truck has recovered just fine and has gotten the job done every time. It has 110k miles on it and the only thing I have ever had to do is change the lubricants, tires, and thermostat. Reliable. 18mpg winter/21 mpg city.

• 

  Best midsize truck on the market - 2007 Toyota Tacoma
  By Kyle - November 2 - 2:26 pm

  I have owned my 07 Tacoma for a year now and its the best vehicle purchase Ive ever made! It has great power, towing and offroad capability. It is a fun truck to drive on and off road. On the road it drives very smooth. The seats are comfortable and the cab has more room than any other midsize truck that I can think of. Its also Toyota so I know it will last me ages!

• 

  My Dream Vehicle - 2006 Toyota Tacoma
  By Gary (GEE) Duenas - November 1 - 9:10 am

  When I first saw this truck last year, I told my wife thats the Truck for me. 4 Door, Double Cab, Long Bed with a Hood Scoop even (TRD Sport Package). Beautiful Body style (Hardbody & Tuff) and of couse its a freakin Toyota (Bulletproof) Man! And it came in my Favorite Color: Dark (Indigo) Blue! It just needs to be Raised (at least 6") w/35" Tires (Suspesion lift & Wheels & Tires on Order), Put on Cold Air Intake Throttle Body Spacer, Tornado, JBA Headers, TRD Exhaust w/MangnaFlow Muffler, UniChip Computer Chip, GPS/CD & 8 Disc Changer System, DVD Headrest system and a Sunroof. Made it my Own!

• 

  Engineer who designed the key system is a moron! - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By Jack Kendrick - November 1 - 7:40 am

  Overall I am very happy with my Tacoma TRD Offroad. My decision came down to the Taco or the Colorado and while in some ways the Colorado beat the Taco, I was looking for a camping, off-road, rough country performer and I felt Toyota had a superior 4WD system and was overall a more rugged vehicle. It drives great and feels unstoppable and indestructible. The Colorado would have been my choice if I was looking for a work truck that would spend most of its life on pavement. The Tacoma is the best vehicle I have ever owned. That said, the remainder of this review is going to address my very low opinion of the key system for the 2016 Tacoma. I admit that I am a little anal about keys. I need a set, my wife needs a set and there must be an emergency set. So the day my Tacoma arrived I went to the service department and ordered an extra set of keys. In my opinion, the Toyota engineer who designed this abomination should be stripped of his engineering credentials and reassigned to Fukushima clean-up duty! The design is moronic and I get the impression it was cobbled together from unwanted bits and pieces of other Toyota vehicles. And God help you if your ever need to order a duplicate set! It takes no less than THREE (3) keys to fully operate the Tacoma. Ive never heard of a vehicle that required 3 different keys to operate. There is one key for the tail gate. All it does is unlock the tailgate. It is just a simple mechanical lock. Toyota does not even bother to give you an extra one; they just give you only one key. If you order a spare key you are in for a surprise. The key blank is a $30 chip key but the CHIP DOES NOT DO ANYTHING because the lock is just a simple mechanical lock. So instead of selling you a $3 blank they sell you a $30 blank with a worthless chip in it. But at least these keys can be cut locally at your dealer. I actually got this key the same day which is far better than I did with the other two keys. The doors and ignition keys need to be special ordered and they dont come quick. I pity the poor fool who loses his keys because you might not get into your vehicle for two weeks while you wait on Toyota to pull their head from the nether regions and actually come up with a replacement. It is really two keys: an electronic proximity fob and a laser-cut mechanical key which stows cleverly inside of the fob. They cost about $150 dollars EACH which is beyond obscene and totally unnecessary. To add insult to injury, the fob costs an additional $55 to program. The fob can lock and unlock the doors with a push of a fob button or if it is in close proximity allow the key-holder to unlock and lock the drivers door by swiping the drivers door handle which is pretty neat but I bet I will be cursing that thing when it fails about 20 years from now. The fob also is needed to start the vehicle and must be in proximity (your pants pocket works) of the push button start which looks to be a leftover from a Prius. The fob is what you would give to a valet attendant and pray to god he does not lose that nearly priceless piece of hardware. I finally got my extra fob about 10 days after I ordered it. Thank goodness I was not locked out of my vehicle! The mechanical laser cut key can unlock the drivers door (nice if the battery is dead), and can also unlock the glove box. You would retain this when you gave the fob to the valet attendant which is clever. But why, Why, WHY could the witless Toyota engineer not design the tailgate to use this same key? How stupid is that? And what advantage is there to this laser cutting technology where a customer in Wyoming has to wait for a key to be cut at enormous cost in Battlefield Missouri? I am failing to see or appreciate the $150 of added utility over a simple $3 mechanically cut key that I could get made in 5 minutes any hardware store locally. Three weeks after ordering, I am still waiting for my replacement key. The first one was completely the wrong blank. It was too wide to fit in the fob or the lock. The 2nd one was cut from the correct blank and fit in the fob and the door lock but was cut with completely the wrong pattern and now I am hoping that about a week from now (a month total), the third try will prove to be the charm. My local parts guy showed me the orders that he had sent in and he was ordering the right thing. It is Toyota in Battlefield that is apparently incompetent. If a set of keys is so expensive and hard to obtain, it sets off some alarm bells. I just hope that this truck does not break very often because apparently Toyota parts are both dear and scarce and their parts process is sub-standard!

• 

  I love my Toyota - 1995 Toyota Tacoma
  By jackie - October 30 - 11:40 pm

  I bought this truck in 98 with 37k miles. I have 153k on it now. Had to replace the shocks, the brakes twice and battery. Low cost vehicle with great zip and I average 26 MPG on hwy and 23 in the city. Starts up everytime, I just love this truck! I am glad to read that people have over 200k with no problems as well. Cant find a better truck out there.

• 

  Nice truck - 2007 Toyota Tacoma
  By Neil - October 30 - 1:56 am

  I got stuck in a 3 foot puddle - my girlfriend called it more of a lake - at 2000 miles; thank goodness the electronics are mounted high and most have water proof connectors. It dried out well and has given me no problems. I like the truck more now than before I bought it. It still has tuff truck pedigree. It is also one of the quietest trucks I have ever ridden in on the highway.

• 

  no one told it it was a truck - 2016 Toyota Tacoma
  By John Scull - October 27 - 4:41 pm

  First off as I still have my 14 year old Ranger, there has been a learning curve, a big one. First off love the truck, and it is easy to enjoy. Used it for work the first week I owned it and while it was not as easy to do the job as it was in the Ranger it filled in well, and had no problems. Truck rides nicer than the Ranger and is gawd awful quick compared to the Ranger. While the Ranger ride is very truckish, the Tacoma is much smoother and is much more comfortable. I am still learning all the bells and whistles, but I find a lot of them very useful. the climate control system took some getting used to, but does its job very well. I am not impressed with the Sirius System and could very well live without it. In fact I will be cancelling g it shortly, as it is so limited in choices. Have not had to use four wheel drive much so far, but when I did it was flawless, and easy to use. Little bit fuel hungry, but this is off set by performance. No one told my truck that it was a pick up truck, as it loves to whoop up on those pesky lil Beer Can Racers, the ones that are souped up mini cars, which is kinda fun. While not as powerful as the Mustang 5.0 I liked, it will get you in big ticket area rel quick. I am also impressed by it have a class 4 towing package. Over all very pleased with mine.