Originally posted by Cuivienen
Pithy, I still need to buy a car because I have been lazy. Advice plox.
I settled on a full size pickup, but then I discovered that my garage wasn't long enough by 2 feet (wanted Crew Cab plus 6.5' bed). A smaller truck will fit, but I don't see the point of a dinky, useless bed and I can't not have a crew cab.
So now I am thinking just to get an SUV or maybe a Subaru or something. I want a 4x4 or AWD for shitty conditions (it snows a lot here and I live on a steep hill, so would prefer 4x4 so I can control the car better, but a good AWD would be fine too) to complement the FWD sedan I have that is plenty roomy. Don't really care about being able to haul stuff as I have resigned myself to the fact that I will need to rent a truck for that as I don't want to leave my vehicle outside.
The new Tacoma's are decent, though dated. It's a no frills truck that gets the job done, and you can get them in a variety of different bed sizes. The TRD Tacoma's are quite capable off road, they come with beefy, high dollar bilstein shocks, and they have a nice transfer case. You can also get them with a locking rear differential. They are one of the only trucks that you can still get in manual, but if you want to haul anything huge it's probably not the best choice. Their crew cabs can also be fairly large. They are also very reliable vehicles that have an old timey truck feel to them.
Colorado's have been getting good reviews, they have more power than the Tacoma's, they also have more options, and a nicer interior, though the taco's isn't bad by any means. I'm of the opinion that the Tacoma is the more capable vehicle off-road, especially if it is equipped with the TRD package. Driving dynamics wise the Colorado truck feels, and handles more like a passenger car than a truck.
Overall, I think the Tacoma is the sturdier of the two trucks. The Colorado is a unibody truck, which makes hauling and towing things a little more iffy. The Tacoma is a frame on body truck, that comes with a fairly beefy frame, it also has a huge metal plate protecting your oil pan and other components from getting destroyed if you were to come across some rough terrain. Maintenance is so easy that you can do it yourself, hell the oil filter is actually near the top of the engine, you don't even need to get under the truck to change the oil filter.
Essentially these right now are the only two new options (i guess Nissan frontier) that you have if you want a smaller truck. The F150s, Silverado's GMC Sierra's, Toyota Tundra's and Dodge Rams are all huge, bloated beast of a truck now. They all are around the size of an F250 from the 90s, if not bigger. Overall I think that the Toyota Tacoma has more utility than the Colorado, I also think it's better made, however I do think that the Colorado handles better, and also has more power. I personally, prefer the driving dynamics of the Tacoma, your impressions may be different. The Tacoma also has a large aftermarket that the Colorado can't even begin to compete with.
One last thought --- do not, and I mean do not go out and purchase a 2016 Tacoma until you hear what their reliability is like. They are completely changing the Tacoma, right now it's based on a tried and true drive train that has been around for awhile. In recent years Toyota has had some issues with their newer engines (not a problem for the 2015 Tacoma).
