Vehicular Mans Laughter

tacoma.

I have a base 04 Taco.

It is teh awesome.

why on Earth do you like the 5cylinder????????


the TRD blower is a nice add on, but its not the most reliable...same w/ Nissan's blower

tacoma

I have an '98 4wd 4cl, I get about 23~24 mpg highway. City isn't much worse. Not sure about when its in 4 tho - its lower, but not terribly lower.

the Colorado is a pile of poop!

Get the Tacoma or a Nissan.

the 5cyl sounds like its missing a cylinder. and performs just the same way too

I personally love my Colorado. I consistently get 22 MPG out of my 5cyl crew cab. More than enough power for my needs. I've never been a big fan of any Chevy product until last May, when I had my Jetta worked on, and the only vehicle available was a Colorado. Less than a week later, I traded the VW in for an 06 crew cab. I don't regret the purchase one bit.

I bought a '94 4x4 Toyota (pre-Taco) for $3k, put about $600 into it and it's a champ. I get about 20mpg on average and it goes EVERYWHERE.

My contractor-trailbuilder-mountain man buddy out in the interior of BC had a Colorado and was cursing it on a daily basis.

I'd recommend anything over a Colorado

Sandwich said:

any reason in particular to back that up?

Click to expand...

3 friends that bought Colorados;

1.) 2004 - Had problems with the top end. Need 1 head replaced and adjusted valves countless times. Went back to dealer for a 5.3 Silverado after a little over a year and half.
2.) 2004 - Things worked intermittently, chased electrical gremlins for a while. Unloaded, bought a 4.0 Ranger.
3.) 2005 - Lost all compression in one of the cylinders. Fixed head, didn't have problems with valves, unloaded, bought a 5.3 Sierra.

4 with Tacomas;
Other than bearings, and a misc sensor, have had zero real problems. All still have them. 1 threw away all the stock pieces and put a lift in. These are non-supercharged.

1 with Frontier;
Uses it as a fleet vehicle, no issues, passed it off to his newest employee, bought a Silverado last spring.

Previous company;
Used/use a fleet of 3.0 and 4.0 Rangers as the small trucks. A few had to have some external tranny sensors replaced after a few years, 1 didn't have the front bumper airbags sensors plugged in, was caught before any accidents.

4 with Rangers;
1.) Has a 186k with his 3.0, has replaced normal items including the tranny sensor.
2. + 3.) 4.0's not that old.
4.) Has a 4.0, built motor, gets kicks out of drag racing it, hasn't blown anything up yet.

I know 0 people with Dakotas.

I advise against the frontier, we have 2004 as a work truck, it's terrible. Approx 400kms to a tank(I think it's 70L), all highway. It rides terrible, and very underpowered.

I have an 09 taco, and it's amazing, I am a Toyota junkie though. 100% for the Taco.

Taco all day long. I have a 99 Tacoma v6 4x4 extended cab. I get 20 miles to the gallon across the board. I bought it brand new and to date the only problems have been a water pump at 74, 000 a starter at 80, a fuel pump at 86 and just recently a fuel pump again (cause I put a cheapo in the first time). This truck has not been driven nicely...it hauled a stump grinder for my tree business for a few years, has been in every bottom, holler and mudhole in 3 counties and 4 states. Just last Sunday I hauled 7 guys plus tools, chainsaws, brushcutters, etc to do some trailwork. This was down some old logging roads right after a snowmelt...that old girl never missed a beat and just grunted and pulled through ever hole we had to go through.






Convinced yet??

I have been very happy with my GMC Canyon. I get on average 24mpg. I just have the 2wd truck and it goes most places I need it to. There was a recall on early Colorado's/Canyons for the valve covers but it fixes the problems people had.

The truck has been very reliable and has made it through countless road trips. I have also against better judgment made the 30 mile drive home(twice) from the lumber yard with the rear sitting on the bumpstops.

I work with a guy that has a SC Taco. He has started having some issues with the truck but its at at least 125 000 miles and it been really abused. Its really not all that fast so I couldnt imagine how gutless it would be with out the SC. There arent many stock vehicles that will beat a yota off road though.

I have worked with someone with a Colorado and a Frontier. The Frontier was the most uncomfortable out of the three. I changed jobs and the guy with the Colorado changed jobs so Im not sure about how either trucks fared for reliability though.

If you re buying used go with what ever you can get a better deal on and purchase an extended warranty.

All I know is that used Toyotas are way overpriced. I spent 2 months truck shopping in the $3000 range. That gets you a gutless pile of rust in Toyota territory. I went with a 91 Silverado 4x4. The 350 V8 will easily pull the same lifespan of the 22R, but it actually has power. I found one with a manual tranny that should last the life of the engine. Parts cost about 1/3 the price of Toyota parts. I looked at small trucks, but I don't see the point. I don't want to have to borrow a truck to do the heavy jobs. I guess it made sense for me because I have a machine shop and everything is heavy in my trade. I borrowed a Ranger when I was moving and nearly killed it.

FWIW - My friend had a 2001 Taco TRD supercharged crew cab 4x4 V6 with 150k+ miles. It ran pretty good. The brakes were insufficient. It wheeled awesomely with the rear locker. It carried five guys OK. The bed was stupid small. Might as well buy a 4runner. The ext cab gives you a decent size bed for a small truck. He traded it for an FZJ80 Land Cruiser and doesn't regret it. He has an 86 chevy at his disposal for hauling duties though.

Toyota. I know you said you were looking at 00-04, you might also want to look at 96-00. I would shy away from the 3VZE v6 in the older ones though. This is coming from my experience, I've heard plenty of people who love that engine, but it just cost me a lot of money, and it didn't have much power. I just sold it yesterday actually.

The 3.4l v6 is an awesome engine. in the newer trucks.