SDR: Tacoma V6 Prerunnner

We have a '10 Tacoma V6 (not prerunner) and me being a kid I have to sit in the back. Its alright for room with me behind the passenger (knees in seat and passenger has knees in glove compartment) and my little brother gets squished behind my dad in the back of the drivers seat. If your kids are small or the driver (you Im guessing) is not too tall then it should be good. It does get 20 on the highway - less in town of course. When towing it is gonna lose gas mileage too - we tow our 19 1/2 ft fiberglass Seasport and it strains to tow that thing. I would reccomend getting more than the 5 1/2 ft bed because it does make a difference compared to our previous truck (Dodge Dakota with 6 1/2 I believe) but it is a great truck other than I am usually crammed in when I dont yell shotgun fast enough...

However - if youre kids are bigger (Im 6 ft and theres barely enough room for me and my older brother who is 5'9 to sit in front/in back of each other. Little brother is 5'3ish and gets crammed behind my dad who is ~6 ft.) I would look at getting the Highlander or Sienna - I think there may be enough towing power on both of those to tow 2000 pounds too.

Just a thought for the future...
 
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As a HUGE side note, my mother sold that boat for exactly 2K on about her 35th call on the boat. Thanks a million for the advice!!!!!
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I will pm you my address so you can send me the commission. :)

BTW: 4 door, 2wd, v6 Tacoma is what I am referring too. Really dont need 4wd down here. [/QUOTE]


Yes, then don't get the Pre-runner, just a Base or SR5 2WD.
 
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I'm 5'9" and my wife is maybe 5'2", and the kids will be about the same height as me when grown, so no tall peoples in our family!

Yep, the Highlander definately has the towing capicityand the Sienna with the V6 does also. But they also both have alot more inside cargo room. Downside is that I dont mind throwing a couple of bags of wet decoys (or topsoil, or plants, coolers of fish, etc....) into the back of a truck but into the minivan, welll, gonna need a cargo liner!
 
I have a 2010 Tacoma crew cab (4-door) with the TRD off-road package. I believe the cab is the same as the 4-door Prerunner. Not real spacious, but my kids say its larger than my old Chevy Colorado, and the seatbacks are more comfortable (not as upright). Pros: the rearview camera is awesome for hitching up a trailer; the locking rear differential can be a trip saver when launching on a soft beach or frozen ramp; it has plenty of power for towing a duck boat; and the turning radius is almost as good as a Jeep. Cons: the gas mileage is no where near what's advertised (I get about 17 mpg and I don't have a lead foot); and I have had a number of quality control/recall issues. Seems like everytime I have a problem the service guys says "yeah, all Tacomas do that. We've got a fix kit for it." (Which of course he then has to order. After a while it gets old.) Given the poor mileage, if I had to replace it tomorrow, I'd probably go with an F-150.
 
Carl,

I have a 2010 tacoma 4WD. It's been a great truck so far. I get 19-20mpg (average in-town and highway).
Mine has a "firm" ride and I would say average space in the back seat area. I'm mostly keep the seats down.

Mine has the rear locking rear end and for me in Nebraska and the sandy areas the rear locking rear-end is almost a must.
 


Downside is that I dont mind throwing a couple of bags of wet decoys (or topsoil, or plants, coolers of fish, etc....) into the back of a truck but into the minivan, welll, gonna need a cargo liner!

Could always throw down a couple seats and put a tarp in or something. But that is a downside.
 
Thanks for all the responses, I appreciate it!
Whatever I get, I'll make sure to post pics!
 
Carl,

I will throw this into the mix.

Truly, is this vehicle going to be more of a people mover or a duck/boat towing/killing machine?

Vans are nasty in many ways, however....they hold more people, are more comfortable for longer trips with kids, they actually have more cargo space, they ride nicer. They get better gas milage (usually). For all intense purposes, they are better vehicles than most other options. But they are "just a van"

but how often do you really tow a boat?

Truly need the box of a truck?

That Van pulls better than you think and most duck boats even with all the gear you can hold in them, usually is less than 2000 pounds and unless you are towing over 30 minutes, will do more than fine.

Bought wife a van, picked up a used Ford Exploder with 4wd (need that up here) for hauling the boats. We use the van 50 times more than the Ford. comfort is no comparison.

sure I still dream of getting the big, full sized truck, but with 2 kids in private high school and college looming...this just works for us.

food for thought.
 
Keep the Ford for hunting, and get the Sienna for family rides. It is always worth it to have both options. ( I drive a 08 Tundra to tow and hunt, but a Sienna to fish and through the summer) The Sienna will get significantly better mileage, and is a decent ride/drive.

Hutch
 
Add my experience if you don't mind.

I looked at the Taco's for quite some time before buying the new Jeep - loved them. Before the vehicle I presently have, I owned a Dodge Dakota quad cab with the V8 motor. This vehicle was quite a bit roomier on the inside than the Tacoma and had a ride very similar to a nice car. Built on a frame and never had anything major on it go wrong. Drove it for almost 100,000 miles.

Downside was that gas mileage sucked. As hard as I tried, everyday driving was 13 tops. highway driving I once got 20 and that was when I really paid attention to it. Winter driving the mileage sucked but you won't have that problem down where you live.

It was a great vehicle. Sold mine last September (2003 model) for $9,500 with 98,000 miles. Something to consider

Mark W
 
Thanks for all the responses, I appreciate it!
Whatever I get, I'll make sure to post pics!
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What about a Subaru? Quality vehicles, would do what you need it to, several of the guys here have them and are happy AND it isn't a minivan!
 
We were orginally looking at Subaru's. But the increase in space & cargo room vs. what we have not know is not enough. If I am going to give up having a truck, we need more cargo room. Which is one reason I like the Sienna better thanthe Highlander.
 
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