My first car when I got my license! I absolutely love this truck. Plenty of power from the standard 4-cylinder engine, smooth automatic transmission, and GREAT gas mileage, about 25 miles to the gallon on the highway depending on driving conditions. My radio and auxiliary/iPod hookup both started having problems and were replaced under warranty. Apparently a lot of 2010 model year Toyota vehicles have had problems with the stereo system. Have not had any problems with new stereo. The blower motor for the heater and A/C started making a noise in late 2010 that got worse over time, and the Toyota dealer replaced it under warranty just 4 days prior to me writing this review. When the truck was brand new back in 2009, there was a problem whenever the automatic transmission was put into park. Sometimes it would lock properly and the vehicle would "think" it was still in drive or reverse and roll forward or backward. This was also fixed by the dealer under warranty and there has not been a problem since. In my opinion, it is not the little things like this that make a vehicle good or bad. The truck is extremely reliable and has not had any problems with the drivetrain (engine, transmission, etc), and it is also an extremely durable little truck. Despite being a 2-wheel drive, my truck does okay in mud and other messy conditions. I would NOT take it off-roading, but the traction control combined with superior engineering make it adequate in mud, water, and snow.
The air-conditioner in my Tacoma is very powerful and blows FREEZING COLD. It performed flawlessly during all the summer 2011 heat waves we had. The heater will roast you out of the cab and if you hold your hand close to the vent when it is on full blast you will just about burn your hand!
For a base model truck, my Tacoma has an adequate stereo system. It has an AM/FM CD/MP3 player with 4 speakers and a handy auxiliary plug-in for my iPod. The speakers are not very good and I sometimes have to turn the volume on full blast to hear the song. I plan on upgrading the speakers in the future with more powerful aftermarket units. This is pretty easy to do, so the speakers do not influence my overall rating of this truck.
The only thing I truly HATE about my 2010 Toyota Tacoma is that it DOES NOT have variable-speed intermittent windshield wipers. It just has 2-speed wipers with a "mist" function (basically just flicking the control stick manually every few seconds during a drizzle), and a windshield washer. You do not realize how much you take intermittent wipers for granted until you've driven in a light rain without them! Even worse is that I did not even realize my truck didn't have this feature until TWO DAYS after we bought it! Apparently you have to get the "preferred convenience package" or something like that, which includes several other options like cruise control and drives the price up considerably. Even for the 2012 model year, the regular cab Tacoma is not available with intermittent wipers. According to a Toyota salesman I talked to, intermittent wipers are option on the 4-wheel drive regular cab, but not available on any 2-wheel drive regular cab. My neighbor has a 2010 Toyota Tacoma V6 4x4 extra cab with power windows and locks that did not even come with intermittent wipers! Anyway, this is all a matter of preference. To some people it does not matter if their car has intermittent wipers, and to some it does. I've started to get used to it (though I still plan on putting in intermittent wipers sometime in the future), but I just wanted to educate those who want to buy a new or used Tacoma about this fact before they decided to make a purchase.
Except for the lack of intermittent wipers, I love the Toyota Tacoma and would absolutely recommend it to nayone looking for a compact pickup truck!…
Has been a very dependable vehicle.
By Kent | on Thursday, January 26, 2012
5.0
Minimal cost to maintain. Very reliable with decent mpg. Smooth ride and very comfortable to drive. Tows a large tent trailer without hesitation. Holds four adults comfortably.…
great truck
By jw | on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
5.0
needed a bigger truck.... its been the best truck ive owned in my lifetime.…
