My 2020 Toyota Tacoma recently crossed the 3 year old mark with 60,000 miles on it.
Yea I’ve put a lot of miles on it as a result of my cross-country travels with my mountain bike. So I figured it would be time to make a short list of pros and cons to offer insight to anyone interested.
My specific vehicle: 2020 Tacoma SR5, long bed (no 4wd)
I am very happy with my decision to get the 6′ long bed model as I am frequently hauling things. A 5′ bed is pretty short.
And here is my Tacoma in the backwoods of Oregon a couple months ago.
Pro: High Resale Value
Tacomas are consistently one of the highest rated residual value vehicles with estimated depreciation of 21.73% over 3 years. I paid $34,000 for mine and I just popped the truck with current mileage into the trade in offer at Carmax.com and got an offer for nearly $30,000. That’s pretty damn good! Not many cars on the road come close to that.
Pro: Reliability
Toyota is the most reliable manufacture according to ConsumerReports and I’ve had no problems with mine at all — no recalls or mechanical issues.
Pro: It’s Easy To Get In Tight Spaces
The small size of the Tacoma make it easy to move around in parking lots. I love that, because large vehicles in tight places is just an anxiety driving feelings.
Pro: Adaptive Cruise Control
I love this. The adaptive cruise control comes standard on all Toyota Tacomas at this point. There’s nothing better than just leaving the cruise on and staying a safe distance from the car in front of you.
Meh: Gas Mileage
I wasn’t sure whether to call this is a pro, or a con. I get 22 mpg during ordinary use. Sometimes more on the highway. Surprisingly even higher when driving in the mountains. But there are other trucks out there like the F150 with eco boost that get slightly better gas mileage and put out more power. Personally, I’m content with mpg of the truck.
Con: Backseat Is Small
Yes it does have 4 full doors but the back seat is noticeably small and uncomfortable relative to full size trucks on the market. At 5’8 my knees/legs are touching the front seats — I wouldn’t want to ride in the back seat for any length of time. That’s not a huge negative for me as I am rarely driving with more than 1 passenger but it’s also small for storage. With a full size truck I can 2 mountain bikes in their travel cases in the back seat. One being on the floor, the other on the seat.
Con: Tow Capacity Is Weak In Practice
My Tacoma has a tow capacity of 6,400 lbs which isn’t shabby, however when everything is hooked up and loaded down the Tacoma gets bogged down. I did briefly tow a trailer at just under 4,000 lbs and the vehicle seemed to struggle with it. The RPMS were high, it was constantly shifting, and the rear end was noticeably weighted down. If I were going to be regularly towing anything other than a light utility trailer, I’d opt for another vehicle.