For nearly two decades, the Toyota Tacoma has been the best-selling mid-size pickup truck in the United States. While there are several reasons people choose to buy a Tacoma; for my wife and me, it comes down to simplicity, reliability, and timing.
Until recently, we have been driving my faithful 1997 Toyota T100, which currently has around 235,000 miles. But, we road trip often and decided it was time to upgrade.
I decided to purchase the base model Tacoma SR 4×4 Double Cab with the TSS Off-Road Package. My wife insisted on the TSS Off-Road package (still an SR model with upgraded wheels, tires, running boards, and a few minor cosmetic additions).
We decided on a base model as we are fans of simple features like manually adjusted seats, parking brake, and the least amount of added electronics and components that could potentially fail in the future and add to expensive repairs.
Base model vehicles are also much cheaper to insure as they usually have the least number of features to replace. For our purposes, the Tacoma 4X4 SR offered everything we needed.
The 2023 Tacoma has a proven 3.5-liter V6 2GR-FKS engine that delivers 278 horsepower and 265 lb-ft of torque, with a towing capacity of 6,400 pounds (more than enough for towing our Aliner camper). We have plenty of power for our towing needs and feel comfortable towing on mountain passes with steep grades.
When I heard the rumor that Toyota was redesigning the 2024 Tacoma with a turbo engine, I knew I did not want to take a chance with a newly designed vehicle. I personally avoid buying cars in their first year.