I originally went to a dealer to buy a 2021, knowing it’s deficiencies, especially for a 6ft tall person. I didn’t like the way that particular vehicle drove, as I was leaving and telling the salesman that I didn’t like that truck, the GM overheard and told me I should try the “new” tacoma. I drove it and bought it on the spot. It made everything better that was wrong with the prior gen to me.
We should keep in perspective that these trucks are part physical object, part marketing theater, and part personal vision of usage and capabilities. The reality of living with any of them post purchase is often disappointing in one way or another. All the mpg threads on every forum is an example of that. Like you bought a heavy brick shaped vehicle and you’re disappointed with the mpg? Lol. The mpg on the maroney has never been close to accurate, why would it be so now?
Personally, I’m very satisfied with the TRD OR Premium spec. It’s much more than I went to the dealer to buy and it ticks the boxes I care about. Power, good seating position and headroom, reasonable capability, and I personally like the bold, blocky, tactical, but also well laid out interior. I looked at the Chevy and Ford and found their interiors flaccid and boring in comparison. I think the only good looking competitors are the Ranger Raptor or the Trailboss/ZR2 trims. Their other trims are boring. Whereas the Tacoma looks good to me in all trims.
It’s easy to compare pricing and say the Ranger Raptor is a better deal, but in reality it’s not because every dealer marks them up 10k, so there’s really a price equity between the Raptor and TRD PRO/Trailhunter. As a long term reliabilty bet, I’m going with the Toyota’s all day long.
Of course, some folks would have written a similar post completely contrary to what I’ve written, but that’s why those other vehicles sell.
