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Which Tacoma to get.

W

whitewolf365

2️⃣ Bronze
Hello,

I am in the market for a new Tacoma. The reason I’m posting is for advice on which model of Tacoma to purchase.

I have been doing my research on tacomas. It seems, I could be mistaken, I can simply get a base 4X4 model and upgrade it down the road to my specifications. I just don’t know if it would be worth it to buy a more expensive model like the Pro and get all the bells and whistles or just an SR5 4x4 and mod it the way I want.

I will be using the car as a very limited daily driver (once a week maybe) but I would like to use the truck for off roading and overlanding. I would like the truck to be able to handle most terrains without too much difficulty.

As many of us out there I am not loaded so price is a variable. I love the new 2019 Tacoma Off road in the Calvery blue, but as of now they are too expensive. Is it better to wait it out and get the 2019 or get a Tacoma a few years older and mod it?

Any help would be appreciated
 
whitewolf365 said:
Hello,

I am in the market for a new Tacoma. The reason I’m posting is for advice on which model of Tacoma to purchase.

I have been doing my research on tacomas. It seems, I could be mistaken, I can simply get a base 4X4 model and upgrade it down the road to my specifications. I just don’t know if it would be worth it to buy a more expensive model like the Pro and get all the bells and whistles or just an SR5 4x4 and mod it the way I want.

I will be using the car as a very limited daily driver (once a week maybe) but I would like to use the truck for off roading and overlanding. I would like the truck to be able to handle most terrains without too much difficulty.

As many of us out there I am not loaded so price is a variable. I love the new 2019 Tacoma Off road in the Calvery blue, but as of now they are too expensive. Is it better to wait it out and get the 2019 or get a Tacoma a few years older and mod it?

Any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...
Great question i dont think a lot of people ask. The SR5 is a good model, id say the only thing it lacks is the rear locker. If you spend just a little bit more for an offroad you can get n electric rear differential locker that can really save your ass in certain scenarios. If all youre looking for is a basic 4x4 id definitely say the SR5 would be a good way to go. If youre planning on doing a lot of offroading or overlanding where you may be alone, it may be nice to have something like an E-locked rear diff that could potentially get you out of situations where a non locked rear diff could not. The Pro is very over the top for not much more, considering you would want to just upgrade from a more basic model like suspension tires etc. I bought a pro myself because at the time i wouldnt think id upgrade it as much as i have especially suspension, but my needs changed and now i realize i could have just gotten away with a TRD Offroad.
 
If I could throw my hat in the ring, I purchased a 2016 Sport 4x4, not having any knowledge of the differences at the time. I'm with Malcolm when I say I didn't think I was going to upgrade as much as I have, but that is always something to take into consideration. Overall, I have been extremely happy with my Sport, and haven't encountered any scenarios where a rear locker was needed. If I was to go back with the knowledge I have now, I think the Offroad would be the way to go. I still love my truck and the Sport has been amazing for what I do.
 
I know a lot of taco owners who built and off-road with sports. I'd say it's good to have as many tools that fit your budget in case so stuff happens. I think knowledge and experience for offroading is more important and probably some intestinal fortitude helps a bunch.
 
As stated, the main difference between the models is having or not having a rear locker. The rear locker is extremely handy and if you choose a model that doesn’t have one and intend to use the truck often for overland and rock crawling, you’ll probably end up installing one yourself.

That being said, choose the truck that has the best setup according to your personal preferences. Since you’re probably not gonna custom order one, the ones on the lot will have different configurations. If you really want a certain color, maybe start looking at ones in that color. If they have one with a rear locker and without, compare the price, compare the other options (sunroof, upgraded sound, bed size) and kinda go from there. It would suck to feel like you need to settle for a truck because of one thing when everything else about it is not how you wanted it.
 
Thanks for the reply’s. I’ll have to do a little more research. I was leaning toward the OR model but wasn’t sure if it truly mattered down the road for the extra features. I guess I would end up putting the same amount of money into to add what I’d want as a OR model from a dealer.
 
I bought the Sr5 with the plan of building it the way I wanted and save thousands at first. I still feel the same way with the exception of wanting to do some off-roading now instead of when I start upgrading. If your patient you can do the same. I wasn’t planning on starting upgrading to offroad for a year or so but now I’m itching to get back out (since selling my Jeep) lol. I would however have bought a Calvary blue TRD if there was some on the lot at the time of my purchase. Good luck to ya!
 
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