F-150 vs 2005 & Up Tacoma's?
 

Has anyone here came from a 2005 & up Tacoma DC 4x4 to a F-150 CC 4x4 or vise versa? I'm wanting to get a truck with 4 doors and would prefer to stay with a Ford, but I'm worried about gas mileage in a F-150 CC 4x4 compared to a DC Tacoma 4x4. The Tacoma would haul anything I would ever need to do, so I don't really need the extra towing capacity of the F-150. The extra interior room and larger (deeper/wider) bed would be nice occasionally though. I'm looking at 2006-2008 models, a FX4 or Lariat would be nice, but I'd like to find one still within warranty and keep the price as close to 20k max as possible. Opinions?

I personally really like the Tacomas also but i have never owned one. The Tacomas are usually so over priced though that you should be able to get into a bigger nicer F-150 for the same price.

tacoma was my top choice heres a few reason why i didn't get one:
1) price, like $1000 more for the tacoma i wanted
2) wanted a v8
3) f150 is much roomier

positive of the taco:
1) fast, about equally as fast as a 5.3 chevy
2) i like the looks
3) pretty well built, friend ragged the hell out of his 05 and it still drove great, he did destroy his whole front suspension jumping it tho

negatives:
1) interior (dash, and plastics) looked cheap
2) seats in the TRD packages were nice, base models i didn't like

gas mileage if i remember correctly my friend said he got 15-16mpg
with a programmer you can get or close to 15 city with a f150, i have seen 18.5mpg with my 35's on the interstate going 65, dad gets about 20 average going 75ish with his stock 5.4 with a programmer (gryphon)

you will be much happier being in a bigger safer vehicle and its much more roomy and there are many more options on the ford

if you are worried about MPG, don't get the Taco. they get the same mileage as the F-150 does.

anybody saying the Taco gets better than 15-16 mpg with mixed driving is full of crap...and you'd be lucky to get near 18 mpg highway. that V-6 doesn't have enough gumption to get it going without alot of throttle, and the gearing leads to higher RPM's at highway speeds

not to mention that the Toyotas are a royal PITA to modify in the drivetrain department.

IMO, why not go with a real truck and have a V-8 motor.

Keep the good & the bad coming guys-real world experience with each truck is what I'm needing the most at this point. I've read a lot of posts on this site & Toyotanation.com on the F-150 vs Tacoma debate. All the Tacoma guys coming from F-150's claim 12 MPG out of their 5.4 SC 4x4's and 18-20 MPG out of their Tacoma's. I'm just trying to set the record straight before making a purchase.

I have never had a Taco, but I have ridden in one a couple of times. They seem like pretty good little trucks. But they are little, I am 6'4" and I felt cramped in the front seat, were as there is alot of room in the front of the F150. As for 5.4L mileage, I average 15 mpg with mixed driving and I have seen over 20mpg on a long highway trip once and over 19 a couple different times.

I would say get a F150, mileage will be about the same and you will have more room in the cab and in the bed.

funny, considering I've got the heaviest version of the F-150 you can get and I'm supercharged to boot and I get about 13 mpg with 100% city driving and plenty of heavy pedal action :thumbsup:



btw, I think that is the problem. You need to cruise another forum or 2 about the Taco.


Toyota and Honda drivers are usually fanatics. I love my Fords, but I'll admit they got some issues.

A Toyota driver can be sitting on the side of the road with a dead vehicle and will refuse to admit it broke down. They are crazy about those things...I don't get it

My city mileage doesn't get much over 12.5, and I don't drive hard. On the highway, it creeps up to 15, but just (4x4 Crew Cab 5.4L).

I don't buy full size V-8 powered trucks for gas mileage though, its not going to be good no matter how you slice it.

I actually looked at a Taco though...way too small for me inside, but I've got a family of 4 to haul around, so the cab needs to be roomy for me.

My buddy has an 06 taco supercab and he says he gets 14 mpg on a good day. So if you think you'll be getting better mpg with a taco, you're wrong. He has the 3.4 (I believe) with the 6 speed manual. He has 285's on there tho, and I have the same size tire and I pull minimum 15 city and 17-18 highway, and since I just got my truck a couple of months ago I'm not easy on the pedal.

I like the way they look but they're horribly overpriced and they're too small for a big guy like me(I'm 6'4")

On the flipside from what I've seen his taco is decent off road and it fits in trails where I get pinstriped.

Interesting Read: I may have an answer for that question come July. I am an mechanical engineering student and I recently took a job with Toyota Manufacturing. I love Ford trucks, but I might be letting my F150 go for a Tacoma. Nothing wrong with my truck, but probably will let it go so I have something else to mess with. I think the Tacomas are solid trucks, but do not know how you can compare a mid size to a full size f150.

Please don't flaim me for working for Toyota. I have worked with GM last summer as well. All these companies makes capable trucks. I would kill to have a job with Ford when I graduate, but I have to go to who's hiring. Funny thing is even with the economy, once Toyota found out I worked with GM, they pretty much hired me on the spot. Toyota is going to reap all the knowledge that I learned from GM, and GM loses all the money they paid me this summer. And everyone wonders why they can't make it?

I am going to an auto show in Saint Louis where they are supposed to have an offroad track to test drive the fj's and tacomas. If I get the opprotunity I will let you know.

jrbhc8

Here's where the taco failed in my book(esp me being 6'6" tall):
1. Too dang narrow. I felt cramped in the shoulders and hips
2. The taco uses a darn plastic bed instead of metal. WTF? Go look and tap on one and see how cheap and fragile this has to be. Made for carrying the trash to the dump.

Came from a 2007 Tacoma Double Cab PreRunner long bed. After 20K miles, the tranny failed. Not saying this is typical, but dealing with Toyota service was a nightmare. To boot, they would not extend my warranty after replacing the tranny. So I drove back to my original Ford dealership and traded it in. I will say I got a really good trade in amount for it. LOL. As far as mileage was concerned, I was getting about 17MPG on average. I bought the Tacoma DC after trading in my SCab F150. Should've gone strait to the SCrew. Oh well my wife can never say I didn't try a Japanese vehicle ever again!

that's exactly why I don't own a Toyota anymore :beers:

had a 4Runner in 2004 that the tranny was going out on. Toyota refused to fix it under warranty. Even went so far to void my entire warranty because I didn't change the timing chain at 60,000 (64,000 total miles).


the vehicle itself was really fun offroad. no complaints about it other than the 15 mpg I got no matter what I did. If they had fixed as they were supposed to, I would still have it

i say ford.. leave the tacomas for the chicks.
oh and tylus.. i had a honda, zero complaints :thumbsup:
http://i39.tinypic.com/e8lv5s.jpg
getting one again in a couple of months :rocker:

different strokes for diff folks...I personally prefer american muscle, but I can at least appreciate what that car is capable of. :beers: