Powerful 6 cylinder v type engine
21 mpg (holds about 18 gallons)
about 175 to 225 horse power
Automatic Disconecting Differentials
Push button rear differential lock
Clutch start cancel (use ignition to get unstuck)
H2-H4-L4 gears (top speed is 103-103-45 respectivly)
Aluminum wheels
An attractive and sporty design inside and out
Cruise Control

For the interior-
Roomy extended cab
Hidden storage space under the foldaway bucket seats
extra foldaway cupholder for rear passengers
passenger side airbag (disable feature)
two extra 12v power outlets
CD/tape/am/fm radio
power locks, windows, and AC
Very reliable

a few squeaks
a poor speaker setup and cd player needs cleaning
(alot if off roading)
doors don't stay open on an incline

About $25,000
We got this truck right before a huge blizzard in october of 97 and 4 feet of snow didn't stop it. I pulled many people out of ditches (on icy road without chains in L4) Many features that have been layed out nicely to give the truck a fun sporty look. The engine displays its masive power when you push it and with at least a foot of stock ground clearence nothing can stop it. This truck is the funnest vehicle I have driven compared to a 1998 and 1985 Honda Accord, 1998 and 1980 Honda Civic, Ford Explorer, and a 1986 Honda nighthawk (motorcycle).

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None

mechanically superior to other similar models, high resale value, powerfull.

Doors will not stay open if parked on an incline; get ready for a bruised leg if your hands are full. You don't get as many features for your money as other compact trucks.

This is my 4th Toyota pickup. I keep trading up to models with more features. My first was a base two wheel drive with no options; it survived a lot of abuse and kept going. The next one was a 4x4 extra cab with a 4 cylinder engine; it was the only vehicle for blocks that would start on frozen Colorado mountain mornings. The next was a 4x4 extra cab with a 6 cylinder; it was driven over 40,000 miles a year for three years, and still operated as good as the day I bought it. The current 2000 model is a 4x4 extra cab 6 cylinder automatic with power everything and too many options. I'm looking forward to taking it to Moab for a little fun this spring. All of the previous 4x4's I've owned performed very well offroad WITH NO MODIFICATIONS. The on demand four wheel drive is great for snow covered passes; no more pulling over to lock the hubs. I've been able to navigate muddy logging roads that full size 4x4's couldn't (which meant that I had to haul all the chainsaws and other equipment!). I get fair mileage, 16 mpg in the city and about 22 mpg on the road.

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Nissan, S-10, Ranger, Mazda (all test drives)

good gas milage for a 6 cyl. roughly 19/22 mpg, aftermarket products ava., from TRD, which do no void the factory warranty (super charger, headers, cat back system, and the list goes on), ava in 4X4 or 4X2 (they look eactly the same and handel about the same too), and another stregenth of owning a tacoma is
http://www.tacomterritory.com
national club for tacoma owners. check it out and join a local chaper in your area.

the tires that come with the TRD Package Goodyear GSA's they suck big time!!!! upgrade them to some BF KO's or MUDS!!!

i've thrown 12,000 miles on this truck in 6 mos, not one problem, it handles great and its power is un comparable to any other v6 out there. my truck a 4X2 (prerunner) is built on a 4X4 chasis. looks exactly like a 4X4 and acts like a 4X4 too. only thing it lacks is the front diffrential. being that its a 4X2 it is cheaper in price, cheaper to maintain, and insurace is much cheaper also. bottom line if you want a 4X2 truck that acts like a 4X4, but can't afford a 4x4 the TACOMA PRERUNNER IS THE WAY TO GO! no other truck (4X2) can compare to the prerunner. somethings to keep in mind about a PRERUNNER an ava. off road package, with rear electric locker, no other truck out there offers a locker. and its bigger brother the TACOMA 4X4, exactly the same except for the front front diffrential. is a proven off road machine in its self.

p.s. i had to knock off a star in the over all rating due to the sorry ass good year GSA tires. :)

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my first truck ever, use to own a 78 toyota corolla, then a 1991 crx, i put 180,000+, on the corolla and no major problems, the honda crx 173,000 miles and many major problems!!!

This is a follow up report from about a few months back.

Well, this truck is awesome. Some faults, but still awesome. Feels like a small block v-8 under the hood. Power delivery very smooth and almost scary at higher rpm. Torque felt like the F-350 ford I use to drive as a work truck. Off road handling just awesome. Looks just like a truck should. Docile yet agressive. If you think its cute just stomp the gas and have it push you into your seat.

Gas gauge defective. Slight vibration of steering wheel at 60-70 mph. Terrible gas mileage (10 to 15 mpg at speeds of about 60-65). Slight hesitation at full throttle bursts at about 4500 rpms. Probably fuel cuts warning me that i'm pushing the supercharger a little too much.

I suggest that you buy one right away. If you can afford the supercharger, get it. If you can't afford the gas( it takes 92 octane only) then go without it. Plain v-6 pulls extremely hard for a sixer. One of the fastest pickup truck at the 0-60 challenge. Even beat out a supercharged Nissan Frontier. Imagine what the supercharger would do for you. Just an extra 70 horses under the hood until you put on headers, intake and exhaust. Then try close to 300. C'mon you full size Chevys and Fords. Off roading on light rocky roads a dream and crawling over spiky lava fields are a breeze with the locking diff. My lift is going on soon. Not too extreme just a 4 inch with 33's. Gas is going to kill me. Probably will be under 10 mpgs. So then i'll have to put 4.88 gears, then add on some stiffer shocks, then clear corners.....then i'll be broke!! Its better off if you kept it stock and enjoy what Toyota has engineered for you. Marvel at Technology. Superchargers rule. But Turbos make more power, cheaper.

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listed in previous submission.

Solid vehicle. even with the 4cyl, it pulls well with a bed full of wood, dirt, rock whatever.

The 4cyl. is a little lame but if I had wanted speed I would have gotten something with a V-8.The drain oil plug lies at an angle and directs drain oil right at the front differential. A home made cardboard trough takes care of this.

We are in the process of buying a new 2001 Tacoma. Not because we have to because I'm certain another 200K miles out of this 89 would be easy. The 89 rides as tight as the day it was new and we look forward to spending 12+ years driving the new one. Toyota builds an excellent truck.

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Have driven Ford & Chevy small trucks and Toyota has the better ride in both smoothness and stability.

Engine has plenty of power, good looks, reliability, resale value.

Dash noise from passenger side air bag area or dash. Anyone else had this problem please let me know of a fix?

I have the 4x4 with the TRD package. The Tokio shocks are too stiff and BF tires are just as bad, I know they are for off roading but I need a better road ride.

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Nissan was nice, a little boring looking, Dodge no way- past problems, Ford-maybe, Chevy- too many problems.

The V6 had the most power of any of the midsize trucks I test drove, including the supercharged Nissan. It handles great on and off road, I have yet to be concerned about getting stuck and have always felt I could push it further, especially with the locking rear differential. I pull 4 snowmobiles with it and have had no problems getting up and down the mountains in Colorado. The Toyota sales staff were top notch and were willing to work with me not against me. The Nissan dealership I went to wouldn't even budge.

The stereo could use some work, but what stock radio is a jem! That is my only complaint.

I would recommend this truck to anyone who wants something that is going to last. If you are real tall you are going to feel cramped in the cabin and if you have more than two people who are going to be using it on a day to day basis you better buy a crew cab, since the extra cab is only useful for groceries and camping gear. This Tacoma is miles better than the Frontier and the Frontier is miles better than the S-10 or the Ranger, so that should tell you what kind of class the Tacoma is in. A class all by itself. The Tacoma may cost a little more than the others but remember you get what you pay for and you don't want to be cussing yourself everytime you make a payment for the next four years.

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I owned a 88 Nissan 4x4 that had 217,000 miles on it and I had only replaced the clutch and general maintenance. It was the piss poor attitude of the Nissan dealerships that made me look at a Toyota and I am beyond glad that they did.

Great power on the V6 across the whole spectrum. Excellent visibility and controls, good brakes. Very, very good off-road. Sexy looks. Climate control works well. 74" bed perfect for country napping, but the truck is small enough to actaully park in town.

Off road suspension makes for a bumpy ride ... don't buy this (any?) truck if you're looking for a smooth ride! Mediocre gas mileage (12-20 mpg), on the high end of that if you drive mellow (but that's impossible because of the awesome engine - see strengths); on the low end if you're sitting in traffic with the AC on. No adult human would sit for long in the "back seats" - it's a 2-person vehicle.

After 7 months and 12,000 miles, I LOVE my Tacoma. No sign of any trouble at all so far, and that includes a DC to Florida to DC to Maine and back to DC trip and several off-pavement stints. YES you will pay for it, and YES it is worth it (especially over the life of the vehicle). The truck is obviously solid and will take abuse and then last a long time anyway. It loves being off-road and in fact seems somewhat out of place "around town".

It needs a bigger gas tank: 300-350 miles per trip is not enough.

Mine is fairly loaded: off-road 4x4, ABS, cruise control, and yes getting one to those sort of specs is very difficult - I had to wait about 3 months.

Dealership, after taking their cut, was fine. Look for those that make the "President's Club" or whatever they call it - at least you know they're trying to uphold their reputations.

Initially they wanted to deliver mine with Wilderness AT's, and there was a noticable shimmy at highway speeds, so I made them replace the tires with Goodyear's, which are fine (rated for 40K, but looking at them right now it seems like they'll last longer).

Quirk: ABS comes paired with daytime running lights - go figure.

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I drove the 4-cylinder, 4-door diesel "hilux" version all over Central America ... a real mule (in the good sense).

The engine, reliability, gas mileage.

Suspension, shocks have worn out in light driving conditions (1 mile to work and 1 mile back for over 2 years).

Great engine! The V6 easily tows a boat, has great accelleration, and has needed no repairs what so ever. The suspension system is another story, I'm on my 3rd pair of shocks! The last pair I had to pay for, so bought a 3rd party brand with a life time warranty. Truck drives like a car, but jerks on the road like a truck. If you need a solid truck that requires little maintanence, go for it! I even dragged my friends new V6 Mustang and I won hahah.

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Chevy S10

Reliability, fuel economy (for a truck), durability, 4cyl. engine equal in acceleration to the 3.0L V-6 Ford Ranger and blows away the 4 cyl. Ranger. mechanical design (under the hood and chasis it gives the impression that it was designed with a purpose in mind, not just thrown together with spare parts like a Ford Ranger) The Ford Ranger is a sharp looking truck on the outside and in the passenger cab area, but I'm an engineering type and I'm more impressed with the mechanical design than pretty upholstery)

Small size, but hey, that's what it is.

Great little truck. Serves the purpose for which I bought it.
Commute to and from work 32 miles each way(25 mile freeway, 3 miles city, 4 miles bumpy oilfield road) gets 25 mpg. Still have original Dunlop tires with 38,000 miles on them and I would guess they still have another 5,000 miles left. The stock Dunlops do spin too easily when taking off from a stop light with no weight in the back. Has never let me down, the only thing I've done to it is replace oil, filters and spark plugs.
Had a Rhino lining sprayed in bed two days after buying truck, works great for hauling bulky or dirty stuff. Hauled a sleeper sofa and love seat to the dump in one trip, no problem. Wouldn't want to try and haul a bed full of dirt in it (it's no F250 of course)

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Ford Ranger