Toyota Tacoma Review: Small Truck with Monstrous Good Looks and Power

Try to find a used Toyota Tacoma these days and you will be on a major search. When we studied reviews on this truck, we couldn't wait to locate a nice used Tacoma. But dealership after dealership had the same story. Toyota Tacoma's are such great trucks that no one wants to sell them. Once they decide to trade their Toyota in on a newer model, it seems most people pass their truck on to a family member. This speaks volumes about how much people enjoy their Toyota Tacoma truck. After searching for a few months, we began emailing Toyota dealerships to see if they had what we wanted. They all stated they rarely had used Tacoma trucks, but could offer us a new one at a great price. Although I am sure it would be worth every penny, our budget didn't allow us to buy a brand new automobile.

We began noticing when searching for the Tacoma that there were a few listed on the Ebay Motors website. My husband found one on Ebay Motors that was with a local man in Dallas, and we made an appointment to meet with him one weekend. The truck was just beautiful, even in the plainest white color. Not being much of a truck person myself, I instantly liked this truck styling. We personally preferred the Prerunner series because of it's cool body style. Sleek and sporty, it resonated masculinity but also extreme "cuteness". My husband stubbornly wanted the 4 x 4 series, and this one had everything he wanted. Not that I have ever seen him do any jumps or driving on hilly terrain, but macho guys like the four wheel drive. We bargained with the dealer and drove that pretty baby home that very day. It has now been almost a year, and it has not been in the shop once. My husband commutes 140 miles per day and there is never a concern of having a break down or mechanical problem.

As I admitted, I am a former "truck hater", but even I look for any excuse I can come up with in order to drive this cute little truck. Now for some details on this bad boy, and to show you why this might be the truck of your own dreams.

The Toyota Tacoma is a great little package with plenty of leg room for the driver and front passenger. The extra cab in back is wonderful for kids or storage but the leg room for an adult would not be comfortable. The interior is comfortable, with padded seats in the front. The back seats are quite rigid, and not a place to sit for a long drive. The manual transmission shifts very smoothly. And the gas mileage is around 20 mpg, which is a concern with fuel prices currently in the United States.

The dashboard is very modern and space-age in appearance. The layout is comfortable and the readouts are quite visable day or night. The extra cab has a sliding rear window, which is nice to let a slight breeze in the cabin. But beware if you have children, as they love to open and shut the window continuously. Our boys seem to enjoy arguing about whether it should be open or shut, and make quite a racket determining who is correct.

The truck bed is the smaller size, but seems roomy enough to carry anything we have needed to transport this year. The bed liner is a nice plus, as it keeps the truck bed from being scratched and makes for easy cleaning. The Tacoma's sexy body style exudes "cuteness". But don't let it's looks deceive you! This little Toyota Tacoma Truck is one powerful monster, and a great choice in small sized trucks.