2006 Toyota Tacoma SR5 from North America - Comments

To 2:25. I want to be safe too, but I disagree. You don't need to drive a boat like a Ford Excursion to be safe. There's nothing wrong with those smaller cars, until they get hit by some soccer mom on her cell phone in a Chevy Suburban, who thinks that her vehicle has to be large enough to serve as a movie theater and a playground for her kids.

Exactly! I wouldn't be caught dead driving an underpowered, tiny car like a corolla. The fact is I see more maniacs driving around in small cars, but it doesn't matter what runs into you if your car is the size of a toaster and weighs next to nothing, you'll still be a LOT more hurt, or dead!

I'm not going to buy some econo-box, and just HOPE I won't get smashed headlong into by a delivery truck, pickup or SUV, that doesn't seem very smart to me.

Well maybe its time for a brand new 2007 GM for safety purposes alone. Gm has the Onstar system... hands free on all GM's. In the ceiling is a voice actuated phone system that auto dials the #. I never take my eyes off the road. In addition my twin DVD's in the rear quietly occupies my children without front seat distraction. I would much rather have this setup then what I see in morning rush hours, How about the compact young lady drivers applying makeup, using the hand held cell phones, brushing their hair with a occupied child seat in the back. Granted it costs more for an economy oriented car driver with young children to have a safe setup like the new GM's. But they offer it in all the GM models. I agree safety is #1. You should sell immediately and get for safety since you have a particular obsession with safety!! I think Onstar is the best feature I have ever owned. If my wife and kids are lost, in an accident, the air bags deploys help is on the way. I think hand held cell phones should be banned from driving in all states... hands free only.

Here are some more interesting facts: last year, Toyota had 12 recalls, covering 2.2 million vehicles. Ford had 17 recalls, covering 6 million vehicles, and General Motors had THIRTY recalls, covering over more than 5.1 million vehicles. Some Impala's, as well as other GM vehicles, have faulty gas tanks, a fire hazard. Some '06 GM's have faulty seat belts. Some Fords have faulty connections at the fuel filters, a fire hazard. This was by far Toyota's worst year for recalls, and they still are ahead of Ford and GM by no less than 3.8 MILLION vehicles. Also, Toyota recalled cars with the airbag problems after having only SEVENTEEN incidents reported; the kind of thing that Ford or GM would probably have let go until it was too late. They have let worse issues slip by.

Size doesn't always matter in collisions. Several years ago, before air bags were made mandatory because of idiots who refused to wear seat belts, I came upon a really bad collision between a small subcompact and a full-size American made car. The subcompact was very badly damaged, but the lady who had been driving it had had her seat and shoulder belt on and was not hurt at all. The lady driving the full-size car had apparently not wanted to wrinkle her dress by buckling her belts. She had died instantly of a broken neck even though her car (a Ford LTD) had hardly any damage at all. Modern safety equipment protects even drivers of small cars really well.

Comment 19:10 says "We're not talking about 1969 Chevelles here" and that "They (I assume he means GM) ONCE made good cars." My first new car was a '70 Chevelle SS. I can assure you today's GM cars are so far ahead of the 60's and 70's cars (and trucks) that there is no comparison. Talk of American cars going "downhill" since those days shows an incredible lack of knowledge and experience with automobiles. Every year all auto makers are improving EVERYTHING about their products. The cars of the 60's and 70's are stone age compared to a new '07 ANYTHING. I doubt that the commenter in comment 19:10 had even been BORN in 1969, let alone ever owned a '69 Chevelle. Judging from many of the comments I strongly suspect he is quite young and probably has never owned anything other than his current vehicle. It's normal to be proud of your first car or truck, but to make blanket condemnations of others who drive something else, and to make silly and unfounded statements, only serves to make the point for the far more experienced and better informed American car owners. I let a friend of mine read these comments and his immediate reaction was "If that's how Toyota owners think, I'm buying a FORD!!"

I agree... first car... probably male never owned any of the true America classics. There is no way anyone that's owned a classic big block Chevelle Super Sport, GTO,442,Grand Sport, Corvette, Camaro SS or Z28 to name a few would feel the same as someone owning a Camry sedan. And the domestics were available in Convertibles!! There are however some cool new models coming out with better and better technology and even faster than in the past. I don't get the armchair reviews, resale etc. wheres the passion and excitement?? I guess I want a lot more than just getting around.

A really great example of a true American (future classic) muscle car is the 500hp 2007 Shelby Mustang. It has all the sportiness of the older (64-70) Mustangs and has the advantage of all the latest in safety and technology. Such cars inspire a passion and excitement. I'm also anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new Camaro and Challenger. A touch of excitement and sportiness is much needed in an era when all cars (foreign and domestic) are as boring as stale bread. In addition, the advances in technology make the newer high-performance models as fuel efficient as economy cars from a few years ago.

I know this is apples and oranges, but it seems like we've already been comparing Apples with Oranges, comparing Full-size trucks with mid-size trucks. It isn't really a news flash to me that a mid-size truck is smaller than a full size. ha ha. Anyways.

I just bought a Tacoma, so I can't comment on wear and tear, as it's the first I've owned.

The reason I went with the Toyota over an American truck is my experience with Jeep, which was my last vehicle. I had nothing, but problems with that thing. The brakes literally fell off on the front driver side after about 20,000 miles. The exhaust manifold cracked just over 50,000. Various seals leaked, bearings had to be replaced. It seemed like for the last year I had to take the thing in and get $1000.00 plus worth of work on it every time I got the oil changed.

I had to argue with the dealer to get this work done under the warranty. One dealer told me some work wasn't covered under the warranty, and I had to call Daimler Chrysler to get them to verify it. He ended up keeping the Jeep for almost 2 weeks working on it (this was to fix the cracked manifold). I only had 60,000 miles on it. A couple of weeks ago it started making a strange knocking sound when I was backing up. I don't know what that was, 'because by then I was just tired of it, so I got rid of it and bought the Toyota.

Everyone I know who owns a Toyota truck says nothing, but good things about them, and I bought the thing on reputation. It's very comfortable, the cab seems roomy to me (compared to my Wrangler, ha ha). Of course it's smaller than my Dad's F150, but duh, that's because it's not a full size. Not everyone WANTS a full size. I live in the city and don't like driving a huge, wide, full size truck downtown. You can't park it anywhere, and I don't own an 8000.lbs boat that I need to pull.

I guess I'll drive it for a few years, and then I'll let you guys know.

We are comparing apples to oranges because of the slam to the Silverado in this review, which was obviously written by a Toyota employee.

What amazes me is the very fast SUVs that are available with tuned suspensions. Not mundane whatsover. People like utility, handlingperformance. How about the new Trailblazer midsize SUV in the SS what a bargain,,,,,,,395 hp and 0-60 under 6 seconds on the 07. The Porche Cayenne goes to 150 mph. The Chevrolet is faster 0-60 than the Cayenne S, but not the Turbo, but Porche is over twice as expensive, That's like a real 2 seater Cobra from the 60 era. Fun Fun Fun...That's why I did not buy a full size SUV. There is plenty of performance out there today for those that still appreciate performance and good handling.

I doubt this post would be anywhere near as long if it was Toyota only. That says it all about the product satifaction of the domestic owners.......... There is a lot of different vehicles that are mentioned and that is the real evaluation. Look at all the positive current domestic owners and there are many. People want more than just hopping in, turning the key and looking for a cup holder to put their coffee. A vehicle that you want to run out jump in and enjoy a Sunday morning drive and go to work in. If you get a few extra dollars at trade in or even if it rarely has a repair so what? Is that all there is? I need about a dozen reasons every time I buy a new vehicle. #1 That I really like it and not that someone else even cares #2 It has to be great to drive #3 Its got a lot of performance #4 it handles well #5 its got a lot of options #6 if I tire of those options I can upgrade the engine, wheels etc. to suit myself, #7 it has no limitations its full size to carry anything #8 it can tow a pair of jet skis like they are not even back there,#9 2 adults and 2 children can ride with plenty of room and be comfortable #10 it has a bedliner,#11 Did I miss it has to be a V8? #12 the Price. If its not fun to drive I am never buying as what have I saved? This back and forth about what is better is easily solved if you go out drive both and quit complaining over fuel,repairs and resale. I'd rather drive less if it came to that and not base everything on my wallet.....I could save a lot in a lot of other areas in my life too but I am not compromising whatsoever any or all of the elements I love about owning and driving a cool ride. Americans especially have always had a passion for the automobile and that will never change.

Yeah, there really are some awesome small and mid-size SUV's out there, and some are pretty fast even with a standard engine. When we got ready to trade our Explorer (we've owned 2 Explorers) we test drove a lot of mid-size SUV's. both foreign and domestic. When we drove the base GMC Envoy with the standard in-line 6, we were hooked!! It is so much faster than the V-8 Explorer that there is no comparison. The Trailblazer SS, of course, is light years ahead of it, but for a base SUV the Envoy is awesome. It is faster than my V-6 truck and rides like a dream. I still prefer a real SUV (truck based, rear drive) to a crossover model, and in real SUV's the Trailblazer and Envoy are the best.

I just sold my 2000 F250 crew superduty truck and it was a good truck.

Besides the v10 engine and it was a gas eater it did not need any major repairs.Now I can't make up my mind if I should stay with a domestic or jump on the Toyota wagon. We are looking at a Toyota Tacoma 4 door.

I get mixed reviews on all makes so I am really confused. Can't really compare my old Ford to a Toyota. Two completely different trucks. On top of all this each dealership says theirs are the best. What does one do??

Well, I'm guessing if you had a V10 F250, you probably need something at least slightly heavy duty. Therefore I think one of the new '07 Silverado's, an F150, Dodge Ram or Nissan Titan would be good to put on your list.