Chevy Colorado VS Frontier VS Tacoma?
 

Hi beautiful people.


My father is looking at trucks and i'm thinking of just getting him a brand new (or almost) one in mid summer for his bday, since, he has never had a brand new vehicle in his life due to rasising 3 of us and pushing us to college.

Now, I have experience with older Toyota (22re) pickups and older (x<2000) Nissan Frontiers, but it is still not enough experience to buy one without much research.

Moving one, which would you guys recommend and why? Ever owned one? Ever had issues with one?

List of priorities of what he needs/wants:

1) 4 door truck (non suicide models) and size needs to not be humongous hehe
2) MPG @ hwy speed
3) easy to work on engine (self tune up at home)
4) Price
5) maintenance cost

When you equip them similarly the Toyota will be cheapest.

The only one I have ever personally owned is the Toyota Tacoma and I can say that thing was bulletproof and it helds its value like a champ.

Bought in 2007 for $25000
Put over 100000 miles on it.
Wife totaled it in 2013. Insurance wrote me a check for $17000

So I got ~6 years of driving out of it and over 100000 miles and it cost me ~$8000.

You wont get that with a Chevy or Nissan.

new Colorados and Canyons are just not that great. I work at a GM dealer and they are mhe. For the price you can almost move up to a 1/2 ton anyways

We took out a Tacoma, Colorado, and Frontier to an off road vehicle park. Colorado was least capable, and had to be excused from certain obstacles (didn't want to damage it). Frontier was very bumpy, cheap looking, and my coworker smacked his head on the pillar from how jarring the ride was.

Tacoma would be the way I go, and that's not just cuz I sell them. They're best value and best performing imo. You can get a loaded double cab, TRD off road, short bed for 39k. Gets you blind spot monitor with RCTA, rear parking sensors, smart key system, and a great JBL system (among other features). Skip the tri folding tonneau cover as it's garbage in relation to how I see Toyota quality is. Toyota needs to switch suppliers for it.

I had a '98 Tacoma that I loved to drive...my dad has a 2007 that I hate to drive even though it is very useful and works great overall at doing truck things. I just can'take stand how they changed the driving position and shifting feel in the manual transmission...it'seems like you'really driving a freaking bus or something and the clutch is awfully as well. My '98 was a sports car in comparison, better heel-toe than the FR-S with a much better feeling clutch. I do like how the newer Tacoma rides and goes offroad... just a matter of all the driver inputs feeling so wrong in comparison to the previous gen.

I'm actually looking to maybe go with a late 200X Frontier in the near future... it seems to be more like the older gen Tacoma than the newer Tacoma's (but I've yet to drive one). I'm just looking for an inexpensive, lightweight truck that is moderately offroad capable and can autocross. I spanked every other truck driver and was faster than nearly half the sportscar drivers in my stock height Tacoma that was fully functional as a 1/2 ton truck...

https://vracer111.smugmug.com/photos.../i-rChvNZn.jpg

I heard about you guys at one of Toyota meetings.
We don't do off road drive anymore because one of sales guy went out of track and flipped it. Thanks bro, now we only do street drive and lame cone set up:

I had a 2001 Frontier and a 2004 and a 2007 and 2009 Titan.

I had a 1995 4Runner (got rid of it at 250,000k miles...needed lots of work) and I have a 2013 4Runner Trail edition.

My wife has a 2013 Silverado.

My new 4Runner is amazingly well built. I want to say the V6 Tacoma has the same engine and it is solid engine.

I would recommend the Tacoma. I am extremely happy with my 4Runner.

Lol! We didn't flip a truck. My region is still allowed to do OHV track testing. Curious to see what they have in store for us for the '16 Prius and Rav4 launch...not that it would help me out since I probably know as much as the trainer.

Get a Tacoma XRunner (if you can find one that isn't bashed/thrashed). Don't think I'd do any off roading in one tho.

Don't get any small/midsize. For the price, spend the extra couple thousand and get a truck that you can fit a damn sheet of drywall into.

Gas mileage is roughly the same and resale value will be better. Plus you can tow/haul more.

While I agree that the price of these mid-sized trucks is getting out of control there are still cases where people would rather have them vs a full sized.

Myself for example.

I will only buy vehicles that fit in my garage (which is small) and a Tacoma double cab will fit in with about 2-4 inches to spare.

A full size will not.

So I am a mid-sized truck buyer.

Resale value is higher on a Tacoma than a Tundra. While it is getting to be the same price, the Tacoma will be more loaded than the Tundra.

Who in their right mind would buy a Tundra over an American truck? I enjoy hauling and towing while not being price gouged.

Have you seen how much an F150 can cost? A lot more than a Tundra. And have you seen the criticism of the new F150? The Tundra is a great choice, unless one needs a diesel.

Do you drive trucks? Do you need one for work? Chevy hasn't let me down in the past 6+ years between their gas, diesel and hybrid models. Compare a similarly specced Tundra to any American truck. Guess what wins.

What are you saying it wins in relation to? I can give you many stories of people saying their "American truck" crapped out on them.

Price, reliability, price of repair, price of maintenance, etc.

In all those years, I've had one truck die on me, and it was 100% my fault when I drove through a puddle that went over the hood and the engine hydrolocked.

PS: Anecdotal evidence is not evidence.

Double edit: A Chevy Silverado 1500 LT Z71 with crew cab and regular box can be had for about 40k after all the rebates, comparable tundra? 48-56k... that 8-16k saved by buying Chevy could pay for an awful lot of repairs/maintenance. Not to mention the Chevy will tow AND haul more. The ultimate utilitarian vehicle. THAT is why I would never go for a midsize vs a full size. Lets not forget that to compare it to a Tacoma would result in even more of a shortcoming.

Umm, you're the one that started telling stories (your experience), which is why I mentioned I can bring up countless of stories.

I would expect the Silverado to be able to tow more since you can get it with a 6.2L. If it doesn't, then that would just be sad. If looking at the 5.3L, then it is very similar to the Tundra's 5.7L towing capacity (if you're looking at the SAE J2807 ratings).

A quick Edmunds TOC shows that the Silverado costs more in the end, and had higher repair costs. And if Chevy has to put out a lot of rebates to sell their products, that should say something.

Now I'm not saying the Silverado is garbage, I'm just saying don't rule out the Tundra.

Towing capacity
Tundra 5.7- 10,500 pounds
Silverado 5.3- 11,100 pounds

Payload
Tundra 5.7- 1895 pounds
Silverado 5.3- 1951 pounds

Tundra is also narrower between the wheels than the Silverado (important for things like drywall sheets) and it has a shorter interior box length. It also has less leg room inside. Less headroom. It's heavier. Just overall less capable.

The Silverado is comparatively cheaper to buy, better on gas and better specced to be used as a truck and not a child transportation device. If you're buying a truck as a vehicle, and not a tool, then sure, the Tundra or the Tacoma may be a better choice, but then again a Camry is better than the Tundra and the Tacoma.

I have always considered the Tundra to be more in like with white-collar workers, and the other trucks more in line with blue-collar workers. Let's just leave it at "different strokes for different folks.:

Tacoma. Top 10 vehicles for resale value.

Indeed. 2003 Tacoma 4 door with clean title and 138k for sale here $20k.

2008 same as above but 168k for $20k!

Originally bought for approx. 32k


How would you guys compare all three trucks when it comes to long trips in the cabin and leg room?

I had a quad cab Nissan frontier as a rental for a little bit. Leg room, not bad... I'm 5'10. Overall the thing felt incredibly cheap though and had a rough ride. The center stack had dual climate control but it all seemed cheap. Typical Nissan build quality, so it rattled here and there (granted keep in mind it was a low mileage rental...but still a rental) and the engine seemed asthmatic at best.


IDK why this is even a comparison, out of those three the Tacoma is the obvious choice.

I really think it depends on what your dad is looking for. If he wants something that is capable off road, then Tacoma hands down.

But if off roading is not a primary concern and more every day driving (i.e. groceries, mall, beach, etc), then it might be a bit harder. He should definitely sit in all the vehicles to compare, because everyone on this forum can give their thoughts but only your dad can really determine which truck is more comfortable for him...i.e. getting in and out, driving positions, blind spots, etc.

I know that the Tacomas are pretty comfy but it also depends on the trim you get. The Limited with the leather and better materials are better than the SR5 trims in terms of comfort. As for the Nissan and Chevy - I do not have experience with them on what they offer as creature comfort - but I know Chevy offer different technology on the head unit like CarPlay/Android Auto which the Tacoma does not.

Hope this helps

As a guy who cross shopped the Tacoma and the frontier about three years ago. They each had their pros and cons. The Tacoma and the Nissan both had cheap feeling interiors, I liked the Tacoma's gauges and seats better, but the suspension felt really soft and it felt underpowered. I'm 6'1" and the Nissan lacks a little headroom and does have a stiff ride but makes a little more power. But after shopping around, to get similarly equipped trucks I would have had to pay about 4 grand more for the Tacoma. I bought the frontier, mostly happy with my purchase. Not sure how the Tacoma is, but the frontier's turning radius sucks and when you are dragging a trailer with some weight, it tends to lift the rear of the truck. It tows great, just gets a little fussy trying to stop. Also, you can't get the Tacoma 4x4 with a manual... Or you couldn't at the time I was shopping. I also looked into the new Colorado. I wasn't impressed at all with that truck, especially for the money they want.

It's no secret that Tacoma is most expensive when you go 4x4 and Trd option.
You want long bed ? Good luck finding exact one you want.
That being said if I was in market for small truck, Tacoma will be my only truck.
Totally worth extra $$ you pay.