Choosing a Tacoma

After searching obsessively for months, I found the Tacoma that felt juuust right: a 2020 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 TRD Sport long bed with the TRD Premium Sport Package.

I got it all blacked out with a few red accents. Along with the Sirius XM radio's constant playing of country music, the color scheme has earned it the name “Darth Garth”.

Why the Tacoma?

Well, I wanted a truck primarily so I could throw my surfboard, paddleboard, and kayaks in the back. Cramming all my gear into my Acura SUV had become really annoying. 

I like the Tacoma specifically for three main reasons- first, I had a bad experience with a 2011 Camaro, and I wanted something that was going to be reliable. And Toyotas have that reputation. 

Second, I wanted something that can tow a camper and get decent gas mileage. The Tacoma’s 22mpg average and 6800 lb towing capacity fit the bill. 

Third, I wanted something that didn’t break the bank like a high-end f150 and would hold its value well. 

New vs used?

I bought this in April just before the car market went absolutely bonkers. Now I hear that used cars are selling basically at MSRP, but for Tacomas, this has been basically the norm for a long time. Tacomas are so reliable and such great cars that they hold their value super well. In my car search, any used Tacomas that looked like a bargain were either super high mileage or beat to shit. 

People love to buy Tacomas and drag them out off-road, and that is not the type of vehicle you want to buy. For this reason, I think it makes sense to go new all day. 

I actually tried to buy a used one that was too good to be true, sight unseen online, and yea - it was too good to be true. I sent it back, and that’s a whole other story. 

4x4 vs 4x2

It sooo much easier to find a 2 wheel drive Tacoma, and when are you really gonna use that 4 wheel drive, right? Wrong. Part of having a truck is being able to withstand any situation and not be scared of getting stuck. I haven’t taken this thing on any deep off-roading adventures, but there have been many times I have thanked my brother-in-law for verbally slapping me when I even mentioned the idea. 

Two occasions come to mind. One: looking at houses in Asheville, my embarrassed real estate agent in his 2wd SUV had to pull over and was unable to proceed up a very rough gravel/dirt road to make it to a house we wanted to see. We were able to push on and drive by the house… but yeah, it wasn’t even worth stopping at. 

Another: a renter pulling a trailer full of motorcycles and a golf cart in his 2wd f150 on his way to check in to his Airbnb that we encountered on a steep road in Lake Lure got very stuck. I threw a tow strap on and pulled him and his trailer up the hill. No problemo. 

Off-road vs Sport

The offroad had a huge advantage for me. The inverter with a 2000 watt outlet in the bed was a huge plus. I love the idea of having functional outlets in my truck, and this comes standard on the offroad model. 

But, it also comes with the pro technology package that I got on my sport model. 

With the outlet no longer a question, what other advantages are there for the sport model?

Well, I drove the offroad model. I was actually a little confused by all of the 4wd options. There are several modes like crawl, etc., and if you’re going to do serious off-roading, this may be the way to go, but that is not my primary goal. I also found it not as good of a ride on the highway, and the brakes seemed way too touchy. 

I plan to maybe go on a trail occasionally, but the last thing I want is to destroy my truck off-roading. Instead, let’s be honest, this thing will be 90% on the roads at least, so I’d rather this be more optimized for comfort on the highway. This is why I landed on the sport model. 

Short vs Long Bed

I went back and forth on this for a very long time. I liked the maneuverability of the shorter bed, but I had visions of camping in the bed, and I wanted to be able to lay in it comfortably. I also have a 10’ paddleboard, and I measured how that thing would look sticking out of the back of a 5’ bed. The extra foot makes a huge difference. 

So, I went with the long 6-foot bed. I was worried about the choice and if I’d regret it, and for a while, I questioned it, but I am so so glad I did that.

It’s true that the 6-foot bed is a bit harder to maneuver. Pulling into a parking spot, I often have to back up a bit and adjust and pull forward again to straighten out. And the turns are harder. It’s unfortunate. But... the extra foot of space is worth it!

We do have a pretty sweet truck bed tent. There are tons of options for truck bed campers, and 5 feet is just not enough for any of those. 

Also, on many trips when packing the bed, it is super common for the bed to be completely packed. You’d think it’s hard to fill up a bed like that, but it fills up quickly. 

Lastly, my retractable tonneau cover that I absolutely love takes up a good bit of space in the back, and I don’t think I could spare the space without a 6-foot bed. 

TRD Premium Sport Package 

This package really takes your Tacoma to the next level with some must-have features:

The truck bed outlet. It’s great to be able to have 2k watts of power in your truck bed wherever you go. This can be super useful for all sorts of situations.

Blind spot monitoring is oh-so-wonderful. Combined with the other car safety features on the Tacoma, this car is very easy to drive long distances. This works by basically giving you somewhat subtle yellow light on your side mirror when a car is next to you. If you turn on your blinker, and someone is next to you, it will blink to yell at you.

Heated seats. There is nothing quite like a nice heat pad on my back to keep me comfortable when driving several hours at a time. It also puts my wife right to sleep on road trips... which has its pros and cons, I guess. 

Leather seats. They just feel so much better than the cloth. Granted, I put a seat cover on the rear seats for the dogs and have often thought about getting covers for the front ones to avoid sand, mud, and saltwater damage. But I dunno, it’s nice to have a solid seat to start with. 

Sunroof. I personally really like a sunroof, I feel a bit claustrophobic sometimes when it is closed. But honestly, I don’t use it often. It’s a bit small, and it does bring a little bit of wind noise along with it. 

Premium Audio, the JBL system, sounds really nice. It’s great to know I have some top of the line sound without having to add anything after-market.

Up Next…

Next, I’ll tell you a few things I love and a few things I hate about my Tacoma after 6 months.