Well, I went and bought a 2005 Tacoma. I've been wanting one since I read the first reviews back in April.
I had a 1989 Tacoma that I put 207K miles on, and then sold to a co-worker almost three years ago. He is still driving it daily - so I am a believer in Toyota quality.
Details:
My wife and I hadn't physically seen the 2005 models (they came out late, and we had been busy), so on December 29th we decided to go around to a dealer or two and see what they looked and felt like. The first dealer had none. The second dealer had 5 or 6 on the lot, including one that was exactly what I wanted. It is a V6, 4x4, Access cab, automatic, tow package, SR5 in Silver. We test drove it and couldn't see any reason not to buy it. So we started haggling. (Actually, my wife did the haggling. I'm just an engineer - she's the business major and loves to haggle. I've even seen her hold her own with the Oriental ladies in the Southern California area. That is the major leagues, or at least Triple-A, of haggling.) At any rate, we got it for a significant amount off of the sticker. But we probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been the end of the month and year. (A well known car dealer in Seattle once said in a TV interview that it "doesn't matter how knowledgeable or well prepared the buyer is or how badly they want to buy the vehicle - the ONLY thing that matters is how badly the dealer wants to sell it.") This dealer did have an X-Runner in their showroom, and it's sticker had a "Market Adjustment" markup on it. I don't know how much luck they'll have with that. It was in the 2005 Red - which, in my opinion, is a rather unfortunate color.
Impressions:
It's BIG! In a whole different class than my old 1989 Tacoma - which was also an access cab, but not 4x4. I happened to park it next to a 3 or 4 year old Dodge RAM 1500 extended cab pickup the other day, and was surprised to see that the two pickups are almost exactly the same size - height, width, and length. The Tacoma is now what used to be your standard 1/2 ton pickup.
I've only got 400 miles on it so far, so it's not yet broken in and I won't run it hard until it is - but it seems to have plenty of power. We had test driven 2005 Tundras when they first came out. The Tundra V6 seemed sluggish, and the V8 had more power, and drank more fuel, than I really wanted to pay for.
The cab is roomy - I'm 5'10" and I could wear a cowboy hat in the cab. Those rear half-doors are great. The driving position is excellent, and there's plenty of leg room - at least on the driver's side, not quite so much on the passenger's side. We are going to have running boards installed. It is a long step up into the cab.
It handles well. It does ride like a truck - you feel all the little expansion joints and pavement ripples, but it takes the large bumps like railroad crossings with great aplomb. I expect it will smooth out some as the suspension wears in.
One Problem?
Today we had problems with the built-in alarm. It went off on us several times for reasons we couldn't fathom. It does appear that if you lock the truck with the keyless entry fob, and then unlock the truck with the key - the alarm will go off. I couldn't find anything about this in the Owners Manual. If this is the case, that is one 'feature' we could do without. I'll try some experiments tomorrow (annoying the neighbors), and talk to the dealer on Monday. Or, it could be that this particular truck has a problem?
All in all, we are very happy with the Tacoma - but did I mention that it is BIG?
Tony S.