# F150 4x4 vs. Tacoma 4x4?



## koncept1

thoughts, opinions?


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## carryyourbooks

no jap ****....go f150 all the way. i just bought 2010 model and love it.


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## goodwood

I have an 04 F150. Gas isn't that great but I have a 113k miles on it and I haven't had any major issues. Plenty of power to tow or haul. I haul a lot of stuff during the week. Been doing it since I drove it off the lot. If you're not going to haul or tow much I'd go with the Taco. Otherwise I'd go with the F150.


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## FISHINGARTIST

Toyotas last forever. I wouldn't buy a Ford especially after you deal with their customer service department. (a big joke) If Toyota made a big diesel for the general public, I'd be all over that. Foreign products aren't necessarily inferior these days. I believe it's the opposite.


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## goodwood

Depends on what year you're buying for either vehicles. 

Tacoma's have a great reputation. I had an 04 4Runner Limited 4x4 and it was over engineered. If one wheel slipped the fuel cut came on until the wheels stopped slipping. Not good for off road at all. 

For the F150 there are things to watch out for per model/year.


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## Durtjunkee

Tell that to the people who had a steering wheel for lunch after their throttle stuck.

F150 All The WAY!



FISHINGARTIST said:


> Toyotas last forever. I wouldn't buy a Ford especially after you deal with their customer service department. (a big joke) If Toyota made a big diesel for the general public, I'd be all over that. Foreign products aren't necessarily inferior these days. I believe it's the opposite.


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## FISHINGARTIST

Wow I didn't hear about that sorry. What year Tacoma had the throttle stuck?


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## MIKE S.

FISHINGARTIST said:


> Wow I didn't hear about that sorry. What year Tacoma had the throttle stuck?


Ive never heard of that problem on the trucks. Ive had two 4 wheel drive Toyotas and they were the best 4x4s Ive ever owned. One had over 300,000 miles when I sold it. They have a pretty high resale value too. Only down side is they dont offer a v8 in the tacoma, so if towing is a concern I would look at other options..


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## seeing reds

*Taco!!!*

Love my Tacoma 4X4. Got the Double Cab with the Longbed.

Just hit 100,000 last week.


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## FISHINGARTIST

These are the stories I hear from friends and family. Great trucks. But towing is a whole different animal. Toyotas look sharp too. Not a big friend of the front of the newest fords.


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## koncept1

Thanks for the input guys, I'm really torn right now. I had my mind set on a 04-08 F150, my old 93 F150 llasted FOREVER, even when I was a kid and tried to kill it..she just took a lickin n kept on tickin! I can't say the same for my Chevy... =\ I've had all kinds of tranny/ rear end problems with that. Then a friend of mine suggested I look at the tacoma's and was really impressed with the ground clearance, fuel consumption, rear LOCKING differential on the TRD offroad version. Only thing that I do not like about it, is the 6500lb tow capacity. and thats WITH the tow package...


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## goodwood

F150 diffs don't lock. They're not that great for offroad.


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## juanpescado

Toyotas last forever, my wife has the new Tacoma, I dont believe it was offered in a V8 though like the F150, hard to compare V8 to V6 for towing, and for you diehard ford guys, cross reference your trucks parts and see where they are made, you will be surprised....


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## goodwood

Many parts hecho en mexico y canadia though built in KS or MI. Some of the American made parts suck regardless. Toyo has a plant in San Antone I think.


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## elpistolero45

Tacoma over the F150
Silverado over the Tacoma... but you didn't ask.:rotfl:


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## Motownfire

I have had a 2009 CrewCab XLT 4X4 for about a year now. It's a great truck and haven't had any problems with it. My Dad has a 2007 2wd XLT and he loves his. It's all about personal preference. Ford only for me.


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## Motownfire

goodwood said:


> F150 diffs don't lock. They're not that great for offroad.


Starting in 2009 Ford began offering a electric locking rear diff for the F-150 and up.


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## goodwood

Motownfire said:


> Starting in 2009 Ford began offering a electric locking rear diff for the F-150 and up.


I heard about that and I'm not all that familiar with the option. I assume they work well.


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## bigfishtx

In real life you won't gain over 1-2 MPG going from a Tacoma to a Tundra, and then you have a full size truck that will pull anything you want.

I average 15-16 MPG in my Tundra (combined city/hwy) and I had a Tacoma (2002) and I only averaged 16-17 with it.

The Ford is a good truck but underpowered.


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## WilliamH

Tacoma's are now being built in San Antonio.

http://www.newcars.com/toyota/tacoma/reviews/ford-f150.html


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## bdriscoll

Still driving my 94 Toyota truck. They were not called Tacomas back then. 238K and still going.


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## Flounderpounder27

Both great trucks. I drive an F-250 now, but had a 2002 F-150 4x4 from the time I turned 16 through 22. Let me tell you, I put that truck through some stuff and it never skipped a beat. I would pull a four slant horse trailer loaded up all over Texas and the Triton V8 handled it (not with the same ease as my Super Duty of course but...) I don't know much about the newer F-150 models but I am partial to Ford, and although I am sure Toyota makes a great product I just wouldn't feel right in a non American made truck! Call me a xenophobe, it used to be called patriotism!!!


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## TxDuSlayer

I love my Ford F150 FX4! Its been a great truck no problems approaching the 100,000 mark and drives like a champ. Support the one that didn't take a gov't bail out, keep an American working and buy a Ford!


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## CodyB4C

Im not a fan of the newer midsize tacomas it seems you get the worst of both worlds:

Light Truck: no power and somewhat small

Full Size: High price, low mpg


Other than that tacomas are great looking midsized trucks but I would just get a full size for what they cost


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## Reel Cajun

Wouldn't think twice, F150 with the 5.4 and never look back. I know too many people with 275,000 plus and pulling heavy loads regularly, and no problems to mention.


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## jaime1982

toyota all the way!!! fords dodge and chevy are all junk. just look at any tranny shop or mechanic shop. most of their work comes from these cheap trucks.


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## sqwaby

Got 4 Toyotas in the driveway, all dependable vehicles, 3 are over 100k mi. I own a 2wd Tundra(06) with the same 4.0 six that the Tacoma has, it tows my aluminum boat fine(about 1800-2000lbs), but I would definitely go with the F150 or the Tundra with the V-8 for towing more than 2,000- 3000 lbs. I don't care what the Tacoma is rated for, you'll be wishing you had that V-8 in the hills.


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## astro

Tacoma is expensive, smaller, tow's less, and harder to pick up parts for....However the F150 is larger, tow's more, parts are cheaper, and a better bang for your buck. F150's the way to go


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## GreyGoose

Jap is c-r-a-p!

No Car unless its MoPar!

1500 4x4 On my 2nd one already, 1st one ended up having 250,023 miles on it, got my moneys worth


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## jmose46635

2010 4x4 F-150 24K miles so far (bought last august) Love the truck. Pulls 24' HO well. I am not going to lie to you that you dont know it is back there because you do, but it pulls it comfortable at 65-70.

Off road seemed to be so-so. It has some kind of limited slip **** on it that kind of drives me bananas. I need to talk to someone at ford about it just to get the thought process on it and figure out how to turn it off (has button). Did stick it about a months ago but just slipped off into a deep wash (**** factory tires) but before that it was doing well in some pretty nasty stuff.

It is not going to win many races off the line but when you hit it to pass it goes. It is very smooth and extremely quit. I get about 17 mpg on general use, will get 18-20 on road trips driving 70 or so, but if you keep it at 75 or 80 you are back down to the 17-18.

Truck does not seem to do anything just excellent or than maybe the ride, but does everything very well. my .2c


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## goodwood

astro said:


> Tacoma is expensive, smaller, tow's less, and harder to pick up parts for....However the F150 is larger, tow's more, parts are cheaper, and a better bang for your buck. F150's the way to go


f150 parts are NOT cheap!


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## seeing reds

One thing to consider is your previous purchasing habits. If you tend to keep your vehicles less than 3-4 years then review resale values. If you keep for 100,000+ miles and > 4-5 years then it comes down to which vehicle traditionally provides the longevity required and at what maintenance/repair cost.


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## coogerpop

Move up to the Tundra and chose your V-8 baised on what you want to tow...you won't be sorry.


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## garypro

Never owned a Ford untill 90 F150 then 97 F150 then 09 F150 4x4 platinum and thats all I got to say about that!!!!


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## catman6

*F-350*

If you want a real truck, get a F-350.
Tundra sales have been so poor that the SA plant was shut down for several months, so what does that say about how great they are. Ford is still king of the hill when one wants a real truck. Sure the Toyotas are good trucks and where do most of their ideas come from is an F-150. Looked under one a few years ago and it was almost an exact copy of the F-150 except most of the suspension parts were not near as beefy. Also Toyotas are more expensive than the F-150 or Silverado 1500 and I don't count the Dodge because they are still POS just like they were when I was a teenager and that was a long time ago. But like everything else, buy what you want, not what someone else recommends. Some told me not to buy a '08 F-350 with a diesel. I did not listen and bought one anyway and love it. Fastest, most powerful truck I ever owned and gets descent mileage. A lot of people complain about mileage but they forget these new trucks weigh a lot more than the older ones. My '08 title wt 7600lbs, my '91 title wt 5500lbs and the new on still gets about the same mileage.
13mpg in town, 17-19mpg highway.

For the guy that says his Dodge gets 38+mpg. No way.


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## bigfishtx

I find the 38 MPG Dodge about as believable as that 19 MPG F-350....everyone I know running them complains about mileage.


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## goodwood

I've noticed a lot of owners/drivers who get good/great gas mileage never go over 2k RPM and maintain their truck religiously. I'm at 113k miles and I'm getting 1.5 miles better than before under those conditions.


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## Jclark

ford f150 all the way!! my dad has an 01 f150 with the 5.4 and it rolled over 200,000 miles last week and he's taking it to missouri next week. i have an 08 f150 5.4 and love it. pulls anything you need it to and rides great!


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## Lebber32

I love my Taco!!!! Great trucks!!!!


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## Pescados Locos Tony

F-150 all day, I have a 2010 FX4 and love it, wouldn't trade it in for anything other than a 2011 f250.


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## jboogerfinger

Have you considered Xterra? I have an OffRoad and it's bad arss. Used to have a 2wd F150, and would never go back.


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## km2006dmax

Are you going to be towing anything? When I was in College I had a 96 ex cab 4x4 tacoma. I absolutely loved that truck. It was also a beast in the mud. However, towing sucked with the little v6. Everyday driving it was fine

The only problems I had to speak of with the truck were ignition coils. It made the truck fill like it had a clogged fuel filter.


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## C.Hern5972

i have owned the Tacoma, then the Ford FX4 SC, then now the 07 Chevy Z71..... 


My next truck will definately be the ford. I cant say anything negative about my ford.


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## Pocketfisherman

If it's worth anything, Taco production is moving from Long Beach plant to the San Antonio plant for the 2011 models. Will be built on one of the re-worked Tundra assembly lines since that truck is not meeting sales estimates for Toyota.


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## oceanwaves08

goodwood said:


> F150 diffs don't lock. They're not that great for offroad.


 Check again my friend.


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## goodwood

oceanwaves08 said:


> Check again my friend.


I had to get pulled out twice in my 04 4x4. One time just one side of the wheels were in deep mud. It's a LSD for th 04-08 and optional lockers for th 09-10. Do you own an f150?


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## oceanwaves08

For 2011 the F150 will have an all new motor lineup.
V6 with 300hp and mileage in the high 20 range
5.0 V8
6.2 V8 same motor now used in the 2011 Super Duty
There will also be V6 eco-boost available in late spring. This should have a tow rating in the 11k range.


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## oceanwaves08

goodwood said:


> I had to get pulled out twice in my 04 4x4. One time just one side of the wheels were in deep mud. It's a LSD for th 04-08 and optional lockers for th 09-10. Do you own an f150?


True in the the 04 model. I missed where the gentalmen was looking at preowned. My first truck was a 71 model F150 with a 460 Windsor.

I have a F350 single now 2011. My boat is in the 10k range empty. 250 gallons of fuel and gear love me some diesel power.


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## goodwood

oceanwaves08 said:


> True in the the 04 model. I missed where the gentalmen was looking at preowned. My first truck was a 71 model F150 with a 460 Windsor.
> 
> I have a F350 single now 2011. My boat is in the 10k range empty. 250 gallons of fuel and gear love me some diesel power.


I hate you.  

I'll get there eventually. Gonna start off with a bayboat first. HOpefully won't need to tow it much. Looking to dry dock it at a friend's bayhouse.


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## rusty2009

Who said you can't tow with the Tacoma? I pull a 24ft-5000lbs travel trailer all over the place with mine. I pull a 18ft lowboy trailer to south Texas to the deer lease loaded with 2 4wheelers loads on hunting stuff and 2000lb of corn. No problem driving 75-85 the whole way there and back. I get great gas mileage when pulling the lowboy but not so good when pulling the RV in the wind. There is no gas truck that will get good mileage pulling an RV in the wind. I love my truck it has 100,000 miles on it now it is a 2005 crew cab long bed.


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## oceanwaves08

goodwood said:


> I hate you.
> 
> I'll get there eventually. Gonna start off with a bayboat first. HOpefully won't need to tow it much. Looking to dry dock it at a friend's bayhouse.


F150 will tow any bayboat on the market just fine. I believe the 04 model is good up to 10k.


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## bigfishtx

oceanwaves08 said:


> For 2011 the F150 will have an all new motor lineup.
> V6 with 300hp and mileage in the high 20 range
> 5.0 V8
> 6.2 V8 same motor now used in the 2011 Super Duty
> There will also be V6 eco-boost available in late spring. This should have a tow rating in the 11k range.


V6 with 300 HP that gets high 20's in a full size truck?
What kind of propoganda did you read that in?

I hope Ford can do that, but, if they do, they will be doing something no other MF'r has been able to do thus far. All of the other big V6's out there are lucky to get 16 MPG hwy.


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## rusty2009

*Ford F-150 engines for 2011 announced, includes EcoBoost V6*

by *Sam Abuelsamid* (RSS feed) on Aug 11th 2010 at 1:57PM 



The Ford F-150 is getting a lineup of four all-new engines for the 2011 model year that includes two V6s and two V8s. According to Ford, the entire new engine family will be more fuel efficient than the outgoing 4.6-liter and 5.4-liter V8 by at least 20 percent.

The same 3.7-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 found in the 2011 Mustang will be available at launch this fall in the F-150, as will the 6.2-liter V8 from the 2011 Super Duty truck. Then, early in 2011, the F-150 will be the first rear-wheel-drive application of the much praised 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6.

The base 3.7-liter V6 will be rated at 300 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque while yielding a 6,100-pound towing capacity, which matches the Silverado hybrid. The 3.7 liter will be offered in the XL, XLT and STX trim levels only. The high volume engine is expected to be the new 5.0-liter V8, which you can read more about after the jump.

*Gallery: 2011 Ford F-150 engines*










[Source: Ford]

Trimmed out for truck duty, Ford's 5.0-liter V8 is down a bit in power compared to the Mustang because the intake cams have been re-profiled and the compression ratio lowered to 10.5:1 for better low end torque. In order to meet tougher durability requirements for a truck application, the steel headers of the Mustang have also been replaced with cast-iron exhaust manifolds.

The result is a rating of 360 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and 380 lb-ft of torque, which allows for a trailer tow rating of 9,800 pounds. The 5.0 is claimed to give 50 lb-ft more peak torque and higher torque across its entire range than any of the competitive V8 engines from Chrysler, General Motors, Toyota and Nissan. Unlike the base 3.7-liter V6, the 5.0 will be available in every F-150 trim level except specialty models like the SVT Raptor and Harley-Davidson. Both the 3.7-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 engines are also flex-fuel capable in these truck applications.










The optional V8 for the high-end Platinum edition is the 6.2-liter unit that debuted earlier this year in the SVT Raptor and Super Duty. Output of the 6.2 liter remains 411 hp and 434 lb-ft with 11,300 pounds of towing capacity. The 6.2 liter will now also be standard in the SVT Raptor and Harley-Davidson as the previous 5.4-liter V8 goes to the glue factory.

Finally, the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 brings turbocharging and direct injection to the truck lineup. The F-150's EcoBoost will be available in every trim level from the XL to Platinum and match the 11,300-pound towing capacity of the 6.2-liter V8 while offering 20 percent better fuel efficiency than the old 5.4-liter V8. The EcoBoost's composite intake manifold has been redesigned from earlier versions and the exhaust manifolds are now cast-iron. The turbochargers have also been revised from the units found on Ford's passenger cars to withstand a truck's tougher duty cycle.

The EcoBoost is expected to have similar power to the 365-hp Taurus SHO with more torque and a torque peak between 2,000 and 2,500 rpm that remains largely flat throughout the operating range. Ford is still finishing the certification of this engine and expects to release power figures in about four to six weeks.

Following Ford's presentation, we were taken to an engine dynamometer lab where an F-150's EcoBoost V6 was set up. The engine was not taken up to full power in front of the media, but we did see it go up to 4,000 rpm where it was held for about 10 minutes with an output of 410 lb-ft and 310 hp. Under those conditions it will hold 16 psi of boost with the turbos spinning at 175,000 rpm and a turbo temperature of 1,700 degrees F.










All of the engines are paired with Ford's upgraded six-speed automatic transmission. Like other truck engines from Ford, these four new units also go through a 400-hour wide-open throttle durability test on a dynamometer that cycles between peak power and peak torque conditions. All of the engines also get 10,000-mile oil change intervals.

While we don't have any official fuel economy numbers yet, we were promised that at least one of the engine options will beat the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid's EPA rating of 21/22 mpg. And, it will likely cost considerably less.


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## km2006dmax

> Who said you can't tow with the Tacoma? I pull a 24ft-5000lbs travel trailer all over the place with mine. I pull a 18ft lowboy trailer to south Texas to the deer lease loaded with 2 4wheelers loads on hunting stuff and 2000lb of corn. No problem driving 75-85 the whole way there and back. I get great gas mileage when pulling the lowboy but not so good when pulling the RV in the wind. There is no gas truck that will get good mileage pulling an RV in the wind. I love my truck it has 100,000 miles on it now it is a 2005 crew cab long bed.


Didn't say it wouldn't tow. Said it was not very good at it. A 190hp motor is not very ideal for towing. I had a tahoe right after that towed much much better. Loved the Tacoma, but really wouldn't recommend it to someone that pulls a good load very often. Now I drive a diesel due to heavy loads that I tow, and of course it walks all over the tahoe that I had.

And if you ever tow up in the mountains in CO. Forget about it period! I had to pull most mountains in 3rd gear without a trailer. The air killed that sucker. When I got back to Texas it felt like a supercharged truck compared to CO.


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## rebelangler

just bought an 08 f150 fx4...factory 6" lift 35" tires and absolutly love it..mpg isnt all that great but i knew that when i bought it... has plenty of power and rides like its on a cushion of air..my buddy has a tundra and wants to do a pull off.. i was thinking no...but now i read this i think ill do it and post the video here so we can all see the end result..

love my truck!!!!
brian


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## sweenyite

Tacomas....I've pulled a few out with my F-150 FX4.... they pull nicely.


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## jdsuperbee

km2006dmax said:


> Didn't say it wouldn't tow. Said it was not very good at it. A 190hp motor is not very ideal for towing.
> 
> Look again. The 190 hp engine was the old 3.4 liter v6 that was discontinued after '04. With the new Taco in '05, it got the 4 liter that was in the 4Runner (on which the Tacoma is based). This engine had 245 hp and 325 ft. pounds of torque. These numbers may have been downgraded some aftermeasurements were standardized in '06 or '07.
> 
> However, an F-150 vs a Tacoma is not a fair comparison. It would be a better comparo with the Tundra. With all that being said, though, The Tacoma is a great all 'round pickup with great performance and hwy mileage in excess of 22mpg (easily). My daughter gets over 26 in her 4Runner. You can't go wrong with a Toyota. But I will say, that I'm currently driving a '99 Expedition with a 5.4 and it's been a good truck with only a few hickups, but the gax mileage sux!
> 
> Best of luck with your decision.


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## 24Buds

I have a 05 4X4 F150. All I have done is replace the radiator...not cheap $500 total parts/labor and brakes at 75K.

Fuel filter from time to time and tranny flush as well. Just turned 100K and need plugs. THAT is not going to be fun at all. I understand the plugs are more prone to breaking and special tool may be required. Other than that, I love it. It has been good to me. I never owned a Taco, but Toyota does have a good reputation in the reliability department. 

I just like Ford. USA!


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## TheGoose

Not a Ford guy but that 3.5L looks kick-arse, I might even consider going with the blue oval for that one.



> turbos spinning at 175,000 rpm


Seriously, 175,000 RPM? What is that, ludicrous speed?


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## BullyARed

*Tacoma or FORD*



koncept1 said:


> thoughts, opinions?


It all depends what you want to do with the truck. For light duty and light towing I go with the Tacoma. For heavy duty towing or usage, I go with FORD truck with diesel engine, not gas. IMO, FORD diesel truck is much more reliable than its gas. Tacoma is a very reliable truck, but I would not use it for towing frequently. BTW, IMO FORD diesel truck is better than GM or DODGE diesel truck.


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## RRbohemian

I have a 1998 Tacoma Pre Runner with 230,000 miles. It's by far the best vehicle I have ever own. You cannot find a good used Toyota truck becasue people keep them till the wheels fall off. If you don't have to haul anything large or pull a heavy load you should go with the Tacoma. However, Ford did not take a penny of bail out money and they make a good truck so I think either way you will do good. If I'm getting a new truck it's the Tacoma.


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## Reel Cajun

Too good of luck with Ford to even think about a Toyota. I'm sure they are ok, but would rather support an American company.


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## BullyARed

Reel Cajun said:


> Too good of luck with Ford to even think about a Toyota. I'm sure they are ok, but would rather support an American company.


Well 90% were made in China & India . The big three CEO's have outsourced all American jobs and factories to China and India while Toyota and Honda brought jobs and factories to the USA. I am not sure the "American" company is owned by American! Buy what are good for you.


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## Jason Parson

my daily driver is a 89 ford bronco. i love ford's but its all about what you need. i know the yotas are a beast off road. but here would be my next vehicle


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