I first decided to buy this Toyota based on my need for a pickup and even more so, reliability. My employer had a couple of older Toyota pickups that had been through the ringer. These vehicles had been driven abusively by dozens of individuals over the years with nobody keeping up on maintenance and yet they still ran perfectly. The Tacoma was the current small pickup and I felt it was definitely more comfortable than past pickup models. It even had a sleeker and more aerodynamic look. I did not need a lot of room and so the size suited me well. It was still big enough for me to use on side work when needed. Also the gas mileage was great. I am not one to keep up well with maintenance and this is a perfect truck if you are the same. It will run without a lot of coddling though I recommend taking care of the vehicle if you want to keep it in tip top shape. I have a manual transmission and really prefer it to auto. It makes the truck fun to drive and it has excellent torque and acceleration for a small vehicle. I highly, highly, recommend the Toyota Tacoma for anybody that is in the market for an extremely reliable small work truck that is great on gas.

I love my '96 Tacoma. I've had it for over 10 years at this point and have put over 225,000 miles on it, and it still runs like a champ. Yes, you need to do routine maintenance and the older it's gotten, the less I take it on long road trips, but it's a very reliable truck. If you love the outdoors, it'll take you almost wherever you would ever need to go.