Nighttime Driving Impressions of 2024 Tacoma SR5 XtraCab - TheTopher

Glad you explained the rattling noise as I was wondering what that was.

I never really understood the sentiment of dogging people because they want a truck even though they won't use the bed all the time. I won't be offroading all the time either, should I not get something offroad capable? I am buying it because it can haul things when I need to and I can go offroading when I want to. I don't have to be doing it all the time. Just let people spend their hard-earned money on what they want. Why be judgy? It floods a lot where I live, maybe I just wanna ride a little higher than I do in my civic and have a few more capabilities.

Yes. THIS.

If my wife and I decide to buy a Trailhunter that a) currently does not exist as a production vehicle, and b) may never actually be delivered to our dealer, it won’t be because we’ll overland it every day. Or week. Or month. Or possibly ever. We’d like a small truck; we’d prefer a Toyota for reasons you can all understand; and vainly in a way that makes us want to write a decent-size check, we just think it’s effing cool.

There’s a good chance it’ll spend its life with us crawling the Target parking lot, pristine and detailed nearly to death. It may hop a curb now and then, and maybe head down a dirt road if the stars align just right. And one day, years from now, whatever lucky person buys the thing from us will own a true garage queen.

So sue us. Earn your money and spend it as you will. Life is just too damned short to do otherwise. We don’t drive our ridiculously overpowered sports car and even sillier overpowered SUV at a buck seventy everywhere we go, either, even though both could do so without breaking a sweat.

(I got to reading a similar why-buy-a-hardcore-pickup-if-you’re-not-gonna-hardcore-it thread elsewhere. Decided to respond here. Yeah, I mix my metaphors too.)

Buy what you want because it speaks to you, not just because you need it. The world is full of average things and average cars. There are unique and cool vehicles available at any price level. My recommendation is, buy one. Once you’ve done so, you’ll have a hard time going back

jcwls3 said:

Yes. THIS.

If my wife and I decide to buy a Trailhunter that a) currently does not exist as a production vehicle, and b) may never actually be delivered to our dealer, it won’t be because we’ll overland it every day. Or week. Or month. Or possibly ever. We’d like a small truck; we’d prefer a Toyota for reasons you can all understand; and vainly in a way that makes us want to write a decent-size check, we just think it’s effing cool.

There’s a good chance it’ll spend its life with us crawling the Target parking lot, pristine and detailed nearly to death. It may hop a curb now and then, and maybe head down a dirt road if the stars align just right. And one day, years from now, whatever lucky person buys the thing from us will own a true garage queen.

So sue us. Earn your money and spend it as you will. Life is just too damned short to do otherwise. We don’t drive our ridiculously overpowered sports car and even sillier overpowered SUV at a buck seventy everywhere we go, either, even though both could do so without breaking a sweat.

(I got to reading a similar why-buy-a-hardcore-pickup-if-you’re-not-gonna-hardcore-it thread elsewhere. Decided to respond here. Yeah, I mix my metaphors too.)

Buy what you want because it speaks to you, not just because you need it. The world is full of average things and average cars. There are unique and cool vehicles available at any price level. My recommendation is, buy one. Once you’ve done so, you’ll have a hard time going back

Click to expand...

Very well said!

I am opposite, I hate pulling trailers, so I would get grief from the ful size guys all of the time. My 2016 SR has no hitch, never came with one. I used my 6' bed to the max over the years.

I use my bed more than they would.

My profile pic is just one example, here are some more:

Wouldn’t get too offended by their comments. There‘S a reason they’re testing a ‘24 Tacoma at night. It’s because they are ”nobody's” in the automotive journalist world. Toyota didn’t have a time slot during the day for them to test drive a pre-production Tacoma, so they offered them a time slot at night. It’s that simple.

Sner said:

Wouldn’t get too offended by their comments. There‘S a reason they’re testing a ‘24 Tacoma at night. It’s because they are ”nobody's” in the automotive journalist world. Toyota didn’t have a time slot during the day for them to test drive a pre-production Tacoma, so they offered them a time slot at night. It’s that simple.

Click to expand...

I’m sorry, but this is just not true.

all YouTubers do night drives. The idea is to show what it’s like driving at night with screen and instrument brightness. I can’t stand him, but tophers channel is HUGE. They also GAVE him an SR5 to take home to make these videos, he isn’t being called up to show up at a parking garage in the middle of the night lol. To say he’s a nobody because he’s driving at night just isn’t true. His YouTube channel makes ALOT of money.

Sner said:

Wouldn’t get too offended by their comments. There‘S a reason they’re testing a ‘24 Tacoma at night. It’s because they are ”nobody's” in the automotive journalist world. Toyota didn’t have a time slot during the day for them to test drive a pre-production Tacoma, so they offered them a time slot at night. It’s that simple.

Click to expand...

TheTopher has over 674k subscribers and over 1,500 videos. He also has video POV of the drive even in California, both on and off road... Your comment is useless. I welcome any new content with the 2024 Tacoma, I don't care how small or big the YouTuber is...

tacoboutit said:

I never really understood the sentiment of dogging people because they want a truck even though they won't use the bed all the time. I won't be offroading all the time either, should I not get something offroad capable? I am buying it because it can haul things when I need to and I can go offroading when I want to. I don't have to be doing it all the time. Just let people spend their hard-earned money on what they want. Why be judgy? It floods a lot where I live, maybe I just wanna ride a little higher than I do in my civic and have a few more capabilities.

Click to expand...

I’ve always thought that sentiment stems from the fact that bigger, heavier vehicles cause far more wear and tear on our public infrastructure + are far more likely to cause a fatality in a pedestrian accident (and do more damage in accidents general) cus they’re so high up and heavy. And they can mess up other drivers sight lines.

I definitely agree with you that people get really snide about folks driving trucks when it’s not necessary. Folks do have a right to drive what they want, plus you never know what someone’s doing with their truck when you’re not looking! Despite how much some of us want to, we can’t be camping and exploring all the time — I do think about those other safety considerations though when driving because, at least to me, that’s part of being a good neighbor.

JustAnotherDingus said:

I’ve always thought that sentiment stems from the fact that bigger, heavier vehicles cause far more wear and tear on our public infrastructure + are far more likely to cause a fatality in a pedestrian accident (and do more damage in accidents general) cus they’re so high up and heavy. And they can mess up other drivers sight lines.

I definitely agree with you that people get really snide about folks driving trucks when it’s not necessary. Folks do have a right to drive what they want, plus you never know what someone’s doing with their truck when you’re not looking! Despite how much some of us want to, we can’t be camping and exploring all the time — I do think about those other safety considerations though when driving because, at least to me, that’s part of being a good neighbor.

Click to expand...

True, but by the same token, I drive a civic in Texas. I am surrounded by people who drive bigger heavier trucks. Lol. I feel like buying a truck won't impact others much since most of them have trucks too. It just increases my own survivability in the event of a crash. A Tacoma isn't exactly colossal either. I also plan to drive like a sane human being. Lol

Tr

tacoboutit said:

True, but by the same token, I drive a civic in Texas. I am surrounded by people who drive bigger heavier trucks. Lol. I feel like buying a truck won't impact others much since most of them have trucks too. It just increases my own survivability in the event of a crash. A Tacoma isn't exactly colossal either. I also plan to drive like a sane human being. Lol

Click to expand...

Truth. I remember the first time I drove in Houston. I felt so tiny and I was in a suv lol

jcwls3 said:

Yes. THIS.

If my wife and I decide to buy a Trailhunter that a) currently does not exist as a production vehicle, and b) may never actually be delivered to our dealer, it won’t be because we’ll overland it every day. Or week. Or month. Or possibly ever. We’d like a small truck; we’d prefer a Toyota for reasons you can all understand; and vainly in a way that makes us want to write a decent-size check, we just think it’s effing cool.

There’s a good chance it’ll spend its life with us crawling the Target parking lot, pristine and detailed nearly to death. It may hop a curb now and then, and maybe head down a dirt road if the stars align just right. And one day, years from now, whatever lucky person buys the thing from us will own a true garage queen.

So sue us. Earn your money and spend it as you will. Life is just too damned short to do otherwise. We don’t drive our ridiculously overpowered sports car and even sillier overpowered SUV at a buck seventy everywhere we go, either, even though both could do so without breaking a sweat.

(I got to reading a similar why-buy-a-hardcore-pickup-if-you’re-not-gonna-hardcore-it thread elsewhere. Decided to respond here. Yeah, I mix my metaphors too.)

Buy what you want because it speaks to you, not just because you need it. The world is full of average things and average cars. There are unique and cool vehicles available at any price level. My recommendation is, buy one. Once you’ve done so, you’ll have a hard time going back

Click to expand...

I make the comparison with clothes all the time. You might be a fashionista; you might explain away a $100 t-shirt by defining the fabric, the thread count, the way it was cut, the fact that it was sewn by Mayan monks standing in salt baths at high noon. You don't have to explain it to me, it's never going to make sense to me.

What will make sense to me is if you say you enjoy shopping and researching it, you learn some new things in the process of your research, and almost join a community in the process of gaining the knowledge. Also if you tell me you do get some joy every time you put it on and it's a simple pleasure in life for you. Good, buy 5 of them.

Same thing with trucks/cars. OK, you dont care, it's transportation for you, I get it. However, I do enjoy going down the rabbit holes researching them, knowing something about all the trucks on the market. I do get a little joy looking in the garage or driving to work. Also, yes, I dont 4x4 as a hobby, but I do hike. Frequently you're not on paved roads getting to trail heads. I do want to buy some land soon and build. A RAV4 isn't going to cut it driving around unimproved land trying to map out property lines, going there to work on the house before grading is done, etc.

Anyway, long way of saying "I agree", lol

tacoboutit said:

I never really understood the sentiment of dogging people because they want a truck even though they won't use the bed all the time. I won't be offroading all the time either, should I not get something offroad capable? I am buying it because it can haul things when I need to and I can go offroading when I want to. I don't have to be doing it all the time. Just let people spend their hard-earned money on what they want. Why be judgy? It floods a lot where I live, maybe I just wanna ride a little higher than I do in my civic and have a few more capabilities.

Click to expand...

The reason behind it is simple: The Vanity and Ego of the urban masses strangles the Freedom of Choice [read 'Ability'] for the fewer who have actual need of certain set of features.

This tends to deeply frustrate and upset the fewer people with real need and no good options to meet it. Think small rancher in the US needing something akin to a 2023 Landcruiser 70 Series Single Cab Truck.

There are dramatically more Americans who buy new pickup trucks, yet live in circumstances which call only for the features of a Suburbanite people & luggage mover that they don't feel inferior or weak for driving.

So, they 'wanna TRUCK!' because of what it represents in mind: big and tough. Nobody wants to be small. It's the connotations that a "Truck" carries and how it makes one feel when they picture themselves, and as they look to others. Also ignorance and inexperience navigating technical terrain leads people to think they need a truck to go drive on muddy county roads, or as if using recovery tools is a big scary thing.

There are also factors such as politics and tribal identity at play. A truck has become a tribal symbol in the south more than a tool to earn a living through.

This, versus a considerably more affordable, often more practical, and usually more convenient/smoother riding 'SUV'.

As a result, unfortunately, the cultural conflation trend biases what sells the most and thus design & manufacturing in the truck market, to a proportionate extreme. Instead of making baddass SUV's that carry the right masculinity...

Said market force pushed trucks - in North America - to devolve into less work-oriented, but subjectively more appealing, huge 4 Door SUVs that Do carry the right notions and symbolisms.
In turn, this screws over those far fewer (but not uncommon) number of people who need a light truck to do actual truck things on the regular to meet a genuine utilitarian need.

It also massively inflates "truck" prices due to outsized demand while delivering increasingly less utility every vehicle generation.

Save for the 2 remaining Toyota and Nissan trim levels in the American market - Gone is the ability to buy a New, quality, compact truck that is a power-to-fuel efficient, Affordable, 4x4 2-Seater with 5k+ Tow Capacity & Long Bed that'll last and meet your life's needs in one investment. No, a Gator or a Kei truck doesn't cut it. Talking roadworthy here.

Needs of capability that the near-urban consumer masses don't buy trucks for; trucking a load of 4'x8' for a building project, or moving the dining room set you handcrafted from your workshop to your downtown store, for recent examples. Also, not getting forced unto a 1 Ton Commercial model that costs 2x more and comes only in White with a V10 at 23 feet long, still with rear seats you'll never use, or elsewise unfavorable to own as daily driver.

D38 said:

The reason behind it is simple: The Vanity and Ego of the urban masses strangles the Freedom of Choice [read 'Ability'] for the fewer who have actual need of certain set of features.

This tends to deeply frustrate and upset the fewer people with real need and no good options to meet it. Think small rancher in the US needing something akin to a 2023 Landcruiser 70 Series Single Cab Truck.

There are dramatically more Americans who buy new pickup trucks, yet live in circumstances which call only for the features of a Suburbanite people & luggage mover that they don't feel inferior or weak for driving.

So, they 'wanna TRUCK!' because of what it represents in mind: big and tough. Nobody wants to be small. It's the connotations that a "Truck" carries and how it makes one feel when they picture themselves, and as they look to others. Also ignorance and inexperience navigating technical terrain leads people to think they need a truck to go drive on muddy county roads, or as if using recovery tools is a big scary thing.

There are also factors such as politics and tribal identity at play. A truck has become a tribal symbol in the south more than a tool to earn a living through. Again, most actually need/want the conveniences of an SUV.

This, versus a considerably more affordable, often more practical, and usually more convenient/smoother riding 'SUV'.

As a result, unfortunately, the cultural conflation trend biases what sells the most and thus design & manufacturing in the truck market, to a proportionate extreme.

Said market force pushed trucks - in North America - to devolve into less work-oriented, but subjectively more appealing, huge 4 Door SUVs that carry the right notions and symbolisms.
In turn, this screws over those far fewer (but not uncommon) number of people who need a light truck to do actual truck things on the regular to meet a genuine utilitarian need.

It also massively inflates "truck" prices due to outsized demand while delivering increasingly less utility every vehicle generation.

Save for the 2 remaining Toyota and Nissan trim levels in the American market - Gone is the ability to buy a New, quality, compact truck that is a power-to-fuel efficient, Affordable, 4x4 2-Seater with 5k+ Tow Capacity & Long Bed that'll last and meet your life's needs in one investment. No, a Gator or a Kei truck doesn't cut it. Talking roadworthy here.

Needs of capability that the near-urban consumer masses don't buy trucks for; trucking a load of 4'x8' for a building project, or moving the dining room set you handcrafted from your workshop to your downtown store, for recent examples. Also, not getting forced unto a 1 Ton Commercial model that costs 2x more and comes only in White with a V10 at 23 feet long, still with rear seats you'll never use, or elsewise unfavorable to own as daily driver.

Click to expand...

Who cares.... who says my, or anyone else's reasons for wanting a truck are any less important to us than the other persons reasons? What I plan to use my truck for are my reasons and to me that's what counts. We all work hard for what we have or what we want, period!