Used 2020 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab Consumer Reviews
2020 Tacoma
New Toyota Tacoma 6 Speed Manual came home last week on 10/07/2019. As of today Tuesday 10/15/2019, I have 1,456 miles on it. So I feel qualified at this point, to do at least an initial experience review. A week isn’t very long. But nearing 1,500 miles means I have acquired considerable seat time in a brief period. I wanted a new mid size truck. I tried a Chevy Colorado ZR2 with the Baby Duramax. I liked it but it stickered at $53k and some change. I also am not a fan of DEF And I wondered about the cost of shock replacements down the road. It rode well, and I liked it. Although the interior seemed a bit dated, as others have said. It is a very cool truck! Next I tried the new Ford Ranger. I test drove this one as well. Although it was a rather short test run. The dealer rep turned me around about a mile from the dealership. I must say, I liked the Ranger too. At least as far as I drove it. Lastly, I test drove a Tacoma. To be honest, I almost did not. The reviews piled on about this truck’s transmission constantly hunting and it not having enough power had me wondering why bother. First I took a Tacoma Sport out with the auto tranny. In town and on the highway. I thought it did fine. It did shift once on the highway when I was on an on ramp. I thought that must be what everyone is talking about. Didn’t seem like a big deal to me. The next day I went back to the dealership. They had a white TRD Off Road on the lot. A 2020 with the new 8 way driver’s seat and a six speed manual. I expressed a desire for a longer test drive. The vehicle was filled with gas and I was handed the keys. 38 miles later the deal was sealed. Some say it rides like a truck. I would say it has a solid planted feel. But it is after all a truck. If you like manual transmissions. The six speed Coupled with the V-6 is a dream come true. With a low first and a close ratio set of five behind it it never seems to be out of place. On posted 55MPH roads, I can leave it in 5th, set the cruise and relax. On my six hour commute home last Friday. I shifted into 6th in Pa. set the cruise at 70 mph and it pulled like a champ all the way to Watertown, NY. No need to downshift to keep it in the power band. Just smooth and easy. It’s not a Vette, or even a Mustang for that matter. What it is, is a solid smaller working truck. My job requires a substantial amount of off pavement/dirt road work. I am in and out of rock quarries on a regular basis. Steep grades, big rocks and mud are the norm. So far so good. I have owned two older Toyota trucks, an older Tacoma, and a Tundra. So I’m no stranger to the brand. But I’m not a fan boy either. That being said. I have never had a Toyota require any maintenance other than oil changes and brakes. All were near or above 200K when traded out. This truck came with middle of the road Do-Dads. Key fob to enter, key start. Decent but not great infotainment center. No heated seats, and not much of the crazy modern creature comforts we have come to expect today. My 60 year old butt did just fine for 57 years with conventional seats. I think it will survive without them again. The seats are comfy though. My Tacoma also came with a Factory hard folding Tonneau cover. Kind of cool. Dry/Lockable storage for customer goodies. Also with a a 2” receiver and 4/7 pin plugs. Locking rear diff is also cool. But I haven’t had to engage it yet. I’m sure given my environment, that time will come. When I turn off the road onto some rutted up two track in search of a new quarryman. None of the techno wizardry seems to matter much. As my new friend claws it’s way up the side of a mountain, all seems right with the world. On the road, I’m more than happy with the ride quality. It soaks up bumps, it runs quiet, and it feels planted. One cool gizmo I really like is the power sliding rear window. Just really nice to ventilate a hot truck. The Toyota cargo cleats and rails are another great feature. As is the 110 volt outlet in the box. Of the three trucks I tested. The ZR2 looked the toughest/baddest/coolest. And the Ranger FX4 looked the most refined. Especially in the Lariat trim. The Tacoma settled nicely in the middle. It looks like a tough capable truck. But not an over the top mud rig. The 16” rims and rubber means I have a lot of tire choices, very cool. Plenty of stock ground clearance too. If you’re looking for a lifestyle enhancer, the Tacoma may not be your best choice. But if you want a serious work vehicle. Do yourself a big favor. Read the reviews. Then go test drive one anyway. You may be pleasantly surprised. I’ll upstate this when I have more miles on it. But so far, I am. Happy camper. Oh yes, one more thing. The Tacoma has been around long enough, that if you so choose. There is a myriad of aftermarket options to help keep your checking account looking trim and fit. Pleased with my purchase.
All in one-does it all truck
I am not an expert writer but I will highlight some interesting things on why I decided on the Tacoma double cab 4X4 auto off road. I looked around I was narrowing my choices to the 3 best selling midsize trucks(Ranger, Tacoma and Colorado). The Tacoma was the best selling midsize truck and the one with the best resale value. Also the Tacoma had the best pricing for what it offers, for instance small things like the bed liner, the power outlet, the more tie downs for the bed, the rail system and the dampered tailgate. Inside the cabin the same thing, the rear seats are the only ones that can be accommodated completely flatfoot more space and you have extra storage behind the seats and beneath the seats. I also picked the Tacoma for its unique and leading technology of the Crawl control. I watched lots of videos and what got my attention is how this truck can unburied itself from mud or sand with the crawl control, you don't even have to touch the gas or brake pedal to do so. The truck is well loaded. I picked my truck with the 4X4 and the off road package which comes with BF Goodrich Wranlgler all terrain tires with kevlar side walls and Bilstein suspension , higher ride with stronger springs and you also get the heavy duty shields to protect the fuel tank, engine, etc. The one thing I hate about the truck is the engine response, this truck probably is very sluggish, you have to rev the engine to get it to respond, the power out put is on the top end but is not impressive, it is just adequate. The same thing can be said about the transmission, you are constantly hovering in the 1200-1500 rpm while driving in traffic, the trucks wants to grab the tallest possible gear and therefore when you are accelerating with traffic you have to press the gas pass the halfway otherwise you are rolling in 6th gear by 35 mph. Ironically the engine and the transmissions are one of the best, at least they are bullet proof with some components in the engine designed for high mileage maintenance intervals. The truck is remarkably quiet and comfortable, you don't hear absolutely nothing.It can go over bumps, potholes, bums and speed bumps like gliding and you can tell that they put a lot of effort in to that. The windows are more isolated to reduce the noise and that is why the truck is so quiet. The standard equipment is very nice, for 2020 you have stuff like push start, and electric seats. It also connects to apple play. I am your average guy(5'10') and I can fit perfectly in the back, you can seat 5 on this truck without a problem. I really wish the engine was peppier like on the Ford Ranger which uses the Ford Mustang 4 cylinder turbo engine(2.3 Ecooboost). If you are looking for speed then turn around and don't even look at the Tacoma,they are probably the slowest of the competitors but if you want a nice truck that will hold the value well and do incredibly well on/off road then get a Tacoma. I got mine for roughly $5000 off, there were lots of offers during the end year event. Toyota also covers the first 2 years of maintenance and it has a great warranty. They also offer a 7 year warranty for a few hundred dollars which I think is a killer deal. Please look around and take notes of prices, discounts, warranties and watch lots of videos. Do not be impulsive when buying a truck, get the most out of your money. Tacoma right now are the $hit, best selling midsize trucks for a few years in a row and is like that for a reason. 90000 Rangers sold last year vs 249000 Tacomas. Gas mileage is the other thing that I have to criticize a little bit, the truck is rated at 18/22 (4X4) while a Range does better and it has more torque and power. Just keep that in mind when you by your next truck. Lastly the aftermarket industry. Toyota has everything you can imagine.
- TRD Sport Double CabMSRP: $29,99517 mi away
- TRD Off Road Double CabMSRP: $27,4959 mi away
- Limited Double CabMSRP: $33,9898 mi away
1st new truck I've bought
I owned a small truck about 25 years ago but it wasn't a very good one and I didn't have it for long. But I've wanted a truck for a couple of years so I went shopping. Whatever I bought had to have a locking differential so that narrowed down my choices to the Tacoma (my 1st choice), the Frontier Pro4x4 and an F150. I test drove an eco boost 2.7 F150 and also a normally aspirated 3.3l F150. I liked both trucks and was astonished at the drivetrain power and smoothness of the eco boost motor. I didn't drive the Frontier because I don't like the splashy, overwrought graphics of the Pro4x4. Anyway, I've owned Toyotas, I have friends who own Toyotas and I've always thought highly of them. I've owned 2 Fords and they both had expensive issues, plus I was rather off-put that the new $40-some thousand dollar F150s I was looking at were being offered for about $30k. So I bought my 4 door TRD Off Road. I haven't owned it but a few days and about 375 miles. There isn't anything I don't like about it ... just stuff to get used to. It feels very solid, looks terrific and everything inside looks and feels well made. I've heard about the shifty transmission but it seems fine to me. The motor certainly seems to have more than ample power. I don't plan to tow anything more than 2 motorcycles, if that, so my primary purpose is as a daily driver, hauling household stuff around and occasionally going off-pavement with my Jeep and Toyota buddies. My biggest concern is the mpg but I'm a conservative driver and do a lot of highway mileage. Edmunds is good because they ask you to update your review periodically and I plan to do just that. I'm looking forward to learning more about my truck, especially the off-pavement capabilities. I will say that it was a very difficult decision to trade in my beloved 2018 CRV but the deal was too good to pass up and I knew I wouldn't stop wanting a Tacoma if I did pass. Although I haven't owned the truck for long (about 5 days), I can honestly say that I've liked it more each time I've driven it so hopefully this continues. UPDATE: Aug 2020. Ended up trading the Tacoma in for a 2020 Honda CRV. Yeah, I guess that shifty transmission seemed okay during my first week of ownership but eventually it just seemed like it was always in the wrong gear. Always. And it was jerky. There was a horrible rattle inside the dashboard which I traced to the hard plastic air cabin filter. Duct tape fixed that. Overall, the Tacoma seemed huge on the outside and tiny inside. The Tacoma was easily the most disappointing vehicle I ever owned. I track all my miles on Fuelly and I covered 4,169 miles and averaged 19.8mpg ... which isn’t terrible considering how large this vehicle is. But do some research because there are larger, more powerful trucks that are rated for and actually achieve better mpg.
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Don't be tempted - the transmission is horrible
This is a great midsize truck....for off roading, or truly being used as just a utility truck. It's nearly unbeatable off road. It's decent on the inside though needs some serious technology updates. The seats are...not comfortable. I could never get used to the seating. Lots of rattles, even brand new. The cabin feels cramped. However, the item that finally drove me away to trade in my Taco 4 short months after purchase was the transmission. It is absolutely horrible. Whoever designed it must have never taken it up any sort of incline. Constantly shifting, never in the right gear, good luck driving to the mountains, hope you enjoy revving at 5,000 rpm for an hour! Even small inclines the transmission would leap to a higher gear, accelerate, then immediately downshift to about 2,000rpm, lack the horsepower to continue to hold the current speed, slow down, shift up again, repeat this cycle about every 30 seconds until you're at the top of the hill. It didn't seem so bad at first but by the 2nd month I was looking at other cars. Ended up in a Rav4 Hybrid after realizing a.) Don't actually need a truck and b.) 18mpg really sucks even at $2 gallon gas and c.) The Rav4 doesn't sound like it's dying when it goes up a hill, nor does the transmission leap wildly all over the place, slowly driving you up the wall. Of course we're comparing a CVT to an automatic so that's a whole other discussion... So yeah...test drive the Tacoma up the steepest hill in your area, and imagine how you will feel about it 6 months from now. I would wait until Toyota redesigns this truck with a better interior and a transmission that knows what it is doing, or get the manual if you want it now.
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It’s a great truck
I wanted a mid-size truck that was good off road and in deep snow . I am a volunteer fire fighter and emergency management coordinator, so I need to respond in all types of weather and to all types of road conditions. I chose the Tacoma Off-road with the 6 spend manual trans and 6 cylinder engine. Great driving one of the few vehicles that still offer a manual trans. Excellent ground clearance and off road capabilities. The seats are comfortable and the interior is functional. All the controls are easy to use and the nav and entertainment interface work well. The only change I’d make are the stereo speakers. They are fine but I really like the clarity of great speakers.
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WATCH OUT for MICE!!! HORRIBLE Transmission
Look out!!!! mice eat the factory wiring harness. Mine was chewed on and it cost almost $4000 to replace it!!! many other Toyotas have this same problem the service center told me actually causing 2 to 3 occurances, ending up causing totalling the toyota. So now i have bait stations in my driveway and i have to spray peppermint into the engine compartment. Totally ridiculous. Transmission...My wife won't drive it anymore because she thinks the truck is going to stall due to the transmission. This is my 5th Toyota Tacoma I traded in my 6 speed 2017 double cab sr5 for my 2020 double cab off road Big mistake to leave the 6 speed manual trans for a total junk or automatic transmission THIS TRANSMISSION IS ABSOLUTELY AWFUL I wouldn't have traded in my last Tacoma knowing just how bad this is. You need to be a lead foot to get anything out of this THE TRANSMISSION CONSTANTLY GOES INTO LOW RPM NEUTRAL LIKE STATE JUST TERRIBLE
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Love our Tacoma!
We bought our 2020 Toyota Tacoma Off Road brand new. We have had no issues rather than the fuel pump recall which was replaced. Other than that the truck has been rock solid! Ours is a 6 speed manual with the 3.5 liter V6 engine, which I absolutely love. With the manual, the acceleration in running through the gears is more than ample. It is smooth and easy to run through the gears. We have the 4.11 gear ratio. In traffic, I can crawl in first gear even as low as 2 mph without stalling. The seats are fairly comfortable considering it's a truck. On the highways we get around 22 mpg and around town about 18.5 mpg. I do use the tachometer to minimize the rpms in selecting the gear. The exterior has held up very well, but I do wax the truck both in the fall before winter and again in early summer. The stock Goodyear tires have worn well and is acceptable in snow and mild off road trails. If you are looking for a tough mid-size truck, I would recommend trying a Tacoma. If you also like a manual, I would also recommend trying one with a manual (very rare these days). Now four years after our purchase, we are still very happy with the truck! No issues. We change the oil and rotate the tires every 5,000 miles or six months whatever first. The manual transmission works very well and smooth shifting through the gears. Excellent mileage. We get around. 21 in town overall with about 23 mpg on the highway, driving conservatively. Update June of 2025. We still love our Tacoma! Glad I bought it in 2020 with the manual (now very rare)! We get at least 18 mpg around town and about 23 mpg on the highway with our 3.5 six cylinder with natural aspiration and no car performance gimmicks. Everything is factory original. I'm not a fan of turbos on engines- more trouble in my own opinion. The pick up is especially excellent with the manual and very smooth. No coments to add other than we are still very happy with our purchase.
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Nice truck, just not reliable
It’s a beautiful truck loaded with features and rides amazing, as long as it’s not broken down. Bought mine in May 2020 and has been in the shop four times in less than 90 days to try and fix stalling Issues related to low fuel pressure. Toyota has been providing feee tow service and rentals, but after four trips and over thirty (yes, thirty) days in the shop you have to ask yourself if this something you really want to trust and own for the long term. The truck has been registering trouble codes, but apparently even those can’t seem to help narrow down the problem. This is just my opinion, but the truck is so full of technology that repairs appear out of reach of anyone-including Toyota itself. Update 2/11/21 - after replacing high pressure and low pressure fuel pumps and many unplanned dealer visits with lots of driving Toyota Camry loaners, the problem appears to be fixed. Update 2/14/25. Owned the truck nearly 5 years and 50,000 miles now and no issues since they fixed the loose wire on the fuel pump.
My 3rd Tacoma
Purchased my new 2020 Toyota Tacoma in November 2019. It now has 1444 miles on it. I had a 2016 Tacoma SR and prior to that a 2008 Tacoma work truck. This new Tacoma SR5 is a definite upgrade. My wife and I really enjoy driving it and have had no repair or blemish issues. The power drivers seat was a necessary upgrade. I am 5'9 and my wife 5'2. We feel that the cabin is comfortable. We have read that large people might feel crowded? Also, definitely purchase the V-6 engine. The added power is nice and the fuel MPG seems about the same as the 4 cylinder I had in the 2016. I also recommend the double cab over the access cab. It's still a little tight back there but you can put a couple adults back there in a pinch. The access cab is good for groceries or a kid .The double cab has storage under the seats. I'm not a big electronics guy but we have figured everything out. Check out the offerings. They are pretty comprehensive. I did not opt for the navigation option. The Toyota Safety sense is a great idea. The blind spot and the rear warning is an option on the upper models but should be a standard part of Safety Sense as it is on the "Eye Sight" package on the Wife's Subaru. The power rear window and auto dimming mirror with compass was a nice surprise. I also enjoy the dark alloy wheels that came on my model. Over all the truck is tight and the finish bright. We think it steers and rides nicely. We would purchase it again. We live in Hickory, N.C. An added plug for Dave Edwards Toyota in Spartanburg , S.C. They were very nice to work with and we paid a reasonable price.
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Ask a Tacoma Owner
2020 TRD Off Road 3.5 V6 Anyone who says this engine is slow or sluggish doesn't know how to drive. When you apply firm increasing pressure on the gas at rational increments and let the transmission do its job, it will catapult you to 60mph quite smoothly and rapidly. Pressing the ECT power button gives you an extra boost that will move you up that hill and to the front of the pack. For those that must stomp their boot to the floor at every take-off, stick to your old Ford - this truck is too evolved for you to relate to. After a series of full size American trucks, I was ready to downsize for my retirement vehicle. Happily, this one can replace both my Ram and my Patriot as an all-in-one daily ride. My first 2k miles has given me nothing but joy. I have test driven the Tacoma every year of the last 5 waiting for them to get it right. They finally have. Living on the Central Oregon Coast can bring the unexpected. With this rig I am ready.
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