TOYOTA TACOMA PRERUNNER

OVERVIEW

Location: Wilmington, NC

Mileage: 101,032 miles

Transmission: Automatic

Exterior Color: Super White

Interior Color: Brown (Sand Beige)

Gas Mileage: 17 MPG City
                        21 MPG Highway
                        18 MPGCombined

HISTORY

The Toyota Tacoma is a pickup truck manufactured in Mexico and the U.S. by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota since 1995. The first-generation Tacoma, model years 1995 through 2004, was classified as a compact pickup. The second generation, model years 2005 through 2015, and third generation, in production since 2015, are classified as midsized pickups and are produced in the U.S. and Mexico. The Tacoma was Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year for 2005.

As of 2015, the Toyota Tacoma is sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Bermuda, and the French territory of New Caledonia.

The PreRunner model was introduced for the 1998 model year. The PreRunner is a 2WD that shares the same taller suspension and lug pattern as the four-wheel drive. Along with the four-wheel drive model, it was also available with the TRD Off-Road Package that included a locking rear differential, also introduced in 1998.

DESIGN

The Tacoma isn’t infinitely configurable like most full-size trucks, but it can still be had in an impressive 18 configurations – plenty for this segment. Our tester arrived nearly loaded with four full-sized doors, the PreRunner package, Class-IV towing hardware and the $4,335 TRD Sport Extra Value Package, which includes P265/65R tires wrapped around 17-inch alloys, Bilstein shocks, satellite radio with Bluetooth and a backup camera with its screen located in the rearview mirror. Test was a 4X2, but the PreRunner bolt-ons imbue this Tacoma with the look and swagger of a true 4X4.

Most pickups don’t attract much attention, but the Tacoma commanded a surprising amount of ogling, courtesy of its over-the-top Speedway Blue Metallic paint and a Subaru-esque (non-functional) front hood scoop.  The front end’s design remains a bit obtuse for our tastes, with too many oddly intersecting lines and busy shapes around the grille and headlamps, with the decoy hood scoop only accentuating the problem.

SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THE TOYOTA TACOMA PRERUNNER

There was a time when pickup trucks came in three sensible sizes; small, medium and large. That’s changed in recent years, as most pint-sized trucks have grown substantially to maintain distance compared to the similarly inflating half-ton pickup truck segment. The Toyota Tacoma is no different, as the second generation of the popular pickup is eight inches wider and over a foot longer than the 1995 Taco. And don’t even try comparing the latest Tacoma to Marty McFly’s stellar 1985 Toyota Pickup in the Back to the Future films, which could almost fit in the bed of a modern heavy-duty.

But while the Tacoma has adjusted to fit the growing whims of U.S. truck buyers, sales have dropped anyway. Over the past three years, nameplate sales have plunged by over 60 percent, and 2010 isn’t looking any better. Has the Tacoma – last redesigned way back in 2005 – become long-in-the-tooth, or are car buyers simply turning away from the mid-size truck?

HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR CAR?

Fixing deep scratches on your used car before the rust forms with something as simple as a dab of touch-up paint will save you endless trouble in the long run.

• Keep it clean

Giving your Toyota a regular all-round wash is a great way to keep it in the best possible shape and inspect the bodywork and interior for any  wear-and-tear that you can attend to before it becomes a big concern.

Similarly, if you allow brake-dust and road grime to accumulate on your used car’s alloy wheels, it will, over time, leave dark spots or make your used car’s rims appear dull.

It is very important to remember that you should never wash your used Toyota, or any other used car for that matter, with standard dish washing liquid or other household cleaning detergent.

Think about it: If your Toyota is regularly equipped with clean filters, oil and other lubricants, its engine will operate without any undue strain. This will lead to better fuel consumption and better engine performance in the short term and greater durability in the long term.

• Keep an eye on your tyres

Make it a habit to regularly check your tyre tread and the tyre pressure of your Toyota.

Inspecting the tyre tread helps you to quickly identify irregular wear patterns, such as wear on the outside of the tyre. If you spot this early enough, you can address it and extend the life of your tyres.

If you see an irregular tread pattern, you may need to check each wheel’s balancing or the alignment between the wheels at an approved tyre fitment centre.

Checking your tyre pressure is equally important. An under-inflated tyre will cause more wear and tear and will increase your vehicle’s fuel consumption. An over-inflated tyre will, in turn, cause uneven wear on the tyre and may negatively influence your vehicle’s steering and wet-weather performance.

• Monitor your fuel economy

Keeping an eye on your fuel economy is a great way of tracking the mechanical integrity of any used vehicle.

By keeping an eye on your tyres, bodywork, fuel economy and by regularly servicing your Toyota, you can be sure that it will maintain its value very well as a used vehicle and it will give you many years of trouble-free service.

Source: autoblog, cargurus, wikipedia.