Great improvements

UPDATE 01/06/06 : I thought I would hope on to give an update given that the truck is about 5 years old now.
It is still running very well and there has been very minor repairs needed. In fact only repairs have been from minor accidents. One of which included the truck being tipped on to its side. It was an ice road and we had to swerve in order to avoid another car that was sliding. We hit a snow bank and the truck tipped over. Even with that the only damage was the passenger side mirror and some body work to the door panel. No other body panels were harmed. The tow truck operator and the mechanic were both surprised that more damage was not done and they both commented on the ridgidness of the truck. I should also note that the truck tipping order had nothing to do with the height of it or another vehicle issues it was purely road conditions and driver error. (Normally I don’t admit my errors but I want to give the truck a fair review)
I have found over the years that keeping the tires on this truck rotated does make a large difference in tire wear. I also very rarely have anything in the back of the truck so I attribute that to the weight difference from front to rear of the truck.
Hope this all helps.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: Toyota has greatly improved the new Tacoma. The new styling not only looks great but new function is also there. On the outside there is new body design, which includes fender flares, vertical grill and hood shape. All of these give the Tacoma a stronger look. On the inside they finally got around to moving the cup holder. It is no longer over the radio and temperature controls. There is one adjustable holder behind the shift and in front of the center armrest. There are also two additional cup holders along the passenger side of the center drive shaft. One of the most interesting new features is the white gages. Not only are the easier to read they look pretty cool. I use to have a 1987 Toyota truck, the new 2001 truck has kept all of the good features of the 1987 and improved on the bad. I also currently have a 1997 4runner and I find myself comparing it with the Tacoma as well. The Tacoma defiantly feels lighter and there for a little less stable then the 4runner. However the 4runner does have the 15in tires where the Tacoma has 16 and the 4runner also has wide tires. I want to put wider tires on the Tacoma so I am going to see if that improves the handling. Over all the Tacoma is a great truck though. There is plenty of horsepower for the 4-cylinder engine, I haven't had a chance to see towing or hauling power but if it is anything like my old pickup it should be no problem.