I talked to guy the other day that had just sold his 09 model 2nd Gen 4wd Double Cab and bought a new model. He had 340k on the older one. When I asked about how he liked the new one, the first thing he said was that he kind of missed the drivetrain of the old one, but the rest of the new truck was great. So it does sound like Toyota kind of missed the mark a bit on the 3rd Gens.
With regards to Tacomas in general, it's commonly known that they give up a lot in terms of features and power when it comes to a domestic full-size of a similar price. People buy them because they are more of a "get it and forget it" purchase, reliable and consistent, requiring little maintenance, until you go to sell it with a ton of miles on it and still get good money for it. That's where their value is. I also drive one because I can work from it, actually drive it off road, and I don't bury it up in every soft spot. My 6,000lb F150 was not so good at that. My hunting season UTV is the $500 stack of mud tires in my garage that I'll swap back on in a few weeks. But that is just what works for me and my current needs/budget, everybody is free to buy what works for them......
