I thought I would NEVER sell the 03. However a back injury (which focuses pain in the left leg and hip) makes driving the 03's manual trans quite painful. Obviously, I'm switching to the 5 speed automatic. Am also moving up to the Double Cab, so we can take another couple on offroad jaunts, particularly to our WAY OFFROAD "end of the world, off the grid survival bunker" in Arizona's White Mountains.

Was going to go for the 06 Tundra w/0% financing for 5 years. On Oct 1, Toyo announced 3.9% for 5 years on Tacos, which swayed me.

My test drive revealed a much more powerful V-6, faster steering, better handling and a softer TRD ride than my 03.

Only immediate aftermarket option will be a top of the line, ARE shell, to enclose our two traveling companion
dogs, and other cargo. Not interested in lift kits, because it already has enough ground clearance for our needs; and I don't want to degrade the sweet handling.

Short of turbo or superchargers, are there any options that can provide decent power gains for around a grand or less? Any other suggestions for immediate additions that would increase power, economy, or the "fun to drive" factor?

Thanks!

What options did you get? Is is the long bed? How much did you pay out of the door? Can you feel the different in size when you are in the cab? I have the 2002 Tacoma DC, don't want to trade in since I put so much money into it.

Has about every possible option except for that X-REAS suspension. Would have liked to buy the long bed, but it is not available w/the TRD offroad package (only the TRD Sport, which omits skidplates, and offroad tuning.) And we take our truck to places where the offroad shocks, skidplate, etc are definitely appreciated.

I had the camper shell and extended warranty built into the purchase price, financed at 3.99% They sold the truck at invoice, plus above options. Will post the numbers tomorrow.

The inner cabin dimensions feel significantly larger. More impressive are the increased power, lack of road noise, and much softer ride. It is almost like driving a luxury car, with very good offroad abilities too.

With all that said, just like you, I didn't plan to ever sell my 03 except for my recent injury which makes operating the clutch too painful.

There is alot of goodies and bonuses that I like with the 06 that wasnt taken advantage of by other manufacturers. I love mine, definetely made the right choice.

Since my '02 Tacoma DC has a TRD SC, TRD header and TRD exhaust, would I feel a lot difference in hp power between newer Tacoma vs mine? I know for sure that my truck suspensions should be a lot firmer than the new one. I am asking a lot of question because I have many potential buyer for my truck, since it has only 16K+ in mileages.

My 03 V-6 was stock, with the 5M transmission. All I can say is that the 06, V-6 auto 4x4 is much faster than my 03. Horsepower is rated at 236, with 266 lb-ft of torque. I'm guessing those are fairly near the figures of your supercharged 02. The 06 has a 5 speed, rather than a 4 speed auto.

In other words, the stock 06 V-6 is probably in the same ballpark as your SC 02. Only way to know which is faster is to test drive the new one.