Generally I post in the "Early" Truck section of this board since I usually drive an 86 Toy 4x4 with a 22r in it. However I find myself with less and less time anymore to keep up the maintenance on a 23 year old truck with a quarter or a million miles on it and am considering buying a new Tacoma. Since I have basically ignored these trucks for the last few years, I have some questions. I am looking at a standard cab 4x4 with the 2.7L engine and 5 speed (Basically a newer version of my 86). My question is, how is the power on these engines and how reliable are you guys finding them to be. Of course the Toyota salesman will tell me anything but I would like an opinion from someone who has nothing to personally gain from my purchase. Also, how is the mileage on these trucks? The brochure says 17/22. I also noticed that the extended cab version of the same model (same engine) also gets the exact mileage. I was wondering if anyone could verify that. I may drop the money for an extended cab if the mileage is the same (or pretty close). If anyone has an answer or opinion, I would be interested to hear.

Thanks in advance.