Had to rent a car from SAT short notice on Monday and only Avis had availability. I don’t usually rent with them so went to the counter and they put me in what I thought was a new Tacoma. Got to it and figured out it was a 2023. It was past midnight at that point so I just took it and left. What a crap driving vehicle - it’s all I can say. Had about 6 hours behind the wheel so enough for my legs to hurt a couple times from the strange seating and annoyed by everything else about it.
Fast forward to this morning at ORD, had a reservation and was trying to find something unique or interesting to drive home in the emerald aisle. I see a black Tacoma that looked a lot like what I had rented earlier in the week so I instinctively went in the other direction. Couldn’t find anything that looked fun so walked back by the Tacoma to notice it was a 2024. Same spec as the 2023 - TRD Offroad. Decided to give it a whirl. What a big step forward in every way. Turbo 4 actually maintains speed on the highway and a lot less tramming around and ride was more composed. Less like a cartoon character of a truck. I suppose it’s not so hard to take such a big leap forward when you’re moving from 20 year old technology.