Colonal Angus
Adventurer
I hadn't heard of any transmission or differential problems with the new Tacoma. Do you have specifics? The "sluggish" performance is to be expected: 1) it's a truck; 2) the new 3.5l v6 is a passenger car-derived engine that prioritizes mpg over outright performance. If you want a truck that has a lot of grunt, you'll have to look at full-size trucks like the Tundra and Silverado 1500. The Tacoma is a lifestyle truck; it can tow and haul gear, but that's not its primary purpose.
As for waiting a year or two, that's never a bad idea with any new generation of vehicle. New models generally have more issues than the follow-on years, even for Toyota's.
Oooh get on TacomaWorld...it's terrible what those kids are saying about the poor 3rd gen.