Tacoma -vs Ranger 2019 sales figures...it aint pretty

I recently turned in my long term Nissan Frontier Avis company rental truck and was given a 2019 Ranger (CC XLT with the FX4 package with 8,200 miles on the clock) as a replacement truck. I will try to stay neutral and objective since my personal vehicle is a 2019 Tacoma Pro.

It’s actually a VERY nice mid size pickup. I can see why some 3rd generation Tacoma owners have bailed out and purchased a Ranger. The truck has zero squeaks or rattles with over 9,000 miles on the clock now. The cabin and drivetrain are very quiet. You can tell the Ford engineers paid attention to this during development. Steering feel is good and it has a MUCH tighter turning radius than the Frontier. The turbo engine has plenty of get-up-and-go and the 10 speed tranny shifts fine with no “hunting”. I am getting 26mpg on the freeway and around 20 mpg in town. The drivers seat and ergonomics are excellent. The Frontier seats literally made my back ache, they were awful. I like the deep bed for carrying items but it’s a pain to unload from the side because of the height. The tailgate is not dampened when opening but that’s OK. It’s so light (aluminum?) that it does not need to be. The XLT model comes with STANDARD LED tail lights (Tacoma brand manager, are you listening?). They are huge, bright and come on instantly when applying the brakes. Our Tacoma’s are still using old school incandescent tail light bulbs. I definitely notice other drivers are no longer hugging my tailgate at stoplights like they did in the Frontier. I also like that both front and rear bumpers are made of steel.

Looks are subjective but I obviously prefer the looks of my Tacoma over the Ranger. The front end reminds me of a Fusion but I like the look from the rear. The large tail lights and the RANGER lettering stamped into the tail gate look good. The rear end is REALLY high in the air. It has the stance of a Sting Bug which I do not like. If I owned one my first purchase would be a leveling kit.
Unlike the Tacoma the doors are hollow sounding when shut. Ford engineers should have paid more attention to this small but important detail.

The biggest turn-off on the new Ford Ranger is the TINY display in the dash. It measures 4” diagonally and reminds me of an early Nintendo screen. It’s like the Ranger development budget ran dry when it came time to address the LCD screen. Curious if it’s the same screen that’s used on other Rangers sold globally(?)

Other dislikes are no keyless entry/push button start, lack of turn signals in the mirrors and no LED day time running lights.

That’s all folks. I know this is a Tacoma forum but I wanted to give an honest, objective review of the new Ranger after I was able to experience 3-weeks and roughly 800 miles behind the wheel.

 

I appreciate that brother I have over 1,000 miles on my Ranger thus far with 26MPG all around....good write up. It took me a bit to figure out what you get and what you don't based on trims. Given that Ford allows you to have any mix you want at any trim, say like having a Tacoma SR5 with Off-Road and the Tacoma Limited features in one truck at the dealer, the ease of packages and specs allows you to build it just how you want, YET making it dizzy when looking at dealer lots.


All the features you mentioned that were "missing", are found on the Lariat trim and a lot more e.g. LED head lights, day time running lights, and LED fog lights as well as the tail lights. The tailgate is easy to lift because, yes it's aluminum. The bed is steel, the bumpers are steel and most the truck is steel, couple of aluminum spots can be found using a magnet. My doors have a loud solid thunk that the 2018 Tacoma did not have, not sure if that is subjective or trim related from XLT to Lariat. The list of features from memory in the Ranger are noted below. This was all at the cost point of a Tacoma SR5 Double Cab with 6ft bed.


I hope this pushes Toyota to offer more in the Tacoma line-up. I personally loved the interior of my Tacoma TRD Off-Road, it looked/felt like a truck, almost Steam-Punk in a way. The GM Colorado looks sadly dated inside, despite a nice looking exterior…I hope we see a hot new Nissan Frontier as well.


The Lariat gives you -

Power mirrors, heated, and power folding with integrated turn signals, and lights on the bottom for illuminating the doors and ground below

Rear window defroster

Hood has hydraulic pump struts and lighted I believe

LED lights all around including cargo bed (except LISC plate)

8-Way Power Driver and Passenger Heated Seats with Power Lumbar leather seats that allows you to raise or lower the seats as well

Larger center head unit 8 inches with Satellite, Apple Car Play - Android integration as well as Waze GPS

Driver cluster uses a Cyclops Speedo with two 4" digital info screens left & right:

Left side is Speedo, Tire Pressure, TACH, TEMP, FUEL, TRIP, AVG FUEL, AVG Speed, 2H, 4H, 4L, ALERTS and you can mix what combinations you want together in one display
Right Side is used for the Entertainment system and Phone

Auto Dim mirror
Auto headlights and Auto High-beams

Sensors that alert you (like today when a girl behind me was approaching to fast from behind without braking) parking sensors front/back as well as very clear back up camera

Ambient lighting in door handles, floors and more that glows RED for night vision and turns to blue when you shut the truck off

Push Start button (Standard on Lariat trim)
Keyless entry both driver and passanger doors
Dual Zone Climate Control

110V Power in cabin with 4 USB ports and 4 12V power points

Power locking Tailgate

Delayed accessory power so music keeps playing after truck is turned off and until you open doors

Free Ford APP that allows me to remote start my truck, lock/unlock doors, see its location down to the address, oil life, tire pressure, and other truck system monitoring

 

All it needs now is a manual transmission and I might look twice.

 

Also, The XLT model has 2 12v charging plugs in the lower dash but the USB outlets are in the center console(?)

 

They are straight down from the shifter in my picture above, and below one of the 12V plugs, just hard to see them. There are two more in the back for back seat passangers.

 

I still can't decide if it is sad, pathetic or awesome that some claim that street trucks put big smiles on their face. It is an appliance to me. I mean sure, I am super satisfied with my Tacoma. But decades of driving performance cars means a truck is unlikely to amuse me.

 

That's SAD...

 

Teton Gravity did a short film using the Ranger, looks good. Main thing is price, that's a huge factor. A 2020 Offroad is now $43G plus tax, things are getting pricey.
https://www.tetongravity.com/feature/adventure/tough-fun-full-film-rise-of-red

 

That is always a factor, BIG one for most of us. My 2018 TACO OR was $38,800 yet managed just shy of a $6K discount with the $1K Toyota Tacoma rebate at the time. New 2020 TRD OR's around here are $39,800 now from what I have seen, same truck, same trim & options as my 2018. The Ford Lariat is around $37,700 and no problem getting a $5k discount with rebates.

 

The 02 - 06 Ford Rangers were pretty good trucks.

Good gas milage, not over gimmicky.

 

I’ll bet that Supercab does haul a** , the crew cab I drove felt quick and I never even really romped it. Tacoma may be a better overall truck (or not) but its glaring shortcoming (cue the wuhwuhwuh it’s designed for reliability) is it’s engine and transmission.

 

Leveled

 

Not leveled

 

Ranger's interior styling puts me to sleep... it looks like a rental car.

Toyota knocked it out of the park with the Taco interior. I think it looks great.

 

Yeah, but weren't those just rebadged Mazda's?

 

No. It was the other way around. Ford built the B4000 for Mazda. Mazda had little to do with those trucks, other than selling them.

 

Seen in St Petersburg Russia:

 

I agree, I liked the interior, saying they knocked it out of the park is a bit much, a lot could be better too. If I lit up the Ranger like the Tacoma, it would look a lot diff.

 

You'll see an electric motor(s) in a Ranger before you see a V6.