22 Tacoma Trail Edition or Ranger Tremor?

I like the Ford.

 

Pffftt, everybody knows the Taco has vastly superior nubers

 

Gotta watch those nubers... they add up.

 

Tacoma, because you can get a manual

 

Well look where your asking your question, I’d say the Tacoma lol but to be honest as long as it’s got a locker it can take you to 98% of places you need to go

 

I've had both.
I used to have a 2019 Ford Ranger XLT FX4 and now I have a 2021 TRD Offroad.

Ford Ranger pluses:
I feel stuff like crawl control is done better on the Ranger.
Can lock the rear diff in 2wd and 4hi.
I think the stereo, Sync3, is much better than Entune. On the Ranger a few software tweaks was all it took to disable the built in DSP and turn the speaker outputs into line outputs.
Lots of stuff can be tweaked via software.
Much better Engine and Transmission in the ranger. Perhaps less reliable than the Tacoma's setup though.
Much better gas mileage.
Front parking sensors.
Seating position.

Tacoma Pluses:
Much easier to install a trailer brake controller.
Much easier to remove interior panels for stereo upgrades.
Lots more aftermarket stuff available.
The simulated LSD traction control mode. Works surprisingly well.
Can tune without messing up warranty. (probably)
More clearance for wheels and tires.
Composite bed.

Offroad they seems pretty evenly matched, usually comes down to the tires. But I don't go anywhere too crazy.

The reason I got rid of my Ranger wasn't because of the Ranger or it's capabilities, it was because Ford pissed me off. Needed some warranty parts and even after 4 months Ford corporate still couldn't tell me when parts would be available. And all the while they were still building new Rangers with the exact parts I needed.

 

The Ranger frame is like taking a Tacoma frame and boxing it in front to back, way tougher on the Ranger, which equals about 50% more payload than the Tacoma. The Ranger has the same payload as the outgoing and new '22 Tundra. It helps that it came from Australia where they use Rangers like full size domestic trucks here. Ford does not make wimpy frames.

 

Fucking Batman has a Tacoma. What other reason do you need?

 

Having had a '19 Ranger Sport 4x4 and now a '20 Tacoma SR5 4x4, I agree with your assessment. Another thing that truly bugged me about the Ranger was the way it sits on the road ... with its butt sticking up. Kind of silly looking. Of course, that can be fixed with a leveling kit.

 

dont own a 3rd gen but i was looking at getting rid of my 2nd gen awhile back because of front end issues...

but besides that i went out and drove every midsize truck on the market atm! ranger, tacoma, new frontier, gladiator, and the gm twins.

first off the ranger was a great truck overall! besides its interior was kinda lacking out of all of these other options..... but it had the best power and best potential for power with it being a turbo 4 it was a comfy truck that tbh drove like a car and had great turning radius and the mpg is great as well and is rather comfy on the inside (drove a lariat platinum and a xlt fx4 never got to drive a tremor )

gladiator was well cool but sucked on power sucked on mpg sucked on comfort space or people in the back but overall it was a neat and fun truck and is the most capable out of all these you cant beat a solid axle with ifs...(drove a overland edition and a rubicon)

the gm twins were meh the only thing cool was the durmax option but that motor is not reliable and seems to have lots of little issues the truck really wasnt that comfy and was rather slow (tbh dont remember but it wasnt a zr2 so it was meh)

the tacoma was boring... the only thing fun was the mt that i got to drive but even then it was so slow and i was pushing that thing...(driving it like a old honda to hit that rpm) the auto i drove was even worse idk how people can deal with these trucks without a tune on them... the interior thou was nice nothing to fancy (typical for toyota) but nothing to terribly basic(trd sport and offroad)

the frontier was just wow! nissan hit it out of the park with this generation of trucks! the interior is awesome and very spacious and extremely updated and has loads of tech in the pro4x model (the one i drove) the 300hp in the na motor felt great and was rather peppy compared to the tacomas 270hp na motor overall i really enjoyed the truck but its steering seemed tighter on turning radius? maybe it was the one i drove but unsure

overall this is how i rate them after driving a few of them

daily driving/light offroading
1.ranger
2.frontier
3.tacoma
4.gladiator
5.gm twins

potential power
1.ranger
2.tacoma
3.gladiator
4.frontier (no known hp upgrades yet so thats why its down here)
5.gm twins

heavy abuse offroad
1.gladiator
2.tacoma (i know you can beat on them hard and keep going like my 2nd gen)
3. ranger (i know a lot that wheel them and have done great and kick ass offroad but i havent personally wheeled with one so i cant say)
4.frontier (zero clue yet)
5. gm twins( overall they do good but im not a huge fan of them so they get lower marks the only saving grace is the dual lockers)

this is my opinion tbh so you choose whats best! the best thing to do is go drive a few of them and see!

 

I see what you did there

 

I just wish they had made the Ranger’s taillights a bit bigger!

 

Well that was a lot more info then I was going to add, but here’s my 2 cents. Up here in Canada prices are similar. An xlt tremor stickers at 45,400 if you add tech pkg and towing pkg your at 47k only available in a double cab A Trd Off Road is 47,800 in a double cab. In the ranger you get the fox suspension and locking diff and what would be the same as predator side steps. So in that sense I would the the “value goes to the Tremor” not sure on reliability and resale but with the way the market is right now both have high resale. BUT you can’t get an MT in a Ranger.

 

Pfffft. You can get a manual for your ranger too. (You’ll need it)

 

Got an F-150, down shifting at very low speeds is sometimes a bit clunky.

Trail Edition and Tremor are option packages that are produced in limited quanity. I think the trail and tremor are a close comparison. Not that TRD Pro and Tremor are not similar comparisons.

 

so i saw this post and had to respond. i am a current ranger fx4 owner- 2021 model- and had a 2019 trd off road taco new for 1.5 years.

my thoughts and experiences: on the taco i had versus the ranger i have

taco wins:
looks- but subjective, the ranger grows on you, prolly same as the taco.
perceived longevity- though the fuel pump recall AND how the dealer addressed it (corrola maybe a loaner for 3 months till we get parts) was it for me and toyota
resale- but in this market everything has great resale.
better off road- "probably"- from factory. taco has 16" tires versus the ranger's 17"- so more sidewall for taco.

taco loses:
seat comfort- i had the double cab but the drivers seat sucked for me. gave me hip issues that are gone since i traded out.
power- even with ect on and in sport mode (or whatever it's called as i forget) it was still slow BUT it was acceptable.
mpgs- got crappy mpgs but it is a truck so what do you expect.

ranger wins:
power- whoever test drove one and said it's slow, obviously did not use sport mode. even out of sport mode, it's much more responsive and quicker than the taco ever was even with ect mode on.
seat comfort- much more comfortable and you sit like normal, not like you are in a low to the ground sports car as in the taco.
mpg- i can get 26.5MPG on my long road trips if i don't go past 65MPH.
looks- subjective but i am digging my cactus grey super cab fx4.
price- 36k OTD june 2021.
ford mods- you can throw a ford tune on it and still keep your warranty.

ranger loses:
it's a ford, not a toyota/honda so there is a perception of lower quality- the truck feels solid to me though at 9000 miles on it already. i did buy the 8 year/125k mile bumper to bumper.
quirky 10 speed trans sometimes can't find it's way. does not happen alot but it does.
sport mode hangs in gear alot if it doesn't shift and you let off the gas. i suppose that's part of sport mode.
some quirks- 1) vibe from stop till 15mph and 2) a thump when stopping and pulling away from s top. 2 was resolved by replacing the Roo rear shocks with bilstein 5100s. 1 was bettered by the axle angle shimming at dealer but not perfect.

overall the ranger is much more fun to drive, better on gas, just as capable off road and looks just as good to me. It's a ford and a turbo so it may need more dealer attention than the toyota but then that's yet to be determined on the new rangers versus the new made in mexico tacos. perhaps deerborn has a better crew?

the taco was hard to drive on long drives for me. it literally hurt my hip and was a chore keeping it at speed. using ect on and 4 gears helped but in that state, it's still not as fun to drive as the ranger is in drive. the ranger's sport mode blows the taco away all while getting at least 10% better mpgs....

 

LOL.. just kidding. Nice write up!

 

Sounds like a Ford capabilities to me

There's your answer Op