Test Drives...Mid Size Trucks...

Lol, I wasn't gonna say anything, but you just couldn't resist, could ya?

 

He did drive the 3rd Gen and the 4th Gen, liked the power and the transmission more with the 4th. That’s useful.

 

Electronic water pump..interesting.

My frame rotted here in 11.5 years of Massachusetts, but the body panels are still solid. Bumper actually had one nickel sized rust spot just starting recently but I just had it replaced.

 

They do get bad MPGs. Just as bad as the Tundra 5.7...
Both my 2007 and 2021 get 12-14 in town, but, both get remote started and short tripped.
On a road trip, best I got from the 2007 was 17.9 mpg, but the 2021 got 23.9 mpg on a tank driving through Nevada. The 9AT helps a lot. Not great, but not much worse than other trucks, full or mid size.

Fortunately I live so close to work, only need gas every 2 weeks.

 

I test-drove the nonhybrid today, and I was a little disappointed. It felt lighter and smoother than my v6 3rd gen. But it didn't feel faster.

The seats however are much better.

 

I don't see any women driving Ridgelines, just older men. It is truck-enough for most buyers.

 

I bought my son a 2012 Titan with 198000 miles on it last year when he got his license. I bought it off a private seller, it had an ABS light on and that was it. The owner and I drove it for about 10 miles and he told me all about his experience and items he had done with it, drove 2 hours round trip per day since he bought it at 19k miles and replaced it with a 2023 Titan. I was impressed with the power it had and the way it drove. Ended up buying it and when sorting out the ABS I discovered that they had issues with the rear axle and a few weeks later he threw a spider gear out the rear diff cover. Only way to repair it was to get a new axle from Nissan, replaced it and drives like new again. Outside of that problem he loves his truck and for having well over 200k now the trans still feels strong and so does the engine and gets complements on it everywhere he goes. He wants to wants to see it hit 500k.

 

He prolly had a sedan on an SUV. RWD Nissans are pretty solid.

 

Driving my $400 ‘93 Hardbody when a Chick pulls up and says she “has to buy my truck” and that’s how I ended up here.

 

What year Frontier? They had a redesign in 2022, so it would be like comparing a 3rd gen Tacoma to a 4th gen. I had good luck with the frontier, but opted for the 3rd gen Tacoma this time around just because I didn't want the 2022 redesign anymore than I want the 2024 Tacoma redesign. If all things are largely similar, and frontier will do 200k+ miles just like the Tacoma(from my personal experience with the frontier), then investing that $5-6k price difference for the life of the vehicle than worrying about getting it back 10-15 years down the road on resale makes better financial sense to me.

 

I plan to buy another truck sometime in early 2025. For me it's between a 2024 or 2025 Tacoma or a 2020-2025 Ranger. I'm waiting to see how the new Tacoma shakes out over the next year. Not planning to sell my 2007 BTW. I also have a 2014 F150 that I'll be selling/trading and keeping the old Tacoma.

I have no interest in a 3rd gen Tacoma. If I had to buy today it would be Ranger. My brother has a 2020 Ranger and I also have a 2020 Explorer with the same Ford 2.3L turbo engine. I have no problem with Ford, I've owned a bunch over the last 50 years and never gotten a bad one. Ford has been putting turbo engines in trucks since 2011. They had some minor issues the 1st 2 years, but since 2013 they have proven quite reliable in addition to lots of power and good fuel mileage. My Explorer is good for 28-30 mpg on the road and blows the doors off everything else I've ever owned.

Ranger is rated to tow 7500 lbs vs 6400 for Tacoma and actually has the payload to make that happen. Tacoma lists about 1400 lbs payload on paper, but real-world numbers are 900-1100 lbs. Ranger shows 1700 lbs and real numbers on the truck's door sticker are 1500-1600 lbs. Toyota should be ashamed to call Tacoma a truck with numbers that low. Honda Ridgeline is 1500-1600 lbs. My Explorer is 1500 lbs.

Looking at new prices I can get either a Ranger or Tacoma equipped the way I want it for around $42-$45K. About the same price for either. But I can find used 2020-2022 Rangers for around $30-$35K equipped the way I want it. And as said before, I don't want a 3rd gen Tacoma so new 4th gen is my only option if I decide to stay with Toyota.

 

Sounds like you have a solid plan. Get the Ranger and move on.