Pickuptrucks.com 4x4 shoot out

Testing of best off road equipped trucks from dealer

link with video on autoblog

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/18/pickuptrucks-com-holds-ultimate-4x4-challenge/

actual article on pickuptrucks.com site

http://special-reports.pickuptrucks.com/2012/09/ultimate-4x4-shootout-overview.html

For you lazy folks here is ranking

1 - Ford Rapter
2 - Tacoma Baja
3 - Ram Powerwagon
4 - Nissan Pro-4x

 

Tacoma is all around awesome..and raptor is better..but $17k more...so..unless you richer than hell..get the taco And LOL at the powerwagon

 

Surprised to see the Taco has more payload that the Raptor

 

You could get it cheaper if you didnt get the Baja either. An off road tacoma would do just as good.

 

Long travel FTMFW!

 

+1. I'm not a fanboy and I have nothing against ford. But seriously? Apples and oranges!!

 

All around it's a fair comparison, but I am happy knowing my frame won't bend where the box meets the cab anytime soon! Shame on Ford for that design flaw, Ford became famous for building the toughest frames and chassis on the planet, but the Raptor frame probably put a huge damper in that.

 

I agree. It's like comparing a Ferrari to an escort in a race. This was pointless.

 

The ford doesn't seem to fall into the pickup truck category...more like a very high priced play toy.

On the other hand, if you have bucks to spend and want to buy the biggest, baddest off the shelf play truck, this is a great guide.

And remember, these publications really exist only to sell ads, and the editorial content is just the come on to the readers so they can charge more for the ads based on readership.

Howard

 

Too bad GM declined to participate. It would have been nice to see that plastic piece on the front bumper that sits about 4" off the ground get ripped off by a speed bump in the parking lot of the off road park. Z71 is a joke.

 

I guess Ford's weak-frame issue is why the payload is so limited when compared to the other trucks. I took some time to read the autoblog interview with SVT's chief engineer....who basically, and eloquently from a technical standpoint, pinned the problem on the drivers of the truck to defend Ford's engineering. He did basically what a chief engineer is supposed to do when you have a small isolation of a problem.

Rather than recall and rework the frame on that quantity of trucks sold, it was cheaper for Ford to just cripple and reduce the specified payload.

Interesting how you don't hear anything about this in the 5-o'clock news, although I guess it hasn't and never will hit Consumer Reports.

 

Fail ---- Tacoma lost big at off road test...

I am now interested in that front Torsen setup in Ford... I did not know that's what they get but that is awesome..

 

I figure it was more the suspension setup for the lower rating seeing as other F150s have higher payload and can tow up to 10k. For someone wanting a truck for normal truck stuff any other F150 will do. Its like faulting a regular cab base 4x2 Taco for poor off road performance and less towing than other Tacos.

The whole frame thing was blown out of proportion IMO. Any truck will bend a frame if you push it hard enough. Problem with the Raptor isn't with design its with customers with more money than brains and off road knowledge who think its indestructible.