1st gen tacoma vs 3rd gen Ranger 2.3L Duratec

I'm in the market for a 5spd, extracab truck, and been trying to figure out which of these trucks would give me better fuel economy. The truck would be my daily driver, so fuel economy and cost of ownership are very important. After that, I want the ability to haul my dirt bike to trailheads, but my friend's 97 tacoma does that just fine

I would want either the Tacoma 2.4L engine or the Ranger with the duratec 2.3L (started in 2001).

The ranger is tempting simply because some of the prices of 1st gens tacomas are ridiculous. I saw a 03 extracab 2wd listed for 15 grand!

Can anyone give me an idea of what type of gas mileage I could expect with either of these trucks?

Thanks!
James

 

In terms of mpg it will be a close race. I was getting a steady 24 out of my old 2001 Ranger single cab (driving mostly highway to work and back). The extended cabs have a bit more weight which tends to drop that number to around 22. The Taco has a tiny bit more HP, which could help get that extra weight moving without chewing up more gas. Still, I would say both trucks would be close in mpg numbers.

In terms of price, the Taco is going to cost a lot more. Everyone wants a 1st gen so badly that old Tacomas sell for almost as much as new ones. They were just built better and last much longer. Fords are almost disposable. My 2001 XLT was in pristine condition, but only worth about 3 grand. A similar Tacoma is at least twice as much.

 

Is it purely a DD/grocery getter? If so, I'd recommend the Ranger. The MT is smoother than the Tacoma IMO. Also, as others have mentioned, they cost significantly less. Truthfully, I really liked my 4wd Ranger and would have bought another one if I was in the market (I wasn't when I bought my Tacoma but couldn't pass it up).

The Ranger won't get as good of mileage which is offset by the price. There is virtually zero aftermarket for the Ranger so if you think that you'll ever wheel it, the Ranger is a poor choice. Lastly, the heat in the Ranger sucked. Could have been a plugged heater core but my Tacoma warms up very quickly.

 

ill give you a answer from one that just change from ford ranger 02 2.3 5speed.(me)
i had 3 rangers for the last year. first 2000 2.5 5speed, 2nd was 99 3.0 auto, 3rd was the 02 2.3 5speed. i had it the last 4 months. 3 weeks ago just got 99 tacome 2.7 auto' prerunner 2wd.
mpg compare, in my taco now i got 19.1 mpg combined (for now i still testing all kind of variations of gas and stuff ) .
my ranger i got 24 mpg combined. which mean 400 miles per fuel tank. always a/c working when im driving, both trucks exactly the same driving habits.
all my rangers was great, not even 1 issue, all of them more then 165,000 original miles on the motors. really reliable. i had fun with them to be honest.i hated only 1 thing about the 2.3 ranger. i was need to change valve cover gasket, was pain in the ass! stupid ford did the intake manifold on top over the valve cover and really hard to get to the intake manifold bottom bolts. also intake manifold its plastic. compare the toyota valve cover gasket i just did last week. easy... super easy! also in general easy to work on the toyota.
about prices i got my ranger for 3400 and sold for 4500 few months later. got the taco for 5.. pretty good deal also for the truck i got. i change only cause it was my old friend truck that he wanted to sale cause moving out of state. other then that i was still staying with my ranger. i was taking my dirt bike on the ranger, even 2 must of the times, wish they had little bit more power. but in general great trucks ! both, tacoma and ranger

good luck

 

+1, since they killed off the Ranger, it's getting harder to find any decent aftermarket parts. If you want to go offroad, start with an FX4 Ranger.

It's weird that you weren't getting any heat out of your Ranger. The "normal" operating coolant temp for my 2001 was 270 F. Yes, I know, I had a Ford mechanic show me in the factory specs guide. At that temp, any water is boiled off and sent out the degas system. My Ranger would hit 250 degrees 2 miles from my house and level out around 270 (I have an OBDII reader). If I turned the heater up to full, it was like a blast furnace. It only drops to around 30-40 in my part of Florida, but I never had to run the heater for more than a few minutes (even at low setting). Your core must have been plugged.

 

Thanks everyone for the tips.

Won't be doing any 4 wheeling with my truck, just the occasional fire road to unload my dirt bike. Otherwise it would be a daily driver.

Gilly101- was that 24mpg figure from your 2.3L ranger? What do you think it got on a pure highway trip?