Tacoma or Ford Ranger? Decisions decisions...

Welcome to TW...Tacoma!!!

 

Welcome to TacomaWorld!

 

Welcome to TW! I think i think most people on here are biased to the Tacoma.

 

I am a ford tech at a dealer and would not buy a ranger, granted I have a 2nd gen tacoma and know the ranger and 3rd gens have some similarities that I dislike in both, personally I would wait for the redesigned ranger to come out in a few years and look at that.

 

Never speak to that person again. That's almost the oldest twist your arm sales line ever. YOU should go in knowing your OTD number, having any financing pre arranged and even no trade if possible.

This. Worth joining Costco for. You don't even need a local one. Just join.

I'm sure we'd all like to hear your top 5 reasons. And nothing cosmetic or value retention related counts. We want to know what you have learned about the working systems that give you pause.

 

I do not like that it's got the 2.3L turbo, I am not a big fan of turbos since I've had to deal with leaking ones on f150s. I will not buy a engine with turbos.
If you get the 10 speed trans which is what ive seen, ford put the 2.3 and 10 speed in some mustangs and a few customers have complaimed about harsh downshifts, which i have fealt and I would also complain about, however theres no fix last i looked. I believe you can get it with a six speed but I've only seen the 10 speed with the 2.3L
Other thing for the engine, I would be uncomfortable towing any real load with such a small engine, I've done 2 tons with the tacoma a few times and while it's not great I never felt I was over taxing the engine, I would not be comfortable towing 2 tons with a I4 turbo.
I hate that they dont have a double cab long bed, now I realize that it's a truck for people who want something smaller then an F150 and i assume thats why its mot available but with my toolbox in a short bed I would only have like 3.5 feet of bed, maybe thats enough for you, it's not for me.
It's cosmetic I know but I fucking hate that there is a hump in the rear foot area for the driveshaft, I believe the 3rd gen tacomas have that too but i fucking hate that, the 2nd gens have a little tiny hump there but its nothing compared to the ranger.
Lastly take this with a grain of salt and know that I do not own a ford so only deal with broken ones, maybe toyotas just as bad, the damn Sync system which is Nav/Bluetooth/Radio is a pain in the ass, it's better then 5 years ago but when it breaks its kindof a crapshoot of whats broken, it's usually the Sync module but since that powers on the touch screen your radio/nav is down till you fix it, and there is only so much testing we can do since it's not a ford program. We cannot wipe the module blank then reprogram it like its a new module, we have to get a new module and program it. $$$$$
But that's a general ford problem not just the ranger.

 

Thank you all for the response. I have been a part of several various forums and I have never got so many responses to a question in such a short timespan. I guess the taco community is another plus for the tacoma.

I will likely be testing out a few Tacoma's this weekend. Am currently working on getting a Costco quote.

JoeyV, that says a lot coming from a Ford Tech. The ranger hauls ass off the line...but that is exactly what concerns me. My previous car was a fully tuned 2.5l turbo wrx. The fact that the ranger didn't disappoint me in acceleration compared to that car means that it is fairly aggressively tuned and has a big turbo for a small displacement engine. Seems like a bad recipe in the long run. Will continue to do research on both platforms.

 

I sold my ‘07 AC 4.0 Auto OR w 351K
miles a couple of years ago at a discount to a VN Vet, $5,200. I had offers higher but the dude faced death for this country...

Tacoma hands down..

 

The Ford Rangers are

I'd like to see reasoning for your concern on specifically towing with a "small motor"...That statement doesn't really make sense to me.

I don't think too many people are concerned towing with the 2.7 in the full size f-150.

The ecoboosts produce decent numbers with some low end power.

 

Get the Ranger, I have Ford stock

 

Strongly agree.

 

But but ranger has power seats... just saying

 

Welcome newcomer. I have not had any problems with my 18' taco OR. AT. Lot of people complain on the forums and I find most of the things they complain about are blown out of proportion. Maybe they just drew the lucky VIN lotto maybe not. With that said, the taco DOES have some short comings but are completely acceptable. I think the biggest things that come to my mind are how comfortable you are while sitting in the taco-- for me I just need a couple extra inches of padding on the center console lid to rest my elbow and not lean while doing that. After awhile you hurt leaning lol so... ergonomics.. I'm a bigger person so that could also be why. Another thing is sometimes the gear hunt gets a little wonky but I just flip on the ECT for what ever hilly area I'm cruising on, which is usually the case-- because I live in some nice hills. Yay Michigan.

But aside from all that-- you can dress your taco any way you want. Sweet... spicy.. extra onions you name it! It handles amazing and performs amazing 95% of the time! You won't be disappointed. But you would be disappointed in a ranger. How often do you hear of a ford with 300k... 500k.. 1 million miles with only a few components replaced? I don't, not here in Michigan. Where the HQ of la-Fordo is.

TLDR Screw the Ranger, marry the Taco!

 

Well if you want reliability and value, definitely don't get the truck with the highest resale value for the past five years running. Definitely, don't get the truck where you'll easily find yourself at a stoplight with a 2nd gen in front of you and a 1st gen behind you... how reliable can a truck actually be with 10 and 20 year old versions of itself still driving around?

Get a Ranger.

 

18 off-road DCSB MT here. I drive freeways a lot. To the tune I put 40k miles a year. Bought mine 6mo ago and it’s at 23k miles. Transmission has been fine and no shaking at high way speeds. I had a 08 WRX and it’s been smoother then that was. Also had a brz and it’s much quieter as well. All transmission issues I have seen is the hunting which isn’t a issue in the MT. So far it’s been a perfect truck. That said next week we will be lifting 2.5 and going 285/70/17 so I will see about stability of the wheel after that.

 

The support for the taco and community are a huge plus as well.

 

But you will be called out on your shenanigans. But we're just trying to keep everyone humble!

 

I am not bashing on ecoboost or turbos for that matter, Fords got the 6.7 tubro diesel and that thing is awesome, I would rather have a non-turbo larger engine over a smaller turbo engine for towing use. I am not saying that it wouldnt be enough for everyday driving, I am thinking of when I have to really load it up and drive with 2 tons for 12 hours, which I have had to do with the tacoma 4.0 three times in the past. Now I am not bashing on the 2.3 ecoboost either, I would rather drive a focus ST with the 2.3, then a mustang with a 3.7, the 2.3 is a badass little engine that can put out great power, but I would not want to tow heavy loads with it. You mentioned the F150 with the 2.7 ecoboost towing, yes people do tow with it and have no problem however most customers I have seen do not seriously tow and are fine the smaller engine, the people who seriously tow buy the 5.0 engine.
For example I can lift the same 80lb box as one of the guys at the shop who is a gym nut but he can lift it over and over and over and over again and I would be worn out after a few times since he is larger then me, thats similar to using a smaller engine that has to work harder to match the power of a larger engine with the same load.

What in the hell, the 3rd gen tacoma doesnt have power seats??????

 

You were talking about a ridgeline right?

 

I cant tell if you are serious or joking. But no it does not. The 2020 does tho.

Toyota says its normal.