Originally Posted By: Ramblin Fever
I have the benefit of owning both trucks in discussion, one that many of you are giving [censored] about, i.e. Toyota Tacoma....unless you've actually owned one, one with the 3.4L V6 engine and aisian warner transmission you rightly have no say in arguing against it's reliability.
I never knocked the reliability of the previous generation Taco aside from the rust. You don't need to own one to know rust was an issue. Toyota was replacing frames and buying back whole trucks. They did the right thing, but I'd prefer to not go through that as an owner.
The 2005+ model doesn't quite have the quality/reliability of the previous generation, but maybe the frames are better. A couple more years will tell.
Quote:
The ranger has the king cab with mainly only comfortable seating for 2, the 2 back suicide doors are great for storing work equipment, but to even fit a child back there is insane.
I don't know of any truck in that size class with a roomy extended cab. Ford should have offered a crew cab, but for those of us who don't need one a Ranger is still a perfectly functional truck.
The jump seats in the Super Cab actually have more legroom than the forward facing seats found in extended cab (not crew cab) Tacomas, Dakotas, etc. I can sit in the jump seat of a Ranger. I cannot physically fit my legs in the back seat floor of a compact extended cab with forward facing rear seats. If you need to carry more than one passenger on any kind of regular basis, the Ranger is not for you, but if you need a two passenger pickup with a couple of extra seats, it works.
Quote:
The ranger has been through 4 transmissions, 3 thermostat housings (cause they're made of plastic), all kinds of suspension repairs, seatbelt replacements, eats front tires for breakfast even after hundreds of dollars on front-end work, alignments, etc......I will say it's engine is great, in terms of reliability.
The Tacoma hasn't had half the repairs, gets much better gas mileage, sits 4 very comfortably (if you want them, if not, there's a TON of inside storage space).
4 transmissions is pretty extreme. How many miles and what kind of use? Was the cause of failure the same every time? What was it? I have had a 4.0 auto Explorer and 3.0 auto Ranger with a combined 268,000 miles and never a transmission problem. Flushes every 30K does the trick I guess, though I don't think the Explorer even got that for much of its life before me.
Quote:
I paid $16k for this fully loaded Tacoma; my company paid over $20k for this partially loaded ford ranger.
You got a heck of a deal on that Taco, especially if you bought it new. I remember those trucks stickering in the mid to low $20Ks with the crew cab, and the dealers didn't lower it much from that. I think you could get the 2.7L with the crew cab; maybe that stickered for less, but a 3.4 crew cab new for $16K is a great deal. Your company could have gotten a better deal than they did. My truck stickered for about $20K and was sold new for about $15K. I'd call it partially loaded...Dual Media stereo, tint, slider, XLT appearance package, leather wrapped tilt wheel, but with the 2-door Super Cab, small V6, 2WD, and no power windows/locks/keyless entry.
Quote:
Scary thing about this ford ranger, it can't hold it's rear-end down in the slightest of moist conditions, it will kiss it's front-end quicker then you can bat an eye if you're not careful. Doesn't seem to matter what kind of tires are on it, or how much weight is in the rear-end.
Kind of hard to avoid on a small truck with a stiff frame and a stiff suspension. Decent tires do make a difference and sometimes you just have to back off the right pedal. I have plowed my truck into a bunch of trees before, but I was going way too fast.
The Ranger isn't perfect for everyone, but they are exactly what a lot of people are looking for. For my needs, I can't think of anything that would work better, which is why I've owned three trucks on this platform. They have been consistently reliable, tough, comfortable, and affordable. If the Tacoma is more to your liking, then you made the right choice. That doesn't mean the millions of people who have bought Rangers made a wrong choice.
I have the benefit of owning both trucks in discussion, one that many of you are giving [censored] about, i.e. Toyota Tacoma....unless you've actually owned one, one with the 3.4L V6 engine and aisian warner transmission you rightly have no say in arguing against it's reliability.
I never knocked the reliability of the previous generation Taco aside from the rust. You don't need to own one to know rust was an issue. Toyota was replacing frames and buying back whole trucks. They did the right thing, but I'd prefer to not go through that as an owner.
The 2005+ model doesn't quite have the quality/reliability of the previous generation, but maybe the frames are better. A couple more years will tell.
Quote:
The ranger has the king cab with mainly only comfortable seating for 2, the 2 back suicide doors are great for storing work equipment, but to even fit a child back there is insane.
I don't know of any truck in that size class with a roomy extended cab. Ford should have offered a crew cab, but for those of us who don't need one a Ranger is still a perfectly functional truck.
The jump seats in the Super Cab actually have more legroom than the forward facing seats found in extended cab (not crew cab) Tacomas, Dakotas, etc. I can sit in the jump seat of a Ranger. I cannot physically fit my legs in the back seat floor of a compact extended cab with forward facing rear seats. If you need to carry more than one passenger on any kind of regular basis, the Ranger is not for you, but if you need a two passenger pickup with a couple of extra seats, it works.
Quote:
The ranger has been through 4 transmissions, 3 thermostat housings (cause they're made of plastic), all kinds of suspension repairs, seatbelt replacements, eats front tires for breakfast even after hundreds of dollars on front-end work, alignments, etc......I will say it's engine is great, in terms of reliability.
The Tacoma hasn't had half the repairs, gets much better gas mileage, sits 4 very comfortably (if you want them, if not, there's a TON of inside storage space).
4 transmissions is pretty extreme. How many miles and what kind of use? Was the cause of failure the same every time? What was it? I have had a 4.0 auto Explorer and 3.0 auto Ranger with a combined 268,000 miles and never a transmission problem. Flushes every 30K does the trick I guess, though I don't think the Explorer even got that for much of its life before me.
Quote:
I paid $16k for this fully loaded Tacoma; my company paid over $20k for this partially loaded ford ranger.
You got a heck of a deal on that Taco, especially if you bought it new. I remember those trucks stickering in the mid to low $20Ks with the crew cab, and the dealers didn't lower it much from that. I think you could get the 2.7L with the crew cab; maybe that stickered for less, but a 3.4 crew cab new for $16K is a great deal. Your company could have gotten a better deal than they did. My truck stickered for about $20K and was sold new for about $15K. I'd call it partially loaded...Dual Media stereo, tint, slider, XLT appearance package, leather wrapped tilt wheel, but with the 2-door Super Cab, small V6, 2WD, and no power windows/locks/keyless entry.
Quote:
Scary thing about this ford ranger, it can't hold it's rear-end down in the slightest of moist conditions, it will kiss it's front-end quicker then you can bat an eye if you're not careful. Doesn't seem to matter what kind of tires are on it, or how much weight is in the rear-end.
Kind of hard to avoid on a small truck with a stiff frame and a stiff suspension. Decent tires do make a difference and sometimes you just have to back off the right pedal. I have plowed my truck into a bunch of trees before, but I was going way too fast.
The Ranger isn't perfect for everyone, but they are exactly what a lot of people are looking for. For my needs, I can't think of anything that would work better, which is why I've owned three trucks on this platform. They have been consistently reliable, tough, comfortable, and affordable. If the Tacoma is more to your liking, then you made the right choice. That doesn't mean the millions of people who have bought Rangers made a wrong choice.
