3,500 Mile Comparison: Taco v Ranger

[Trustable]

My son just picked up a 2010 Ford Ranger 5 speed manual. It’s an extended cab with 130,000 miles on it. He loves it.

Those wheels are sweet!

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[Trustable]

A while back when I dumped my Ranger and got a Tacoma, I promised an actual side by side comparison. Here it is.

I've got a few tanks of gas through the Taco and about 3,500 miles on it now That's pretty evenly spolit 25/25/25/25 between surface streets, interstate commuting to work, road trips, and off road. The TLDR is that if you factor out the Ford service department F-ing me over on Coil Packs because of the design flaw about rain water on the engine block, I still prefer the Tacoma. BUT!!! Either Toyota or Ford could fix a few things and become a total industry dominator in the Mid-Size Truck Market - they are that close.

For Comparison, my Ranger was a 2019 XLT 4x4 Crew in Magnetic Storm. My Toyota is a 2023 TRD Off Road 4x4 Crew in Magnetic Grey - I know. I might have a "type."

Lets look at the Toyota Cons first - this is where the Ranger beats it:
1. Engine - The 3.5L NA V6 is an absolute DOG of an engine. Far less HP and especially TORQUE than the Ford Ecoboost and Ford makes all of it's grunt low in the RPM's where Toyota wants to rev up to 3,000 before it starts to wake up and 4,500 RPM before you really see the power come on line.

2. Transmission - This thing is constantly hunting for gears the way Monica Lewinski hunts for a new dry cleaner. And as a 6 speed the difference between each gear and where the torque converter locks up are further separated. It also likes to skip gears - going up hill will drop 6 to 3 and then blast the RPM's. There is a "tune" you can buy for around $400 to $500 that fixes this and makes it drive smoother and more efficiently and apparently it operates "with in Toyota specs" so they can't tell it's there. Well if that's the case Mr. Toyota should fix his product and install it at the dealership as a free or discounted service. You really have to LEARN how to drive this truck. And the combination of engine and transmission means that trailering anything is a poor experience, where the Ranger pulled a trailer up hill like it was nothing.

3. MPG - Is it really a #3 all on its own or part of 1 & 2 above? Not sure. But my Ranger was getting 20 to 22 MPG and that was WITH bigger tires and no speedo calibration. In the summers it would drop off but that's because my wife would want to go places with me but then not get out of the truck when we got there so a lot of parkinglot iding for AC. The Ranger got pretty close to that 20 off road too. My Taco is getting around 16.5 on the pavement and 10 in the dirt. WTF Toyota?

4. Air Conditioner - Every single Import Car I have ever had, has had an anemic AC in it. Every Domestic Car I have had, trounced the competition with AC. This is no different. I got the Taco at the beginning of the summer and the AC has run Full-Tilt since then. Only a few road trips at high way speed in cooler altitudes in the morning did it finally catch up. And at Max Cooling it's LOUD. It also doesn't auto slow the fan when you get a call or text.

5. Technology - The Ranger was the closest thing to a Luxury Space Ship I have ever bought. The technology in that thing was amazing. Everything worked so seamlessly and integrated very nicely. The Tacoma is a 2016 platform that is basically a retro-fit of their 2012 Tacoma. It is much more plain, basic and trucky. I like that too so It'll show up again below in the Pro's. But the Tech that IS in the Tacoma is all based off of solenoids and relays under the hood that has more clicks than an African Xhosha couple having a marital spat. Seriously, every time I do something, especially going off road the dashboard starts clicking like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang taking off.

6. Dash Layout is an after thought. It looks like it was designed by a prepubescent teen loaded on Monster and modifying his truck. Everything is helter skelter all over the place. Got a new feature to add? Find some unused territory and stick it there. Never mind that transmission controls are now in three places

7. 4LO Crawl Control - Not a fair comparison since I didn't have this on the Ranger. But I hate this feature. Pointless tech. I keep looking to find a time and place to use this but I haven't yet. Maybe I'm a control freak? Maybe I'm just so awesome I don't need it (not likely)? And the rear E-Locker only works in 4LO too? Not that I have ever needed it but I would think and hope that I could have that locker in 4HI. Wouldn't you want to run locked if it was Icy?

8. Bed Cover - I didn't have one on the Ranger but the Yota came with it so lets talk about it. The dealer wanted to charge me $1800 for it. It's the Bak-Flip "style." I say that in quotes because I thought it was a Bak-Flip and it turns out it is a shitty knock off. Thankfully I had them throw it in free with the deal but now I'm in this predicament that the wife won't let me get a Bak-Flip because I already have a Bak-Flip. She doesn't see the difference. So I got a free problem not a free solution. The difference is that it is barely big enough to cover the bed and leaves little gaps along the edges. It also drains INTO the bed. so all of the water that hits it either leaks in or gets piped into the bed. The last panel also doesn't flip up. So I only get access to 2/3 of my bed now.

9. Bed Width - My ranger could fit two large dog crates in the bed side by side up against the cab. Tacoma is just a half inch too narrow and the Bed Cover puts them out right against the tail gate.

10. Bed Material - This is more to round it out at an even 10 items to bitch about. but the Toyota bed interior is Fiberglass. Pretty Cool! My Ranger had a spray in bed liner. That Toyota bed is slicker than Owl-Snot. Everything slides up into the 1/3 of the bed that doesn't open so I'm forever fishing shit out. I need to get a $200 rubber mat.

Toyota PROS - Where it BEATS the Ranger!
A. Suspension and Ride Comfort - Yeah... This thing floats like a Cadillac, especially off road. I used to air way TF down in the Ranger to soften up the trails. This does it without even airing down. Nice becasue if there is a short section I want to run, I can do it w/o airing down. I still do on all day trips. This one thing right here is the real winner over the Ford. My wife would cringe in parking lots where there were potholes or speed bumps . Even going slow over them was a pain in the ass in the Ranger. It does have a little more body sway cornering but not bad at all.

B. Interior Space / Seat Geometry. I'm not talking about Passenger Space. This is gear stowage. I took the gear that barely fit in the Ranger and was hard to access and filled about 18 to 20 gallons of a 27 gallon HDX Tote with it. Then I added the things to fill that tote up to the top. All 27 gallons of crap fits easily in the Taco with room to spare. Maybe about another 5 to 7 gallons. And it is MUCH more accessible.

C. Time Space Continuum Worm Hole - I can't figure it out but... The Taco has better ground clearance, but is shorter at the roof. Has lower bed walls you can reach over into, more storage (mentioned above) seemingly more interior space. all in the same or maybe smaller footprint? The hood feels bigger too... How did they fit so much space in a smaller package?

D. Mods... This thing is a Lego Truck. It snaps apart and back together. Want to run a Ham Rado? No issues. Tons of rubber plugs and access panels that pop off and on for access. Adding lights? No isssue, pop off and back on. Everything in the interior is snap-assembeled. There are 8 bolts holding the seats in and then maybe another 4 bolts all together on the interior / dash. Easy access for customizations.

E. Customizations? Why YES please! The aftermarket community for the Taco is bonkers. You can get anything to solve any probelm and the things you buy seem to be a lot less expensive than they were for the Ranger.

F. Trucky-ness - Mentioned above, the Ranger was great at being a space ship but sometimes was overkill. I like the simplicity of the Taco. Somewhere there should be a balance of Tech Integration that the Ranger does well, but with the simplicity that the Taco does well.

G. Rear Window - Tacoma is powered for the win. Ranger I had to get out and adjust manually - POO. I know that sounds small but it means that I basically never used the Ranger Window but I use the Taco window ALL the time. I like opening the rear glass and then venting the D/P front windows when I get in to suck out the heat when I first get in. In Phoenix we have heat in spades.

H. LED Lights - I probably SHOULD have mentioned this in the Cons too. The Taco has INCANDESCENT bulbs all over it. The Head Lights and Fogs were Factory Upgrades to LED and are VERY NICE but the rest of the truck, especially tail lights are DIM. Good news, for cheap you can upgrade to LED lights in the interior and you can pick color if you want. There are even some dual color / brightness LED Map lights that are perfect for low and high light applications. Tail lights are a little more expensive but then I got an LED strip that plugs into the trailer harness without tricking the truck into thinking I have a trailer now. Simple...

I. Oh and I can park the Tacoma nose down without fear of ruining my coil packs when it rains. Yeah F-You Peoria Ford and Ron "Lick My Nutz" Hubler for how your shop treated this flaw in the design of the product.

That's about it. There's a ton of stuff that's different but neither Toyota or Ford gets a win / loss on it. Falls squarely in the "Your Mileage May Vary" category and would be purely subjective. And again, while I'm pointing these items out, they really are very close (except for that engine and transmission thing and the suspension thing). I'd call it a close race and either one could change their product to dominate the other one.

I know the G4 Taco is out soon so not a lot of people will be buying the G3's. I'm excited to see how that new Tacoma plays out. Especially the Hybrid. It could be a game changer.

Are you planning on trading in to get the new one in a few years? Everyone I know that has a Tacoma keeps it for a loooong time.

 

[GTGallop]

Are you planning on trading in to get the new one in a few years? Everyone I know that has a Tacoma keeps it for a loooong time.

We'll see when we see. No real plans. I like to keep vehicles about 7 to 10 years normally. May give / exchange this one with my daughter if she needs a better car at some point.

 

[Trustable]

We'll see when we see. No real plans. I like to keep vehicles about 7 to 10 years normally. May give / exchange this one with my daughter if she needs a better car at some point.

Sounds good was just curious!

 

[dano42]

Thank you for your honest review! I haven’t read all of the posts yet, but I would add that it didn’t look like you had a Tremor and you felt that the ride quality in the Turd was better than the Ranger. I have had full-size pick ups, half ton 4x4 crew cabs for 30+ years until I bought this Tremor, and this truck rides and handles as good as any of those, mainly because of the suspension that is on it. Enjoy your Taco, , and we appreciate you coming back and letting us know what you think about the difference between the two.

 

[MKC1911]

Interesting comparisons. I just traded a 3600 mile 23 Taco for a 21 Tremor & have no regrets at all. They both have their +'s & -'s.

The Taco drivetrain leaves a lot to be desired & have to admit the Tremor puts it to shame. The radio was the worst I've ever had.

Back speakers that don't work & static on just about all stations. The seats with power adjustments I didn't find bad but they seem to have a lot of complaints.

I thought it rode nice & handled well. I don't care about all the "extra nanny stuff" since I turn them off anyway.
I haven't had the Tremor long enough to find fault with anything.

It's positives are a good ride,great radio & a drivetrain that works so much better living in the mountains. No gear hunting and torque down where it can be used for all the hills. Idon't think it would take much for either one to really excel with a few changes. Enjoy The Taco!

 

[GTGallop]

Little update - Toyota and Ford BOTH have an app for your phone. Nice.
The Toyota is a 1 year free subscription to the app - Ford the app seems to work indefinitely.

I hit the 1 year anniversary with the Taco a few weeks back and now the phone app wants $80 a year to keep it working. And.... They don't have remote start on the key fob so the only way to remote start it is to use the app. No Bueno Toyota. App deleted.

Also - Taking the Taco back into the shop soon. Initially it did OK on MPG. Now I'm struggling to keep it above 16MPG. Still all stock. Tires aired correctly. Tried all three grades of gas (octane) - and a little E-0. I drive this thing like a grandpa and the mileage keeps falling off.

 

[IdahoRanger]

Little update - Toyota and Ford BOTH have an app for your phone. Nice.
The Toyota is a 1 year free subscription to the app - Ford the app seems to work indefinitely.

I hit the 1 year anniversary with the Taco a few weeks back and now the phone app wants $80 a year to keep it working. And.... They don't have remote start on the key fob so the only way to remote start it is to use the app. No Bueno Toyota. App deleted.

Also - Taking the Taco back into the shop soon. Initially it did OK on MPG. Now I'm struggling to keep it above 16MPG. Still all stock. Tires aired correctly. Tried all three grades of gas (octane) - and a little E-0. I drive this thing like a grandpa and the mileage keeps falling off.

Any regrets Greg?

 

[NotBudule]

Little update - Toyota and Ford BOTH have an app for your phone. Nice.
The Toyota is a 1 year free subscription to the app - Ford the app seems to work indefinitely.

Ford just completely destroyed the phone app with an update , can't even log in your own oil changes anymore , I hate it now...

 

[Jason B]

Ford just completely destroyed the phone app with an update , can't even log in your own oil changes anymore , I hate it now...

You can do that on the website, although it was easier on the App.

 

[NotBudule]

You can do that on the website, although it was easier on the App.

Yeah , I found it , still should be accessible from the app , imo... maybe it will be soon...

 

[db_tanker]

your review pretty much syncs with what I saw/felt/experienced when I had one for a rental.

 

[Stewthebassman]

I don't even care which truck you prefer, this is some great, great writing!

 

[alcohenusa]

Little update - Toyota and Ford BOTH have an app for your phone. Nice.
The Toyota is a 1 year free subscription to the app - Ford the app seems to work indefinitely.

I hit the 1 year anniversary with the Taco a few weeks back and now the phone app wants $80 a year to keep it working. And.... They don't have remote start on the key fob so the only way to remote start it is to use the app. No Bueno Toyota. App deleted.

Also - Taking the Taco back into the shop soon. Initially it did OK on MPG. Now I'm struggling to keep it above 16MPG. Still all stock. Tires aired correctly. Tried all three grades of gas (octane) - and a little E-0. I drive this thing like a grandpa and the mileage keeps falling off.

Have you tried the remote start fob hack? Click lock twice then hold the lock. Lights start to flash and then it should start.

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