I am conflicted trying to decide between 2021 Ford ranger fx2 and Toyota tacoma

[CompDude]

I test drove both and if I could of found a seating position in the toyota I could of lived with I would have a toyota.. I went back and test drove one here recently just to compare after having the ranger for a while and am sold on the ranger after the replacement of the fx4 shocks.. The factory shocks on the Toyota are great for oem.. The engine is is a other difference you will notice in driving both..

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[troutspinner]

Before I had a family, I had a 89 Toyota and then a 95. Great trucks, great experiences. Family came along and then I went to full sized pickups with F150s and Rams. The family is now grown so I thought about going back to mid-size. Worried I could be making a bad decision going back to mid-size, I decided to short term lease a 2020 Tacoma Limited, it was a no-brainer, I was used to them and they lease cheap.

The Tacoma was everything I remembered, quality and rock solid but to be honest, it drove and rode just like they did 30 years ago. While there was a comfort in that, what got annoying for me was the ride on the highway. At 65-70mph, you have to work it to maintain speed as their torque range is still delivered at high RPMs and it likes to wonder so you're always laboring to keep it straight. It honestly felt like I was driving something that was built 30 years ago and kept in storage until I came along.

Fast forward to the Ranger, it has a very comfortable ride and power is always there, it is a night and day difference between the two. The Ranger is also a little bit bigger in both cabin space and bed space so that may or may not be a concern for you.

As for quality, I've been on the Tacomaworld for a couple of years and have taken note to the following typical complaints.

• Fuel Pump Failures
• They've had their rust issues in the past and while the frames have been addressed throughout the years, they are still showing rust issues
• Complaints of Paint Chipping / Flaking. Fair warning, DO NOT BUY WHITE! They are the ones with the most issues.
• If you want an Automatic, just get use to Shifting that sucks. There is just nothing good to say about it.
• Front and Rear Camera clarity is lousy at best. It's akin to tech from the 90s.
• The Hoods vibrate at highway speed. Even 2021s have the same issue and the solution from the dealer is to use construction adhesive to glue the support rib to the sheet metal.
• There have been some Blown Head Gaskets
• They continually need alignment
• Complaints of AC Odor
• Complaints of Rear Brakes Locking Up
• Entune Radio is slow and clunky and like to just lock up and require resetting, all the while, AA or CarPlay is very finicky
• Rattles are built in! Seriously, look at the passenger side dash speaker grill and the small amount of felt applied to the corner. It is to quiet rattles. Now that you've seen that, start looking around the rest of the cab, you'll see those small pieces of felt placed in odd locations here and there. They do not care to re-shape a piece year over year or even generation to prevent issues, they would rather apply band-aids

I do have plenty of Ford experience, including a 1972 Gran Torino, puke green too! LOL but one of the reasons I decided to look at the Ranger was the lack of complaints on this forum. There are not many typical issues, most seem to be isolated. After a test drive of an FX4 (I did not like the ride) I test drove a Non-FX4 and I was convinced, I could not make the move soon enough to be in the Ranger. Now that I am, I'll never look back, very happy with my choice.

 

[cclayton]

Drive both. When I purchased my Ranger, the dealer has Ford, Nissan, Toyota and Chevy dealerships adjacent to one another.

My wife and I parked the Ranger next to a TRD sport 4x4 and the Ranger just looked like more of a truck than the Tacoma. I went to sit in the drivers side of the Tacoma and my knee immediately hit the bottom line of the steering wheel with the seat all the back and steering wheel tilted all the way up. I had to stretch my leg straight just to sit in the Tacoma. Didn’t bother test driving it as my father has a 2017 Tacoma I’ve driven multiple times and his is the same way. Not to mention the Tacoma interior is very dated looking

 

[AutobotXJ]

As others said- you won’t know the relibility for another few years. The most real- world knowledge I’ve seen is still under 100k. So, you can either wait another decade to say- “ha! Not as good as Toyota!” Or test drive them both and be satisfied. But I’ll say, the engine and transmission seems to be very reliable up to this point (3years) and the ranger is WAY more comfortable. We have a 2018 tacoma for work and my knees were up to my nipples in that truck and not even a kid could sit behind me I had to push it so far back! And the engine was “sufficient” but buzzy.

 

[ROBERTECOX]

Coming from an f-150 screw, I test drove a Taco, frontier, colorado, ridgeline, and the ranger.
Would have gone with the ridgeline but people would've talked ugly about me so I went with the ranger

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Tigerpawn, I have 30,000 uncomplicated miles on my 2019 Ranger Lariat FX4. Right at two years of ownership & it's by far my most favorite vehicle. I absolutely can't say enough good about it. I smile EVERY time I drive it! Good luck in your search. I personally don't think you would regret it. I know I haven't!

 

[NOVA_Ranger]

Both are great trucks with their own pros and cons. I would have unusual reliability concerns with either. I went with the Ranger based on drivetrain and no regrets.

 

[harringtondav]

My comparison spread sheet below when I decided on the Ranger.
This was the 2019 Taco spec. ....may be different now. Taco had more hp. But that is a 4500-5500 rpm thing. Torque tows. And in 2019 the price on the Ranger sealed the deal.

 

[Ronbo]

Coming from an f-150 screw, I test drove a Taco, frontier, colorado, ridgeline, and the ranger.
Would have gone with the ridgeline but people would've talked ugly about me so I went with the ranger

With an Avatar like yours, (Green Beret Col Mike Kirby, aka John Wayne), you made a wise choice by not going with the Ridgeline. Not only would people have talked ugly about you, but you would have made the "Duke" roll over in his grave.

 

[AzScorpion]

I owned a 2016 Tacoma before getting my Ranger. I would take others advise and test drive both. Make sure you try to go up steeper inclines as you will really see the difference in the two drivetrains there. The Tacoma will hunt and shift in & out of gears like it has no clue where it should be. You will also have to rev it a lot higher in the rpms (around 4000-4500) to start making any power. Now look at the Rangers tach and it'll barely be at 2000-2200 rpm and it will be smooth as glass.

Also the seating position in the Tacoma is the worst I've ever been in. So bad that when we went on vacations I would rent a car for our trip I hated it that bad. The Ranger, for me anyways, is very comfortable. We went on a 1300 mile trip last fall and I enjoyed every minute of it. This drivetrain has been around for a while now in several different vehicles and remember that the Tacoma had changed over their drivetrain back in 2016 so it's not the older proven one everyone raves about. Good luck and let us know what your thoughts are after driving both.

 

[mustang marty]

The power and torque of the 4 cyl. turbo sold me . Plus the 10 speed tranny is smooth ( developed by Ford and GM ) . The only real complaint are the rear factory shocks . I love driving the Ranger and its muscle car performance . But I have been a Ford guy for 40 years , before that it was Chevy power but they are not even thought of now . Maybe some people do not like the one power train choice .

 

[tigerpawn]

Before I had a family, I had a 89 Toyota and then a 95. Great trucks, great experiences. Family came along and then I went to full sized pickups with F150s and Rams. The family is now grown so I thought about going back to mid-size. Worried I could be making a bad decision going back to mid-size, I decided to short term lease a 2020 Tacoma Limited, it was a no-brainer, I was used to them and they lease cheap.

The Tacoma was everything I remembered, quality and rock solid but to be honest, it drove and rode just like they did 30 years ago. While there was a comfort in that, what got annoying for me was the ride on the highway. At 65-70mph, you have to work it to maintain speed as their torque range is still delivered at high RPMs and it likes to wonder so you're always laboring to keep it straight. It honestly felt like I was driving something that was built 30 years ago and kept in storage until I came along.

Fast forward to the Ranger, it has a very comfortable ride and power is always there, it is a night and day difference between the two. The Ranger is also a little bit bigger in both cabin space and bed space so that may or may not be a concern for you.

As for quality, I've been on the Tacomaworld for a couple of years and have taken note to the following typical complaints.

• Fuel Pump Failures
• They've had their rust issues in the past and while the frames have been addressed throughout the years, they are still showing rust issues
• Complaints of Paint Chipping / Flaking. Fair warning, DO NOT BUY WHITE! They are the ones with the most issues.
• If you want an Automatic, just get use to Shifting that sucks. There is just nothing good to say about it.
• Front and Rear Camera clarity is lousy at best. It's akin to tech from the 90s.
• The Hoods vibrate at highway speed. Even 2021s have the same issue and the solution from the dealer is to use construction adhesive to glue the support rib to the sheet metal.
• There have been some Blown Head Gaskets
• They continually need alignment
• Complaints of AC Odor
• Complaints of Rear Brakes Locking Up
• Entune Radio is slow and clunky and like to just lock up and require resetting, all the while, AA or CarPlay is very finicky
• Rattles are built in! Seriously, look at the passenger side dash speaker grill and the small amount of felt applied to the corner. It is to quiet rattles. Now that you've seen that, start looking around the rest of the cab, you'll see those small pieces of felt placed in odd locations here and there. They do not care to re-shape a piece year over year or even generation to prevent issues, they would rather apply band-aids

I do have plenty of Ford experience, including a 1972 Gran Torino, puke green too! LOL but one of the reasons I decided to look at the Ranger was the lack of complaints on this forum. There are not many typical issues, most seem to be isolated. After a test drive of an FX4 (I did not like the ride) I test drove a Non-FX4 and I was convinced, I could not make the move soon enough to be in the Ranger. Now that I am, I'll never look back, very happy with my choice.

 

[tigerpawn]

Very informative post
thanx for info

 

[VAMike]

Well, you're gambling a vehicle just reintroduced in the US in 2019 will have the same reliability as a Tacoma with an old but proven drive train.

Sure, as long as you ignore all the problems people have had with tacomas.

 

[VegasRanger]

Well, as someone who's had a 2019 Tacoma SR5 4x4 and now a 2021 Ranger, I think I can give me 2 cents. Now granted, I only had my Ranger a couple of days.

I will say this. The ranger for me, is WAY more comfortable and it feels WAY more refined. The Tacoma had this cheap feel to it to me. It rattled on the highway, had a lot of wind noise and no power. It just did not feel refined at all. I also had issues from day one with the rear end. Multiple dealer trips and no fix. Finally got tired of it and got rid of it. During my months of ownership with my Tacoma I spent a lot of time on the Tacoma forums. MAN... Talk about problems. Just take a look at the list of TSBs out on the Tacoma since 2018. Its ridiculous.

My buddy has a 2018 Tacoma and he's had shifting issues since day one that till this day has not been fixed, even after multiple dealership visits. This is a very common complaint with the Tacoma. Basically, it refuses to shift into higher gears at highway speeds. He would have to manually it to shift into higher gears. A few dealership visits has sorta fixed the issue, but it still isn't perfect.

MY personal observations, the Ranger's bones are way better built than the Tacoma. The ranger seems solid. The Tacoma seems cheap. My dad who's been a mechanic of 40+ years and a hardcore Toyota fanboy, even agrees that the new Tacoma's feel and seems built like shit.

Now, I do think in the LONG wrong the motor and transmission on the Tacoma's will outlast the 2.3s and 10 speeds, but that's my opinion.

With the Tacoma, within a few weeks I had buyers remorse. With this Ranger, I am in love. Love everything about it so far. I frequently accidently hit 90mph and don't even notice it because its so smooth on the highway. With my Taco? As soon as it hit 70 I would know it. Check in again with me in a few months. I truly hope this Ranger lasts me because I am truly in love with it.

P.S. Final note: If you go on the Tacoma forums, there are TONS of threads of people who have jumped ship from the Taco to the Ranger. Again I spent months on end on the Taco forums.

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