impressions on the competition-

[dano42]

A buddy of mine is getting tired of constantly working on his 2017 Ram Laramie diesel 4x4 that he has dumped tons of money in- he's at 180,000 miles, he drives it hard, and it is not doing well. He likes my Tremor, so we went to look at that class of trucks on Saturday. The first one we looked at was a Colorado ZR2 Bison - the dealer had one on the lot, so we were able to drive it. It had 35" tires and a turbomax engine; an incredible amount of cameras, including one underneath the truck! My impression was that with the 35" tires, it was a little underpowered compared to my Tremor. The suspension was tight and the truck cornered well. The spare apparently doesn't fit inder the truck, so they lashed it on to the back of the cab-totally compromising the 5' bed. Lots of features, very nice truck, you probably wouldn't have to change much to do some serious off roading, but IMO it was more than the average guy would need. On top of that it retailed for 63 grand.

Next we drove a Toyota Trailrunner. I was not impressed to say the least. I'm not sure if the roofline is lower or the cab is shorter or both, but I could barely wedge myself into the back seat, with the front seat most of the way forward- way smaller than our trucks. It came with a snorkel that burped loudly when you stepped on the gas, an ARB rollbar, and ARB shocks. The dealer just got it in the day before so they didn't get a chance to check it out, but it had some rattles, and frankly felt kind of cheap in the interior. it retailed at $64,000, BUT the dealer marked it up another 10 grand! No thanks.
We didn't get a chance to drive a Ranger Raptor but looked at a regular '24 Lariat and so far he likes what he sees. I think it's the cheapest of the 3. After looking at the Chevy and the Toyota, I'm glad I went with the Tremor and would do it again if I had the chance.

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[Toytec]

And what was MSRP of the '24 Lariat?

 

[JasonTremor]

That's a paradigm shift from a Ram diesel to a midsize pickup. I suggest a real long test drive with all family in the truck before making that switch.

 

[dano42]

And what was MSRP of the '24 Lariat?

He is looking at the Ranger Raptor- I think the msrp is around 63 grand.

 

[dano42]

That's a paradigm shift from a Ram diesel to a midsize pickup. I suggest a real long test drive with all family in the truck before making that switch.

Agreed. But he is retired, it’s just him and his wife now; however, there are times that someone will sit in the back seat and usually they are old and stiff like me. I tried to talk him into an F150 Raptor but at 93k plus tax and license for a vehicle that’s meant to be beat on, he said he would pass.

 

[bobobama]

No look-see at the Nissan Frontier Pro-4X? No turbos!

 

[JasonTremor]

Unless they just want a Ranger Raptor, one could get a lot more truck in a F150 at that Ranger Raptor price point. Getting in and out of a F150 crew cab is much easier in a full size due to the door opening size. Plus, leg room is really nice in the F150. The 5.0 engine, available in the F150, doesn't seem to suffer the cam phaser issues like the V6 Ecoboost engines either.

 

[Grumpaw]

Agreed. But he is retired, it’s just him and his wife now; however, there are times that someone will sit in the back seat and usually they are old and stiff like me. I tried to talk him into an F150 Raptor but at 93k plus tax and license for a vehicle that’s meant to be beat on, he said he would pass.

There is no such thing as a vehicle that costs or is worth $93 grand....some may think it is worth it, but only because they have been manipulated by the manufacturer to believe it is worth it.
That is 4 times more than I paid for a new 3 bed/2 bath home, NEW, in 1968 !!! In Fla !!! With a garage !!! Built of brick !!! With air and heat !!! $18,000 !!!

 

[Cmar]

There is no such thing as a vehicle that costs or is worth $93 grand....some may think it is worth it, but only because they have been manipulated by the manufacturer to believe it is worth it.
That is 4 times more than I paid for a new 3 bed/2 bath home, NEW, in 1968 !!! In Fla !!! With a garage !!! Built of brick !!! With air and heat !!! $18,000 !!!

That is so true, however lately over here the traditional pickup sellers in this market, Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mazda, Isuzu, Volkswagen, have had to deal with utes from China, GWM, LDV, and now the BYD hybrid. All of these are selling a not too bad product for between 1/2 to 2/3 of the big 3 Toyota, Ford, Mazda. The Ford hybrid Ranger - when we get it next year will sell for close to $100,000.
BYD just released their hybrid ute version last week for $57,000 AUD. And it is arguably a better hybrid system than the Ford one. The day it went on sale the first shipment sold out literally in minutes. BYD have been selling a range of pretty good EV's in the market here for a couple of years now, for very competitive prices.

I don't know how this will affect the big 3 long term but most Australians are sick of the "Australia Tax" ie the concept by many big companies that because we are a long way from traditional markets in Europe and the US we must therefore pay disproportionately more - largely it seems, simply because they can.

 

[dtech]

Link below to article on Jeeps and Stellantis, I don't see many new Gran Cherokees or Gladiators , I nearly bought a GJ back in 2013 but wound up with a Hyundai Sante Fe, now shopping to replace that (wife's) and looking at Toyota's (Grand Highlander and Crown Signia (hybrid)) When I told a dealer I'm patient and looking for paying less than list they offered me a discount on a 2024 4Runner. Never owned a Yota but they do have a big line up .

https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/21/business/stellantis-jeep-woes/index.html

 

[Tom_C]

I feel pretty lucky to have gotten my scab. I just don't ever see myself buying a truck with a 5' bed. I don't need 4 doors. I've posted about considering a Maverick at some time down the road, but it would need to be 'different' than it is now, like true 4x4. A scab maverick would be awesome, but seems scabs are the new dodo bird, at least in the US.

 

[MXGOLF]

I agree with Steve (Grumpaw) No way I would pay over $60,000 for a vehicle. Sorry I am old school. My first truck was a 64 Ford Pickup for $800. My parents first house was $2675 on the GI bill back after WW2. My house now I bought for $240,000 8 years ago and it's worth over $500,000. WOW **** is expensive these days. I bought my 2020 Lariat Ranger for about $30,000 and that was the most I had ever paid for a vehicle. If I won the lottery I would buy a Ferrari and Corvette and a Ford F150 Raptor. I can dream can't I??

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