Ranger has fresh competition...

[Ranger54]

Depends on what qualifies as "good" to you. And in that regard opinions vary wildly.

I'll bet for those truck buyers that place longevity, simplicity and lowest cost to operate as main features, the non-turbo V-6 will be much better than the turbo 4 banger.

Think we can get 17 years and 175,000 trouble free zero maintenance miles (just oil changes and other fluids) from our 2.3 turbo's?

That's what my '02 Tacoma SR5 V-6 TRD 4x4 had on it when we traded it in on our 2019 Ranger. So that's the goal we're shooting for.

I work in the automotive service industry and no vehicle is immune to maintenance. We work on a TON of Tacoma’s. That 2002 Tacoma you had was the last of its kind on reliability for sure. Time will tell on the Ranger. My 1999 5.0 explorer Saleen had 190k hard miles on it when I sold it and I (and previous owner) only did brakes, ball joints, sway bar end links, plugs and wires, oil changes, batteries. Had original radiator, water pump, alternator, fuel pump, shocks (bilstein) trans and engine. Even the exhaust was original. My 4.0 SOHC Rangers were a lot to keep going. Timing chain guides, head gaskets, transmission failures. Just a terrible combo. Still love and miss every one of them. The 3.4 tacos were tanks!

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[HenryMac]

No I bought the most effective truck even though I prefer the styling of both the Tacoma and the Colorado - and now the Nissan - better.

Be civil. This is an opinion thread. Thats my opinion. Your fanboy zeal isn't winning you any points. I don't lead with aesthetics. The tire clearances I decided I could work with. That doesn't make them less annoying.

I think you will like the pictured truck more than I. No pesky oversized wheels for you.

Please define what "the most effective truck" is?

A mini van is pretty effective.... I'd never own one though.

 

[Canadian Ranger]

I honestly didn’t try manual shifting as I felt like I was committing felony murder on the poor frontier just to see how it accelerates compared to the Ranger. Both the 2020 Tacoma and frontier had to be pushed hard to see their potential (or lack there of)

so you’re willing to pay $33k+ (basically same as a Ranger after rebates) for a truck that is slower, less capable and comfortable in every way because it “feels older”. In that case just keep the Ranger. Or get a V8 Sport Trac (2007-2010) if you need 4 doors. ??‍ I was the same way. The tech grows on you for sure. My recent previous vehicles were 1995, 2001, 2003, 1999, 2001. The ecoboost 2.3/10 speed alone is worth wayyyyy more to me than (less than $2k) difference in a 2020 Pro4x and my Lariat FX4.

No, I'm keeping my current Ranger until it implodes. When that happens I'm buying a used 2021 Frontier (or slightly older), instead of buying anything new. I'll get my basic truck I want, plus let someone else suffer the depreciation value.

 

[tehschkott]

Please define what "the most effective truck" is?

A mini van is pretty effective.... I'd never own one though.

Why not? What do you have against mini vans?

 

[FoD]

Why not? What do you have against mini vans?

Just a Ridgoma by any other name...(Or tacoline if you ptefer)

 

[GitRDone]

They all look like Tacoma's... from the side. Even the ranger, except for the round wheel wells.

The Pathfinder looks less Tacoma than the rest, due to the F-150 front window droop and square crew cab window.

That Ranger is sitting so nice and level, only a fellow owner will suspect dead bodies in the bed ..

 

[OFC Ranger]

Yea that photo of the Ranger being level is a lie if it is factory with no packages. We all know its a lie. Actually most advertisement photos online look like a lie too lol

Edit: This is what factory level looks like...

 

[TBR17]

The rake is not a bad thing in a mid sized or half ton if you are using it as a truck for hauling and towing. On the other hand, my F350 dually 4wd had no rake and was leveled nicely thanks to the 4wd. It didn't need one either. Even the 48' enclosed race hauler wasn't enough to squat it.

 

[HenryMac]

Yea that photo of the Ranger being level is a lie if it is factory with no packages. We all know its a lie. Actually most advertisement photos online look like a lie too lol

Edit: This is what factory level looks like...

One mans lie is another (marketing) mans truth....

That Ranger is sitting so nice and level, only a fellow owner will suspect dead bodies in the bed ..

Dead bodies wouldn't weight enough... maybe gold bars from a bank heist?

Why not? What do you have against mini vans?

They are just so "cool"

 

[CycloneCowboy]

Was considering both the Ranger and the Frontier. After seeing the new Frontier, I'm glad I went with the 2021 Ranger. Build (and general) options on the Nissan are extremely limited. Some professional reviewers were not impressed with the 2020 engine (same engine). I'm sure it's a well-made vehicle, as I have a 2013 Nissan Xterra with 140k miles and no issues.

 

[r1ch999999]

The Frontier was my second choice, first really considering I wanted used and a manual transmission. Wife and kids hated it, we didn't even back out of the parking spot before they all agreed I wasn't getting it.

Also, I wouldn't mind a column shifter on something, I never shift things myself and I'd prefer a bit more room in the center console.

 

[Trigganometry]

Haha looks like corporate sat down everyone and dropped the hammer. Look what Ford has done was the war cry! So all the engineers and designers shuffled off and this is what you get. Ideas borrowed galore stuffed into a 2 decades old frame with “all new” plastered to it. Common at least you didn’t have to copy the stamped name in the tailgate. Now damper equipped sticker might have helped though! ?

 

[shred5]

I am not a fanboy of any car company but I am a fan of trucks in general. I have owned may different trucks by different manufacturers and usually only keep them 3 to 4 years and try something different.

Honestly I like the look of the new Frontier. Looks is personal opinion and everyone's is different or we would all be driving the same thing.
I also do not need a ton of towing or payload.
I haul some lumber and allot of soil since we do allot of gardening and fixing up a older house. We do some light off road and trails.

I think this maybe a great option for me in the future.

If they can keep the price down I think it does ok.

I think the hard part is like the Ranger is a small pool of existing users to upgrade.
It took the Ranger a bit to catch on and massive rebates. There are not a ton of existing Frontier owners and most bought the truck because they needed barebones, low priced reliable trucks like work trucks where they might be beat up. The users probably are not looking to upgrade.
I not sure this truck is even for those people anyway. So the real question is where does this truck fit? We probably will not know till we see a price.

Another issue is how crowded this segment is getting. We may have a Dakota soon too. The real question is how many trucks can this segment support and who drops out first again!

For me the Frontier might be a truck for the future to try. I will have to wait and see till it hits the shelves. I have no bias and the truck looks promising.

 

[VAMike]

I think the hard part is like the Ranger is a small pool of existing users to upgrade.
It took the Ranger a bit to catch on and massive rebates.

This never was true. Ford was selling the ranger at about the same pace they were making them right from the beginning. The sensational press just ran with idiotic headlines like "ranger only sells X in its first quarter" while ignoring the fact that Ford only managed to ship about X rangers to dealers in its first quarter. By the end of the first year Ford had sold about 90k rangers, which seems to be about what they expected and about what they made. They never were sitting on a ton of unsold inventory relative to any other manufacturer. Yeah, they had rebates--but so did everyone else. The biggest problem with the ranger's initial sales was simply bad reporting. And I never did really understand who had an ax to grind with Ford; we didn't see the same kind of headlines for the gladiator launch ("Jeep sells only 314 units in April!?!?!!!") instead we saw "Jeep has lots of pre-orders" with no mention of the fact that just like Ford or any other manufacturer with a new model it took a while to ramp up production and then get trucks onto dealer lots. Just bad reporting and fanboy headline amplification.

 

[HenryMac]

please let dodge drop out first.

they'll cram a hellcat engine into theirs to get best in class numbers....and not worry about all the kids wrapping them around telephone poles.

Do stupid shit... win stupid prizes. You sound like a nanny state person.

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