Why did you pick the Ranger over the Tacoma?

[MrBirdman330]

I can’t see why anyone in their right mind would buy a Taco personally??? Horrible seating position, cramped rear seat in the crew cab and dated interior. I can go on….gutless and underwhelming drive train, only fair MPG and not even class leading payload and towing. I’ll round it out with a general overpriced for what you get.

Yet it overwhelmingly rules midsize sales??? I just don’t get it??? ?

I’m still driving an ‘02 F-150 SuperCrew and hopeful for a ‘24 Ranger in a SuperCrew/longbed configuration. No way would I settle for a Taco even though they do offer the cab/bed configuration I’m looking for. Toyota has a lot of improvements to make on their next gen Taco before I’d ever consider it.

One reason people buy outdated Toyotas, it's called reliability. A 20 year old new Lexus GX aka Land Cruiser Prado has a drivetrain that's so reliable you can toss a grenade under the hood, detonate, get behind the wheel start it and drive off. That's why people buy the old outdated lethargic Taco. It's reliable.

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[Rhino]

sooo i think i can answer this one well since well i owned a tacoma from 2016 somethin up until mid 2022! the reason they still sell a dated old truck/suv is as someone stated they are reliable and perform extremely well at a lot of things no they dont excell at one thing what toyota has done is give you a swiss arm knife for a truck/suv that will do just about anything you want! you want it to last 200k? alright do it! you want to wheel it and beat the piss out of it? go for it! you want shit mpg well ya thats a given haha now you can tune them and get roughly 21mpg with a set of 265s and light mods (buddy of mine had one and it did great), you want to see the world? (someone is actively doing this in a 3rd gen taco with a flatbed camper its awesome!) well go for it! the trucks just keep running!

now saying a tacomas interior is dated is true but is also funny because our rangers have a very old interior as well... its been around just overseas on top of that we have a pretty ugly steering wheel from some other model ford.. we dont even get our own wheel.. but we do have better features!

the main reason i bought my ranger over a new tacoma is well a 3rd gen tacoma is nothing different from my 2nd gen but in my opinion a weaker powertrain!

comfort/interior-the ranger is a lot comfier also the seating position on the ranger is just better plus the seats all together are just better seats...... the interior to me isnt much different we have a few more features then what a toyota truck/suv has but overall its meh to make that a fight tbh both are pretty dated for todays standards... the only thing i say toyota wins on interior is a black headliner! i hate this two tone crap but thats it!

towing- the rangers towing is far better then the tacoma the only thing above it is i think the gladiator? and i liked it but couldnt find one for a price i would spend on a jeep haha

exterior looks- i personally like how the ranger looks! it looks foreign it doesnt look like it should have a ford badge (to me at least lol) so it caught my interest now stock these trucks do look a tad goofy but once you level it and put a set of slightly taller and wider tires they look sick! the 3rd gen tacoma has the aggressive look which i do like but not on trucks... i like it on cars personally not my trucks so it was a bit to much for me plus since im use to tacomas i know if i want a offroad bumper i have to cut my oem bumper up since its a plastic facia and it goes all the way up to the headlights... so either get a ugly bumper that goes all the way to the lights or cut the oem plastic for a high clearance one.

mpg- well its a truck so it wont get anything great like my 19 si had... but at the same time i personally dont care as long as its better then 12 on a good day! (yes my old taco got 12 on good days and 9 on bad days!) the ranger boast a 24mpg average now ive hit 24mpg when it was stock but since i leveled my truck i average hit 19-21 and tbh im happy with that. now both of these trucks when tuned makes them get a bit better mpg and makes the engines and transmissions wake up soooo this one unsure since i never owned a tuned tacoma

power- the potential power in the ranger is far greater and easier to get vs a tacoma and cheaper... for a tacoma if you want more power you have to tune the truck and if you want more then you have to shell out 6k for a super charger kit and then retune the truck again... now you will be looking at some impressive number buuuuut they are still rather slow tbh(ive driven one)the ranger on the other hand is pretty quick off the lot and since its a turbo truck you can do a bit more with it to push the truck higher... a ranger can get a tune and have more power and loads of fun for average people but if the itch really hits you well time to start messing with other bits to get more.

i have more small reasons i chose my ranger over the current gen tacoma but meh thats enough lol just incase someone thinks i didnt own one and build it and beat the piss out of it well there he be! ganon king of calamity! (this was at the point of doing a rebuild so things were removed) usually to my wallet with buying parts haha but not once did that truck leave me stranded on the road it just drove home very ummm unsafely haha

i will add this negative for the ranger thou! the ranger has a taller cab and ive noticed it wiggles and wobbles more in wind then my tacoma did! and my tacoma didnt have a sway bar! plus ext travel front suspension so it was like a sail boat on the highway but it was planted!

 

[MrBirdman330]

sooo i think i can answer this one well since well i owned a tacoma from 2016 somethin up until mid 2022! the reason they still sell a dated old truck/suv is as someone stated they are reliable and perform extremely well at a lot of things no they dont excell at one thing what toyota has done is give you a swiss arm knife for a truck/suv that will do just about anything you want! you want it to last 200k? alright do it! you want to wheel it and beat the piss out of it? go for it! you want shit mpg well ya thats a given haha now you can tune them and get roughly 21mpg with a set of 265s and light mods (buddy of mine had one and it did great), you want to see the world? (someone is actively doing this in a 3rd gen taco with a flatbed camper its awesome!) well go for it! the trucks just keep running!

now saying a tacomas interior is dated is true but is also funny because our rangers have a very old interior as well... its been around just overseas on top of that we have a pretty ugly steering wheel from some other model ford.. we dont even get our own wheel.. but we do have better features!

the main reason i bought my ranger over a new tacoma is well a 3rd gen tacoma is nothing different from my 2nd gen but in my opinion a weaker powertrain!

comfort/interior-the ranger is a lot comfier also the seating position on the ranger is just better plus the seats all together are just better seats...... the interior to me isnt much different we have a few more features then what a toyota truck/suv has but overall its meh to make that a fight tbh both are pretty dated for todays standards... the only thing i say toyota wins on interior is a black headliner! i hate this two tone crap but thats it!

towing- the rangers towing is far better then the tacoma the only thing above it is i think the gladiator? and i liked it but couldnt find one for a price i would spend on a jeep haha

exterior looks- i personally like how the ranger looks! it looks foreign it doesnt look like it should have a ford badge (to me at least lol) so it caught my interest now stock these trucks do look a tad goofy but once you level it and put a set of slightly taller and wider tires they look sick! the 3rd gen tacoma has the aggressive look which i do like but not on trucks... i like it on cars personally not my trucks so it was a bit to much for me plus since im use to tacomas i know if i want a offroad bumper i have to cut my oem bumper up since its a plastic facia and it goes all the way up to the headlights... so either get a ugly bumper that goes all the way to the lights or cut the oem plastic for a high clearance one.

mpg- well its a truck so it wont get anything great like my 19 si had... but at the same time i personally dont care as long as its better then 12 on a good day! (yes my old taco got 12 on good days and 9 on bad days!) the ranger boast a 24mpg average now ive hit 24mpg when it was stock but since i leveled my truck i average hit 19-21 and tbh im happy with that. now both of these trucks when tuned makes them get a bit better mpg and makes the engines and transmissions wake up soooo this one unsure since i never owned a tuned tacoma

power- the potential power in the ranger is far greater and easier to get vs a tacoma and cheaper... for a tacoma if you want more power you have to tune the truck and if you want more then you have to shell out 6k for a super charger kit and then retune the truck again... now you will be looking at some impressive number buuuuut they are still rather slow tbh(ive driven one)the ranger on the other hand is pretty quick off the lot and since its a turbo truck you can do a bit more with it to push the truck higher... a ranger can get a tune and have more power and loads of fun for average people but if the itch really hits you well time to start messing with other bits to get more.

i have more small reasons i chose my ranger over the current gen tacoma but meh thats enough lol just incase someone thinks i didnt own one and build it and beat the piss out of it well there he be! ganon king of calamity! (this was at the point of doing a rebuild so things were removed) usually to my wallet with buying parts haha but not once did that truck leave me stranded on the road it just drove home very ummm unsafely haha

i will add this negative for the ranger thou! the ranger has a taller cab and ive noticed it wiggles and wobbles more in wind then my tacoma did! and my tacoma didnt have a sway bar! plus ext travel front suspension so it was like a sail boat on the highway but it was planted!

What the US gets is a mere meager offering of what Toyota really has. The Tacoma has the Championship Belt Title for mid-size truck sales and it gives them a dull sense of the US market. If Toyota really wanted to push they would kill the Tacoma for the Hilux or mold the Tacoma more to the Hilux and bring over the 70 series Land Cruiser, now you want to talk about a Dinosaur Toyota. It has been in production for just over 40 years and had one refresh, but yet the design is so practical and simple it can still be easily fitted for modern safety features, this again goes to what I have called Japanese Efficiency you also get 3 flavors, truck, troop carrier, and wagon. A VDJ76 Land Cruiser Wagon is the only and I mean only Toyota I would consider buying new if offered here in the US.

 

[Rhino]

What the US gets is a mere meager offering of what Toyota really has. The Tacoma has the Championship Belt Title for mid-size truck sales and it gives them a dull sense of the US market. If Toyota really wanted to push they would kill the Tacoma for the Hilux or mold the Tacoma more to the Hilux and bring over the 70 series Land Cruiser, now you want to talk about a Dinosaur Toyota. It has been in production for just over 40 years and had one refresh, but yet the design is so practical and simple it can still be easily fitted for modern safety features, this again goes to what I have called Japanese Efficiency you also get 3 flavors, truck, troop carrier, and wagon. A VDJ76 Land Cruiser Wagon is the only and I mean only Toyota I would consider buying new if offered here in the US.

very true i wish we got the vehicles oveseas got plus the engine choices... but nope we wont ever get them because stupid reasons...

 

[MrBirdman330]

very true i wish we got the vehicles oveseas got plus the engine choices... but nope we wont ever get them because stupid reasons...

The Diesel choices alone are more than worth it. Toyota has the most bullet proof Diesel engines money can buy. The best part is, you can easily convert the 1HZ to a 1HD Turbo for very little money and there's tons of aftermarket conversion kits just built specifically for that.

 

[Rhino]

The Diesel choices alone are more than worth it. Toyota has the most bullet proof Diesel engines money can buy. The best part is, you can easily convert the 1HZ to a 1HD Turbo for very little money and there's tons of aftermarket conversion kits just built specifically for that.

ya it really sucks we cant have that....

 

[Davidjc]

Wanted a truck to tow behind class c v10. Don't like gm. Tacoma isn't flat-towable. Ram doesn't make a smaller truck. Jeep renegade is ugly and $$$$$. So I got a ranger lariat 4x4.
About to get the Invisibrake installed. Wondering where others are sewing there control units being placed?

 

[Highlander]

About to get the Invisibrake installed. Wondering where others are sewing there control units being placed?

Nice truck David. I assume you're asking about other brake controller opinions. I had the Ford (which is the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite plus Lumen control module) unit installed, as it will work with the active cruise control of the Lariat trim. From what I have read, this is the only unit which will. So keep this in mind, if you plan on towing, and using cruise control.

Frank

 

[Azhang253]

One reason people buy outdated Toyotas, it's called reliability. A 20 year old new Lexus GX aka Land Cruiser Prado has a drivetrain that's so reliable you can toss a grenade under the hood, detonate, get behind the wheel start it and drive off. That's why people buy the old outdated lethargic Taco. It's reliable.

Man I’d love to get of those or a 3rd gen 4Runner. Absolutely love those vehicles.

 

[Davidjc]

Nice truck David. I assume you're asking about other brake controller opinions. I had the Ford (which is the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite plus Lumen control module) unit installed, as it will work with the active cruise control of the Lariat trim. From what I have read, this is the only unit which will. So keep this in mind, if you plan on towing, and using cruise control.

Frank

Thank you. I have considered the redarc. I had invisibrake before and really liked it but didn't know about the cruise issue. More research is due now. Thanks again.

 

[Dr. Zaius]

I didn't think the brake controller issue was about the active cruise control.

I though the issue was with the emergency braking, which is separate from the ACC.

 

[Doc]

Why, because it’s a Ranger !

 

[ControlNode]

I didn't think the brake controller issue was about the active cruise control.

I though the issue was with the emergency braking, which is separate from the ACC.

It's both. ACC and emergency braking will show the brake lights when braking while neither will move the brake pedal any, so using a pedal activated system doesn't work in those conditions.

But, this may be all off of topic (as replies to David) as I think @Davidjc is talking about a brake actuator for in the Ranger while being pulled by the motorhome, not a controller for the Ranger when it is towing something else. That of course is if I'm understanding correctly.

 

[Davidjc]

Controlnode is correct. I'm installing a braking system for the ranger to brake when the motorhome does.

 

[Sanctus Rimor]

My interest in Tacomas was over as soon as I sat in one. Didn't even take it for a test drive.

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