Why Does the Tacoma Dominate the Off-Road Pickup Segment?

[egilbe]

Thus is probably the nicest review from another auto maker you will ever see! ?

Stupid video couldn't even get the generation right

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[Superdannyboy]

That’s funny, now that I’ve been driving this Ranger a little while it’s all the taco owners are rubbernecking my truck and not the other way around. It’s even better when one tries to blow you off and what they end up seeing is my LED taillights dimming as the gap widens!

Every single time I get on the highway, and with the blow off valve it's like an extra f you.

 

[DrizzyDrake]

I just shopped the two against each other. Ended up with a Lariat FX4.

It wasn't even a tough call to make. The Ranger just seemed like a better truck (to me) across the board. I mean, I liked the Tac's bed options and amenities that aren't really available to us.... other than that the Ranger was just so much cooler.

I'll admit, I also tend to be automatically disinterested by "what everyone else is doing" so that bias may be seeping in here.

IF THIS ISNT THE SAME AS ME. Ahahahahhahahaa. I compared the two, liked the ranger more (Tacoma has always been ugly to me), and also I wanted something for offroad that no one else had. And to this day, I have seen so many Tacoma's, but not a single new gen ranger offroad (besides online).

 

[9zero1790]

toycoma, ehh. id rather have a mahindra lol. they sell em in other markets with 4 door full bed 4x4 diesel and all sorts of real truck tie downs steel wheels and manually shifted, rolled and locked features. awesome.

 

[VegasTrojan]

I've been looking at small pickups for off-roading and I see that other than the new Jeep Gladiator all of the other ones are Toyota Tacomas. I'm wondering if there is a particular reason for this? It appears that the Ford Ranger and Chevrolet Colorado are almost identical to the Toyota Tacoma, why not use these instead? AEV even has an excellent build for the Chevrolet Colorado:
https://www.aev-conversions.com/vehicles/zr2-bison/.
I'm sure there are also some nice builds similar to this for the Ranger?

I was in the car business for over 30 years. In the 80's when the Ranger came out the under 30 crowd came into the showrooms to see them but wouldn't buy one because "A Ford is something my parents would buy and I don't want to own anything they would buy." And the Ranger was a better value.

 

[Elgorr4]

I cross shopped Tacomas for about 10 minutes when looking for a truck. The cost was considerably higher than a comparable Ranger, so they were immediately eliminated. I knew the Ranger was a better truck, and I have been a Ford truck fan since day 1 so the choice was easy. In the mountains, Tacomas are priced higher because of high demand. We call it the taco tax. You can't even get a new one without getting ripped off. The used ones are a joke, it is not uncommon to see nearly 20yo trucks with nearly 200k miles being listed for 10k+. People pay extra for the "reliability" when at that point it is really about how the vehicle was maintained over the last 200k.

 

[Elgorr4]

I valet park cars in the mountains, so drive a lot of "rigs." Loads of different trucks and suvs, sometimes lifted, usually new and expensive. I have never gotten in a Toyota and thought "man this is nice" and the Tacoma is probably the worst. The sight lines are terrible, the seating position sucks and the drivetrain seems archaic. I have gotten in several Chevy Colorado's that I liked, and I am not a chevy guy at all. The quality of the Colorado and Ranger just seems much higher than the newer Tacomas.

The other thing is the payload ratings. I'm always peeking at the door sticker of these vehicles just to compare payloads. It is not uncommon to see 4dr Tacomas with 1100lb payloads! Lowest I have seen is 960lbs which is literally in passenger car territory. Hell our 4dr company tundra (2015?) Has a payload of 1350, which is 300lbs less than my Ranger. People buy these trucks to add a RTT and all the "overland" goodies then try to take their 3 buddies camping and are way over payload. I can't imagine driving that 3.5 up a mountain pass with four big dudes and associated camping stuff at 500lbs over payload lmao. Especially on the big mud terrains they always seem to put on. I'm not a toyota hater, my gf has a Yaris that is a hoot to drive and perfect at what it is meant to do, and all of their crossovers are just fine, but the trucks are overpriced, overhyped junk imo.

 

[4x4AZ]

First and second gen Tacomas were cool. The first gen was the only compact truck at the time (besides maybe a frontier?) that had a coilover setup in the front and an available selectable locker, Fords and GMs at that point were running torsion bars and had less off-road equipment available from the factory. The second gen trucks had the 4.0 v6 which is (from my experience) a great motor and paired well with the 6 speed manual or the 5 speed auto. Not great for fuel economy but had lots of torque and was exceptionally smooth.

I think the momentum and the "hype" around toyotas is why so many people continue to buy the third gen Tacoma despite it objectively being the worst midsize on the market. I will say that I think the suspension on the TRD off-road model is better than the Ranger FX4 suspension but in literally every single other metric the third gen trucks absolutely SUCK. The motor is a huge downgrade, super underpowered and does not pair well with the 6 speed auto... The interior is meh, materials are alright I guess but the seating position is awful and toyota's infotainment system sucks. The truck still has drum brakes in the back in 2022. There is very little overhead for increasing power on the 3.5 via tuning or even bolt ons, you're pretty much stuck with getting a supercharger to the tune of $7k and even with that you're still only making about 310 to the wheels (LOL). Want to run bigger tires? Better swap to 4.88 gears to run 33s since your motor/trans is so poorly matched to the stock gearing, there's another $3k.

Sorry for the rant. I just really don't get the love for the new Tacoma. I test drove a Tacoma before ordering my ranger and was very underwhelmed. IMO, the Frontier, Ranger, and Colorado are all a better option, can be had for cheaper, and all use technology newer than 2014 I probably would have gotten a second gen 6 speed Tacoma instead of a new ranger had the used car market not been so crazy the last two years (a 150k mile 2011 Tacoma Off-Road was going for nearly 30k here in Oregon), but the new trucks just really do not appeal to me personally.

 

[Hickesy]

I wouldn't get one because they're everywhere around OR/WA, almost every truck you pass is either a Taco, F150 or Ram. But I don't mind admitting to a double take when I saw a new Trail Edition in the flesh, great looking truck

 

[deleriumtremor]

Tacoma was never in the running. The seating position for someone my height is an absolute deal breaker.

Now that I own the Ranger, even if they somehow fixed the seating problem, they are too far behind on many other important factors to be considered in a straight up comparison.

 

[Arly]

As you long term members here might recall, we traded in a 2017 version and GLAD to see it go. After 30K we still love this truck.

 

[Aonarch]

Tacoma was never in the running. The seating position for someone my height is an absolute deal breaker.

Now that I own the Ranger, even if they somehow fixed the seating problem, they are too far behind on many other important factors to be considered in a straight up comparison.

Yup they need to completely replace the drivetrain.

New engine and more importantly new transmission.

 

[Peragrin]

I cross shopped Tacomas for about 10 minutes when looking for a truck. The cost was considerably higher than a comparable Ranger, so they were immediately eliminated. I knew the Ranger was a better truck, and I have been a Ford truck fan since day 1 so the choice was easy. In the mountains, Tacomas are priced higher because of high demand. We call it the taco tax. You can't even get a new one without getting ripped off. The used ones are a joke, it is not uncommon to see nearly 20yo trucks with nearly 200k miles being listed for 10k+. People pay extra for the "reliability" when at that point it is really about how the vehicle was maintained over the last 200k.

For the last 5+ years Tacomas may sell at MSRP, but are still overpriced as if you used the factory loan programs you paid a minimum of 4%. when my bank was offering 2%.

it always amazed me that a truck so behind the tech, curve was selling above market rates.

Now that is a feature.

 

[Utope]

For the last 5+ years Tacomas may sell at MSRP, but are still overpriced as if you used the factory loan programs you paid a minimum of 4%. when my bank was offering 2%.

it always amazed me that a truck so behind the tech, curve was selling above market rates.

Now that is a feature.

Don't forget you're also buying Toyota Care in the price of the vehicle. Just because they don't make it a line item doesn't mean it's free.

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