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While most people that post here seem to own a 4X4 it is not dedicated to that.
I have posted many times regarding the very low suspension of the 2 wheel drive Tacoma. That is a very low to the ground vehicle which I measured as haveing just over 6 inches clearance at the differential. This is as compared to a Ranger at a bit over 7 inches.
In regard to the 4X4 systems, generally, at least in my case, I am off-road maybe 5% of the life of the vehicle so far.
In my particular case I:
1. Needed a 4X4 truck to haul a 200 gal tank.
2. Needed it to be inexpensive.
3. Needed low financing.
4. Needed reasonable reliability.
I got:
1. The tank fits in the Ranger nice and the 4X4 has not failed me.
2. It was just a bit over 17K with nice but not all options. It had the options I needed/wanted.
3. Financed by Ford for 4 yeas at 2.9% interest for a grand total of $1,200 fincance charge.
4. Consumer Reports, Edmunds, Four Wheeler have all stated in more than one article that the Ranger is "a Best Buy", has good-excellent reliability and is worth a look if your on a budget.
I do not hunt in Alaska so do not need a Land Rover class vehicle to gain access.
So why payu 3-5K for features I will not use?
I would RATHER keep my 3 kids in college than to say "Daddy wants a spiffy truck, you go get a job resulting in maybe lower grades if you want to stay in school."
Heck my youngest is somewhere around a 3.3 average in hs Freshman year at the party school of Univ. of Northern Colorado. and not to be crass but he was not the sharpest tool in the shed in highschool.
IT was the "unanimous" decision by 4 wheeler for a reason. It wailed o nthe Ranger in every comparison test FOR A REASON.
Do I need to post the comparison test again? Do I need to go on and on about how the Rangers suspension is based on the f150's highway based suspension? Do I need to quote 4wheelers comments that the Rangers suspension is a "highway" suspension? Do I need to go into how it just suffered on the trail?
I dont think so. The Ranger is a nice trail truck, no question about it. But with a highway suspension and not one apsect of it developed for offroading, it's not a competent offroader.
For the guy who was saying that he'd rather send his kids to college than pay extra for a tacoma. I agree wholeheartedly. I don't think anyone would say that the tacoma is more important than taking care of your family. I think an underlying assumption in this debate has to be that you can afford either truck without ill impact of other areas of your life. If you can't afford the tacoma the point of this debate is moot.
vic..
I hav POSTED pictures of Ranger ON 4+ rated and 3+ rated trails.
I have traveled on at least 5 tough 4X4 trails of the Sangre's and had to BACK OUT of many tight places as the were IMPASSABLE.
Now you going to try to tell my your Tacoma can with ease traverse 5 and up rated passes? That type of pass is traversed by highly articulated modified vehicles of which the Tacoma is not a member.
Because I HAVE proven what a Ranger CAN and WILL do.
YOU have shown me and this site SQUAT.
All you talk about is racing from lights and muddy farmers fields.
My Ranger has BEEN there, DONE that, HAULED loads in excess of a ton and still shines like a new penny when washed and runs like a top.
There is NOT ONE thing engineered on the RAnger with offroading in mind. NOT ONE. It's just NOT a Ford design philosophy.
With me driving my TRFD you would NOT be able to go where I go. MY locker would get me out of mud that would swallow your trucks rear end.
Face it Cspounser, 4wheeler, Petersons, Carpoint, Edmunds are right. The Tacoma IS a notch above other trucks in the 4 wheel drive department. There is no DOUBT about it.
And if you think that your Ranger is as capable as a TRD TAcoma, you are living in DENIAL.
Get over it pal.
Lets take our rigs up in the Sangres. Lets trail for a couple weeks STRAIGHT, like they do in Africa. Then lets see which truck comes down the mountain in proper working order. lol.
There is a REASON LAnd Rover and JEEP use the Tacos for their events and long offroad excursions.
They are the BEST stock truck you can get for offroading, PERIOD.
From spoogs post 85:
"No one is going to accept some link of a bunch of
meatheads yapping"
You yap with no lead in your pencil, no proof, no nothing.
Until you prove it, your yaping.
Prove a TRD can go where I cannot.
You will see where my Ranger has been very soon.
Lets start with this where Rangers have gone:
http://www.4x4now.com/trcois.htm
Independence Trail System, Penrose, Colorado1988 Ranger XLT and 1986 Ford BroncoII
http://www.4x4now.com/hr.htm
4+ rated Hells Revenge, Moab, Ut. While not from the adventure of Bill Billingham and fordtech, you get the idea. They made it in Ranger XLT's, on of them in 4X2 low due to a malfunction in the front differential.
Notice in the pictures an elevation change of maybe 1,500-2,200 feet.
What is the elevation change on an the ILL. corn field where you say you take your Tacoma, maybe 50-100 feet?
I think the point of vince is you do not use the locker that much in 99% of the situations you get in off-road.
Sounds like you really enjoy your Tacoma.
I like the one of the Toyota guy standing OUTSIDE (no one is inside!!!) of his truck and videotaping while it crawls up a steep rock facing to demonstrate his extremely low gearing. What a nut!
Secondly, there wasn't even a picture of a Ranger in the second link you offer. All I saw was Toyotas and Jeeps ( the choice of below 30k offroaders everyhwere).
4wheeler and PEtersons are the ultimate source on the STOCK Ranger vs Tacoma issue.
You say you "play with the big dogs", yet you bite like a little poodle.
You seem to give waaaaayyyy too much credit to the car rags.
If some Ranger owner were to hand you your [non-permissible content removed] out on some mountain trails somewhere due to superior experience (I'd bet Vince or CP would be game and show you the ropes), are you gonna whip out that article and say: "Hey!!! They liked my truck better!!!"
I will say this once again, the TRD is a nice package no doubt. But at what price? The fact is we all talk about taking our trucks into the great outdoors, fact is this is maybe at most 10 maybe 15 percent of our total driving time. The majority of driving time for ANY 4x4 is on the highway or city streets. And of that 10=15 percent of offroad time the locker on the Toyota may get used 1 percent of the time? maybe 2 at most? If you use it more you don't belong out on the trails, nor do you know how or when a locker is supposed to be used. My whole point is you sure pay a whole bunch for a package that is used so little. Enjoy the sticker!
SO where is the Tacoma in the list? Could it be the Tacoma is not as well built as the American made vehicles?
So much for paying extra for a quality Tacoma....
So spopog, still feeling so good about paying extra for a vehicle that isn't as well made as the American made vehicles that cost less?
And your 3 year old articles don't apply here, so don't even try to post them again...
Get over it....Toyota quality isn't what it used to be...
The only manufacturer who parades around the JD Power ratings is Dodge. All vehicles should be of high initial quality. If Toyota pays off fourwheeler I am sure that it is quite possible that Dodge is slipping some bills to JD Power. On another note, the other day I saw a full size Dodge Ram 4x4 run into the back of an Accord. No noticeable damage to the accord but the bumper fell off the Ram.
the last time i tried www.toyota.com, i came up with some milwaukee transportation site.
www.fordvehicles.com just gives a 404 site not found error.
I would take a few day test of performance figres, heating/cooling specific parts, offroading tests ect, run by a crew of experienced offroaders than some Yahoo Ranger owner who only picks up wood from home depot.
Give me a break.
The 4wheeler comparison and the PEtersons June Ranger vs Tacoma comparison ARE the best sources of comparison info on the CURRENT models of Ranger and Tacoma. The article IS 2 years old, but the models are still essentially the same. When will you realize that?
The Tacoma was a unanimous decision for a very, very good reason.
Just like talking to a brick wall.
If you'd take the opinion of who drove a truck for maybe 3 days over someone who owned the truck for over three years, I think you're extremely naive.
Come on now, you seen to have an answer to everything else! At least mviglianco1 tried to give a pathetic defense (we all know loyal Toyota owners are so proud to fill out questionaires saying their vehicles are perfect...see consumer reports for a perfect example)
Or you just do not acknowledge facts that don't make your tacoma look like the best thing since sliced bread?
Or is it just because your 3 year old articles don't apply here?
I'm waiting!!!!!!
Your right, I spend all of my extra time filling out all the product surveys and usually talk for hours with telemarketers too.
And who is "we" in "We all know..." ?
Never buy a vehicle you have serious doubts about. You'll just regret it in the long run. It sounds as if any of the compact 4x4's would fill your needs too. Have you bothered to shop around at all? The worse that can happen is to find something you like better or affirm your decision to go with the Tacoma.
Later,
-C
They were much nicer than the bench seat on the Nissan truck I had.
Sometimes car reviewers just have to complain about something.
23.8K! YEEEEEE OUCH! Gotta love that TRD sticker! and got to give Toyota marketing credit too. Like I keep saying over and over and over, I don't think a 23.8K Ranger even exists? I paid 19.6K for a totally loaded Ranger XLT. Do you know what I could do to a Ranger with just 2K worth of aftermarket parts???!!!
They are pretty much meaning less. The questions they ask are:
1. Are you happy with your vehicle
ect.
How about if I REPOST the FIVE YEAR LONG TERM reliability J.D. Powers study?
These are vehicles from 93 that were tested for five years. Needless to say, the Top SUV was the fourrunner, the top pickup was the Tacoma, and the top full size SUV was the landcruiser.
All Ford models except the Econoline Van finished well below the average mark.
This was a FIVE year study.
It all has to do with proper support.
that, while not stock, more than likely costs in the range of a TRD Tacoma. However, I would THINK that the Tacoma may be at a disadvantage against THIS Ranger. . .
For the record, you will NOT see my truck on the Independence Trail System. Even though I drive within 3 miles of it everytime I go to Westcliffe.
More single pics to follow showing the ability of a Ranger to keep up with the pack. I contacted the people that went to Moab and the pics from the trip are in works. Will provide the link.
My Ranger has been on Medano, Hayden, Blanca Peak (to the point of Jaws 1, but no further, I am not stupid and do not want to destroy the truck) and Gerogia pass's, all 3-4 rated trails, plus numerious unnamed side trails.
I do not think I have ever disagreed that Tacoma is a fine machine. Just offering less expensive options.,