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Comments
Just for fun: When you were shopping for your truck, did you take a Ranger for a test drive? Did you try any other trucks besides the Tacoma?
Only AFTER buying my '99 Tacoma did I bother to DRIVE a Ranger (I had ridden in some, as I mentioned). That's when I made the comparison between the two, and formed my opinions I voiced above.
Prior to buying another vehicle (truck/van/car/SUV/whatever), I guarantee you I will test drive EVERY available make/model that I believe might possibly fill the bill.
Brand loyalty is a thing of the past for me. Except, I probably wouldn't bother with GM or DC vehicles due to their miserable safety and repair records.
BTW- I have a friend in Phoenix who just bought a new Toyota Sienna that has been very problematic, even requiring a new torque converter in the tranny. He's NOT a happy camper!
I find this "Toyota is god" mentality on other sites around the net. I quickly burst their bubbles and throw them into a tizzy. I find many Tacoma owners have no idea where their trucks rate as far as crash tests, HP/Torque curves, rearends, where Toyota take the ground clearance from and much more... I firmly believe most just run down to the Toyota dealer, pay out the nose for a truck they feel is superior.. Boy are they wrong..
For those of you with the TRD packages, I hope you enjoy the premium price you paid for those Bilstein shocks and springs, along with that locker you may use 2% of your driving time....:-))
And, try to use your locker going around a nice curve... see what happens.. :-))
See you in the Cascades..
I'll see you in the hills, enjoy your sticker,etc,etc.
Vince (Not Really)
You need to let go of these demons (tacomas). Lets all pray shall we...."Oh Lord, we bring this to you, that these Tinoda owners will be healed. They suffer much, father, and need your strength in what must be the darkest point of their lives. Lord, I pray that you will give them blessings from you, and many rangers for them to get around in, because we would not wish for a truck to ride rough and have repulsive stickers and have a locker. Give them limited slip, and they will be blessed, and all praise will be to you. Hallelujah, let them be saved from their wicked ways....
Amen and Amen
The Reverend formerly known as Vince81
That photo of you in your reverend suit is real cute. Yuk! Yuk! Yuk!
Phat Mike (AKA vince81)
Again, if anybody finds these offensive, please tell me and I will remove them.
Phat Mikey
img src="http://www.sitename.com/funny.jpg"
Phat Mikey
Phat Mikey
Anyway, the Ranger has 60,300 miles on it (2WD, 2.3l, 4cyl) and has been meticulously maintained By both my buddy and me. Oil every 3-4000 miles, frequent air filter changes, the works. I used it mainly to haul a race bike this summer and put around 10,000 miles on it, mostly highway, in a 4-month period. It's been a decent truck, seems well built and didn't give me any trouble. There's a heat shield or something under the bed that's starting to rattle a little and the CD player skips sometimes, but other than that no probs.
I had a '95 T100 (2WD, 2.7l, 4cyl) a couple of years ago, until my wife totaled it. I loved that truck and had no problems whatsoever with it for the entire 60,000 miles I owned it. I also own a Toyota ECHO and I really like that car. I guess I'd tend toward the Toyota product just because I've had uniformly good experiences with them, but the Ranger has also served me well.
Just Kidding!!!!!
What kind of race bike?
CT - My wife has a 98. To be honest, it's been a pretty good truck all in all at 34,000 miles so far. Had to take it in for a few things that didn't thrill me but they were covered under warranty. I personally like the stiffer suspension on the Toyota but that's my preference.
am sold on the ranger. I haul and tow with my
truck, which is just what the ranger was built for.\\
Actually, the Tacoma has a higher standard payload than the Ranger. It hauls stuff very well, as it is rated at a 3/4 ton truck.
The Ranger is good for Home Depot runs and driving around town. The Tacoma is made to be abused and still perform well.
Phat Mike
8^)
than the Ranger. It hauls stuff very well, as it
is rated at a 3/4 ton truck."
HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! 3/4 ton truck, (imagine Dr. Evil saying "Riiiiighttt.")
And now back to the subject of TOYOTA TACOMA vs FORD RANGER. Thanks for your participation. ;-)
Pocahontas,
Edmunds.com/Host
My Ranger measures 10.24 inches clearance dead center on the front suspension wishbone frame and 8.25 inches on the rear differential. Do I need to get out my jpg's of a Stanley tape measure under both my Ranger and a Tacoma showing them to be within 1/4 inch of each other? The funky differential on the new Tacoma in the picture comes out real nice in it's picture. However, I must confess my differential is rather dirty and sand blasted in it's pictures from 3-4 trips thru the Sand Dunes, but it does show the very well the small difference between the two.
The 7.4 inches is for the basic non-4X4 Ranger. And speaking of basic non-4X4, the Tacoma in that configuration measures under 7 inches clearance, closer to 6.5 inches. Yep, the basic Tacoma is about 1 inch lower in clearance than an equal Ranger.
The Tacoma and Ranger prices you cite are, I guess, MSRP basic price. You forget that the Ranger does not need the $2-3,000 in options that you have to get on the Tacoma to even get a tachometer and something other than an AM radio. . .and ABS brakes, forget it...can't find many Tacomas with that option which is standard on any Ranger.
The 1260 is the basic payload of the Ranger, for 75 or so bucks it is increased with the payload option.
At any rate, I often carry 200 gal of water at 8.333lb per gallon. (do the math) Combine that weight with the weight of my wife and I and we are getting real close to a ton. I have had no problems hauling that weight.
Your correct on the warrenty.
Maybe you should call for a manual recount of the inches....
Also, Tacoma claims, in some ad's, 12 inches clearance. Well, maybe somewhere on the vehicle but the differential is way under that figure.
The Ranger is peeking in from the right, I'm the guy in the helmet and my friend Chris who sold me the truck is beside me. The bike is banged up from a nasty crash in the morning and I'm just getting ready to go out and test the repairs we've spent all day making. You can get all the details on my web site if you're interested.
And why do ya hafta harsh my ECHO like that? She's a good little car! And she's got a great personality!
Second, go to Kelly blue book and to the resale of a like 1998 Ranger to a like 1998 Tacoma you may be surprised.
Toyota measures ground clearance at the highest point on the diff. Toyota also puts larger tires on thier 4x4's. This makes them stand taller and look good. I also put P265x75R16's on my Ranger and compared them to my friends TRD. He may have a 1/4" advantage at most over my Ranger.
I notice you never mention, rear diffs, or HP/Torque curves, or crash tests.... Hmmm....
About the ECHO, I guess personality can make up for .....Oh, never mind. LOL!!
funny thing is, I asked each respective dealer what THEY thought the ground clearance was before I went out to measure. the chevy dealer thought the ZR2 would be about 4 inches. the Toy dealer thought the tacoma would be about 12 inches. just shows how informed most dealers are...