6th Oct 2010, 13:32
I'm helping a friend buy a new small truck, and based on past experience and current build quality ratings that put Ford at 5th out of 33 car makers versus Toyota at a dismal twenty first place, I naturally steered my friend to the more reliable Ranger. Ford will not be selling the Ranger in the U.S. next year because the world-class F-150 is now nearly as fuel efficient and costs only a couple of grand more.
I've owned 4 Rangers since 1992 and all have been flawless. Most companies here (including ours) use Rangers for light duty hauling and service work and 300,000 miles out of these trucks is typical. The Tacoma costs 5-7 grand more, is less reliable and offers no advantages over the well-equipped XLT Ranger. My friend will have a longer lasting truck and be able to take a very nice vacation on the money saved.
People seem to forget that Toyota had three Grand Jury subpoenas in a year for safety violations relating to poor build quality and major safety defects. The largest recall in the history of the wheel is hardly a good recommendation for buying one.
6th Oct 2010, 15:52
Okay, can you please stop going over the same statistics on every Toyota thread? We get it... you hate Toyota. So go to the Ford threads and write about how good their vehicles are. Really, writing the same thing over and over makes no difference to anyone who prefers a Toyota. Do you think you are going to sway people into buying a Ford?
Move on already!
And Toyotas are much more refined, better driving, smoother and more reliable than anything Ford can offer. At least that is what my personal experience has shown me! We chose the RAV 4 over the Escape, which was a nice truck too, because it edged it out in pretty much every category from driving experience, to power, to refinement, to MPG. The MSRP was within about $200 on both vehicles, and our deal was virtually identical. Although we did get a better finance rate on the Toyota, than we would have on the Ford.
6th Oct 2010, 19:52
First of all, the Ranger and current Tacoma are not even on same planets. The Ranger is an ancient design. My Brother had a 94'. Last year I went to an auto show, and Ford had "new" Rangers sitting out alongside their newer F-150's. It was the exact same truck! The Ranger is so old now it's almost funny. Hands-down Toyota mopped the floor with their Tacoma. It's a far more modern, reliable, higher quality vehicle. Comparing the Ranger to the Tacoma is a joke.
I have the first model of Tacoma - a '96 and not only does it look, drive, and handle like new, but it's got well over 250,000 miles at this point, and shows zero signs of slowing down. period. A buddy of mine had a '98. He had one heck of a commute and racked up 450,000 miles on his, and again - the truck showed no signs of mechanical issues.
Either way, it doesn't matter because Ford is pulling the plug on the Ranger anyway, so from now on, if you want a small to medium sized truck, you're going to have to go with a Toyota.
5th Oct 2010, 20:58
" (nor are they Rangers really, they're still Mazdas. Buy the real thing) "
Now I hate to break this to ya, but the Mazda B-Series pick-up is in fact a Ford Ranger. It's not the other way around like you have it, with the Ranger being the Mazda B-Series. Everything about the B-Series is a Ranger, except the symbol on the grille.
I agree with the rest of your comment however. I'd take a Tacoma over a Ranger any day, without even thinking twice. Heck, I wouldn't even have to think, the Tacoma is the obvious choice.