85_Ranger4x4
Well-known member
How it shifts or gearing or what?
Is the Ranger the Hilux we've been wanting?
- Thread starter life_w_vagabonds
- Start date
nickw
Adventurer
Love mine - liked it much better than my 01' Tacoma.
I don't hear many complaints about Tacoma's "wearing" out. What are you referring to?
I'm also curious to see how the Ranger's efficiency fares when it starts getting modified for overland travel.
The engine is a BMW-derived design. The underlying platform has a lot of influence from Toyota...other than the engine, which I'm sure Toyota vetted, there should be no reason to doubt the new Supra's reliability.
Any vehicle is the sum of its parts...quite a few parts are specific to the NA Ranger. So just because the global Ranger has a good track record, doesn't mean the NA one will as well.
tacollie
Glamper
I've had 3 second gens. I like them and would even but one again. They always got the job done. They all showed they have been used for truck stuff. All 3 had a flippac. All three had gapes at the tail gate. All three had inconsistent spacing between the cab and the bed. My 05 was used hard and a first model year. I drove faster and did more hard trails with it. I have slowed down and lost interest in that type of 4wheeling. My 07 and 09 were lightly used compared to my 05 but had the same issues.
85_Ranger4x4
Well-known member
Kinda but not really.
2.3EB is not new, it does have a different oil cooler so there is that. Trans is the same 10spd as a F-150 with a different case so functionally not much new there unless they have a manufacturing/assembly issue. Rear axle is used in other things, I think Wrangler and Colorado. T-case and front axle are unknowns but I bet a lot of the front end is borrowed from the global truck.
So not a lot of the meat and taters of the truck is really new new, it is just new that it is all in one package. Which coming from a heavily swapped/upgraded truck owner can bring its own headaches... but it has done pretty good so far.
Hilldweller
SE Expedition Society
I've only seen two of the new Rangers on the road so far. The second one was yesterday and it had a small lift, aftermarket wheels (stuck out past fenders), and some aggressive rubber. Have to admit it looked pretty nice.
They were both loaded with jobber gear and were working; one in fancy Alpharetta and one in working-class Canton.
They were both loaded with jobber gear and were working; one in fancy Alpharetta and one in working-class Canton.
nickw
Adventurer
That's what I've been harping on about....people still stand behind "it's a Toyota...its reliable" when in reality its sharing an engine with a vehicle no Toyota purist would walk within 100 yards of. Times are changing, these big autos are conglomerating. I think Toyota is watering down while the others are more than catching up.
My opinion, and I'll probably piss off a lot of folks, late 90's / early 2000's Toyota's hit the sweet spot in the US. Simple, underpowered (aka durable), well built, field serviceable with enough creature comforts to make things live able.....1 gen Tacoma, LC100 and Supra. It's been watering down of since, IMO, to the point where other manuf have more than caught up. Now rigs are more comfortable, get better mileage, better NVH than ever....but have lost their true "Toyotaness" that was built up over 40+ years, not better, not worse, just different and something other manuf. can do well too.
Like I said, Ranger is a proven platform they drew off of but didn't copy, we know that. It uses proven parts. It's absolutely still a risk as a first year vehicle, but not in the sense that it's all new, from the ground up. Based on what we do know, which is quite a bit, it's stands to reason it's going to be a solid rig. I could very well be proven wrong but I think the risk is low.
85_Ranger4x4
Well-known member
I dare say that time frame applies across the board.
Decent ride, NVH, decent to work on, OBDII for diagnosis, everything has overdrive for decent mpg. Nice radio and HVAC but they are not entangled together in an infotainment system.
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nickw
Adventurer
Probably right....but I like the new Fords better than the ones in that time period, I think they've only been getting better since the late 90's. Good point about the infotainment, I could easily go back to my single CD or just AM/FM system....although Spotify is nice!
Todd n Natalie
OverCamper
So just bluetooth? Who needs a 'radio'... I just listen to playlists off my phone anyway, lol
nickw
Adventurer
Right! Me too. Although I am sometimes in the mood to just listen to the radio....
85_Ranger4x4
Well-known member
I think they kinda peaked 97-03. The "bigger and bolder than anyone has bigger and bolded before" theme that has gotten worse with every update since then is getting old to me. Maybe that is why I like the "new" Ranger with what some call dated styling. The Gladiator has been gaining traction with me too... as if it has modern styling.
I usually rock to a USB thumbdrive, holds a lot of songs and I just let it roll like a giant CD. Gonna have free Sirius in the Ranger when we go flying out to Ohio in two weeks though.
