you try to haul anyone taller than 4 feet in the rear seats! This thread is hoppin' cause lots of folks wonder if they can save a few bucks by downsizing... IMHO, if you have a full size truck today, keep driving it till the wheels fall off and then see what you NEED when the time comes for a new ride.

I tried the 'downsize and save the planet' deal with a Nissan Frontier that has almost the identical back seat room to the Fronty (cause we tested the Fronty as well). It cost me months of complaining kids (aged 10 and 8) whining about having no room in the back seat. Then it cost me big $$ trading back up to full size. Don't let this happen to you! Now, I get about 16MPG average with the 5.4 in the city and there's nothing but happy campers in the back seat of the s'crew.

This (plus the new Tundra crewmax competition) is why the new s'crews are getting even longer crew cabs me' boys. So what have we learned today kids?? The cabs keep gettin' bigger, the beds keep gettin' shorter and the drivers keep gettin' wider!

 

but you got money back when you got rid of the escape or got your f150 for cheaper.....

 

No nice rangers?!

 

Yea I've never seen a nice one either...

 

Rangers stink.

I mean come on. Fuel in the 20's. Prices in the low to mid teens, and plenty of power with the 4 liter, all the while getting over 100K miles easy.

Sheesh. Go out and get that Tacoma and save the planet and the U.S. economy.

 

The planet is already FUBAR, buying a Taco aint gonna save it

 

I know. I was being completely sarcastic.

 

Rangers are great trucks, forget the 80's for a minute...
I would have one now if they would make one in a configuration I could stand to look at, something like a sporttrac, I hate those. GM made the S-10 in a four door model, not many of them around though, if they had put the six foot bed on it that would have been great. Ranger should have made a model like that and not an Ex-splort-trac
Dodge, what the.... I like the dakota but the last couple of years they are fugly, they did make a decent four door a couple years ago, I would like to find one of those with upgraded tranny and tight suspension...never happen though. They should have used the 02 Durango front sheet metal.

 

Toyota has made a 1 ton truck for years, in mini truck form. I had a 78 HiLux 1 ton yota, strong little unit.

Toyota is all about taking USDM business, it is money driven. Why else woud'nt they offer the HiLux version in the states, because they could not "justify" a $20K plus price tag on a truck frame they have made for years. Why else would they pattern a truck just to compete wtih F150, why else would they enter NaScAr and lose...

 

I traded my '04 Lariat SCREW 4x4 for a '06 Tacoma when gas started hitting $3 gallon and THOUGHT I was gonna do better.......NOT!!!* I consistently got 16 mpg in town, which I got 14 in the FORD.* I sacrificed leg room for me and my passengers whereas I had a ton of room in my FORD.* I had a tough time with the Toyota transmission shutter and the engine was very noisy, steering wheel nibbled and rode like bouncing buggy.* My wife and I had a baby and I couldn't even fit the car seat in the back without my knees hitting the dash and I'm 6'2".* Even my wife said that Toyota isn't what it used to be and she loves Toyota, but she drives Nissan now LOL.* I finally had my wife agree to me getting rid of the Tacoma and swallowing a huge loss $$$, but at least I'm very happy with my '06 Ford Lariat SCREW 4x4....hands down the* best truck I've EVER OWNED.* Live and Learn....sometimes the hard way.

 

really?!! what kind of tacoma did you have? any mods? im getting about 19-20 mpg depending on how i drive. my tacoma also has a way smoother ride, smoother shifting, and is has better steering response than my ford did. weird.

 

It all comes down to what you want. Now if Ford could find a way to stuff a 4.6 or a 5.4 into a 2wd x-cab Ranger and update the mechanicals and sheetmetal then THAT would give the Taco and Fronty something to worry about

 

Sorry boys, you can post Ranger after Ranger and I still won't say I've seen one that I would drive. Not my truck, I looked at em before, thinking I would save money buying one and selling my old 1993 F150, but I'm 6'4" tall, and the inside of the cab is built for a guy who is about 5' tall, and you gotta sit on your passengers lap when you drive cause the cab is so narrow, its got a wimpy little frame and I wouldn't dare tow anything with it, and the looks have never done the trick for me, just not my truck.

 

how much did you get for your ford?

 

Tacos are a nice MID SIZED truck. So its apples and oranges. The Ford equal is a Ranger which is old technology and really is no equal. Its a great mid sized and arguably the best out there. I do use my full sized truck nd occassionally tow 9K+ pounds just fine thank you.

Id be curious what you get for real mileage in the Taco. My screw 4x4 gets 15 mpg all day long in mixed driving and gets 13 towing or in 4x4 and eaks out 18 to a best of 22 on the hwy at 70). Maybe my truck is better than most? At 12 mpg yours sounded like a lemon. Maybe not broken in right?

Good luck with the Taco. Sounds like the price was fair. I disagree with you on resale 10 years out but at a few grand difference at most, it doesn't matter to me. You get what you want and best of luck. Maybe you can visit us again in 6 months with a good/bad list and objective comparison....