X2

Owned one as my first vehicle. I wouldn't wish anyone to drive one of those underpowered and unreliable POS's. Keep the F150.

 

Update!

Well, there is a 2010 Tacoma TRD Sport in my garage tonight.

BUT WAIT! You guys will be happy to know, its just there for an overnight test drive, and I will most likely still own an F150. It is a neat little sporty truck (heck, its got bigger tires than my F150 4x4!), but I do think it will not be big enough for my family needs. Even with the 4 dr Ranger, its a no go for me too.

So, I also drove a couple new '11 4wd F150's, one 5.0L and one ecoboost. I think I will look into an '11 5.0L XLT 4x4 SCab, but the best offer was only $4k off MSRP, and the sales rep would have to have one of those brought in from another dealer. She had NO SCabs on the lot. Sure seems like I read about a lot of folks getting more than $4K off, and $31,500 seems like a lot for an XLT with puny 235/75-17tires. I didn't even know they put tires that tiny on a 4x4???? Even that little Tacoma has 265/65-17's!!!! Wonder if you can get a tire size upgrade for a reasonable amount?

So, you will all be happy to know, I will stay in an F150. Either in mine or a new one, if I can get the right deal! What do you think? Here is an advice request thread I put in the '09-'11 forum if you want more details..... https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...ml#post4766558

Got to admit....it does look sharp:

 

Asking us, who know nothing of your financial liabilities, resorces, plans, outlook .... to help decide which way to spend more $$$ is not making sense to me.

You have a "like new" 06 with just 53K miles on it. You started out wanting to buy a new truck to get better mileage, but that 5 or 6 years change is gonna cost you more every month in payments than you'll save in gas .... and then there's taxes and etc.

You might convince the wife unit that the trade is best $$$ wise, but you and all here know it's not about gas $$$. Looking at it $$$ wise, far better off with what you have and tune it and work that angle. You just want a new truck. You are tired of the old one aren't you? That SCREW ain't costing you in gas or weight over a SCab enough to know it and them kids are only gonna grow.

Somebody is gonna get a great deal on a clean '06 F150 SCREW though, they'll reap the benifits of your care and maintenance ...
... and you'll get to keep them payments.

You know what ... ... there'll always be "new" trucks.

I haven't had a house payment since 2001 and haven't had a car payment since .... early '90s at least. Not bragging, I just held back, stopped trading every couple years and concerntradted on paying off the house and eventually got to where I could write a check when needed, and even then .... I looked for what I like, not "new to be new". I'm loving my '07 Scab, I didn't buy it for miles per gallon .... I bought it for smiles per gallon. I have a couple T Birds, a Merc, and a Forester that get better MPG, and the MCs. Only my '77 F150 does worse .... and I doubt it'll leave soon.

Only you know what you want and your ability to pay for it. We all yield to these desires a few times in life, some more than others. It's like when we, the wife and I go to a antique mall or store .... I pick up something and carry it and the guy or gal comes by wanting to take it to the desk for me. I refuse, I'ld rather carry it myself while I look because I have found that if I carry it, and am reminded of it by it's weight, often I decide it's not worth my carrying and I return it to the vendor's cubicle. If I'm still carrying it when we are ready to leave, it was indeed something I wanted bad enough to carry .... and pay for.

Enjoy that new 2011 5.0 Scab!

Me? My advice? Your 06 Screw lowered 2 inches and some nice 20s on it with 32" tires, a SCFP1865 or other tuner (use a 87 Perf tune so can run regular), cat back exh, a nice bed cover .... would be one sharp looking street truck that will still do all that you ask of a truck, drive great, and be easier to get in for you and the wife and easier to deal with kids getting in and out, get a solid MPG better (mine improved a solid 1.5 mpg with the tuner alone). It'ld be like a new truck and a hell of a lot cheaper and then you get to benifit from your care that you've lavished on it.

Yeah, I do like the 04-08 front ends better than the newer ones, like I like the old Dentsides (73-39).

 

bad mpg??? check if your front hubs are stuck engaged like mine are I get 11-13 and I know im running with them engaged all the time. It is killing my mpg's but I dont know what causing them to be constanly stuck (they never disengage)

 

From this angle it seems like a no-brainer -- keep the F-150.

The economics of trading don't work out at all -- especially when you consider that your F-150 is relatively low mileage and with proper maintenance should be fairly reliable for another 100,000 miles, if not more.

And if space is a consideration with a family of crumb-crunchers in tow, it makes no sense at all to downsize to a Ranger or a Taco. I have two Rangers in my fleet and like them for pretty much the same reason you mentioned -- they're simple, reliable vehicles that hearken to a simpler era. But I only have one kid who's already old enough to be in a booster seat and still find my Ranger's lacking for size on an occasion or two.

It sounds more to me like you're trying to justify buying a new truck rather than making the smart move for your family and economics.....

 

Solid advice, and I can't argue with most of it. I am, what I would consider "financially responsible", at least a lot more than when I was a young buck. But, this move IS for financial reasons beyond gas mileage. I will explain later, my head is spinning and need to go to bed. Oh, and I will argue with the notion of lowering it and putting 20's on it....IT's 4WD man, are ya crazy!!????

Yes, that was one thing I checked two years ago, the wheels spin freely, and no drag. I think the poor MPG is a combination of my heavy foot (I get paid to drive expediently, in cars that I don't pay for the gas in ), and I got one of those trucks on the lower end of "tolerance stacking", somewhere or other in the engine. It is known that trucks of the same age and type and model, will, usually vary in fuel economy, from truck to truck.

 

Nope, they've been available here for a long time. They are the same size as the regular SC so there isn't much room in the rear seat, just easier to get to that "not much room". You don't even see the difference unless you look for the seam at the top and rear of the rear of the cab. They're not a "4door" like we think of.

 

That's very true, but somewhere they did get a new engine because 2 family members bought new Rangers in '08 and they have 2.5L 4 cyl. all aluminum engines that were 4 valve Twin cam engines, looked just like the engine in the Fusions. I believe they were rated close to the same horsepower as the 3.0 V-6.

 

No the guy is right, Ford DOES make "true 4-door" crew cab Rangers in Mexico:

 

These "Mexican Rangers" have never been available in the US for a number of reasons. I believe the "4 door" that was mentioned by the OP was the extended cab model with the rear hinged doors for access to the small back seats.

 

Yes, the one I saw had the suicide rear doors. Sorry for the confusion.

 

So, what'd you decide to do? If I didnt put 30-odd thousand miles a year on mine, I dont think I would ever trade out of it. Just slowly add every feature I wanted until it transformed into an FXSTXHD4 or something lol

As it stands, I think I proudly own a stripped down FX2, once I finish the Flow Through swap

Good luck choosing, but if I had a solid truck like yours, I'd stick with it.

 

Still working on a better deal....

 

The truck's drive train don't care if it's that height or 2" lower and judging from looking at the pics of that clean 06 you have, it hardly ever sees off road jaunts other than throuigh grassy yards or maybe a boat ramp or the parking spots at the local drive in picture show place .... maybe some snow.

 

Is there a reason you need a truck? Otherwise, what about a Fusion or something like an Escape? If you need a truck, well, I would keep the F150 and have a dealer look into what is causing the bad fuel mileage.