2019 Ford Ranger Lariat 4x4 vs 2018 Tacoma TRD Off-Road

I recently had an opportunity to drive a 2019 Ford Ranger Lariat 4x4 for a period of time, as a rental for work (about a week). Drove it mostly on the highway, but did have a chance to run it through a farm field to catch a few fish in a pond one evening. It got me there and brought me back.

As far as MPG’s, my V6 Tacoma and the 4cyl Eco-Boost Ford are nearly identical. So much so, I wouldn’t even consider it a factor. I would’ve expected much better results out of the 4 popper.

Aside from some very minor turbo lag, I would say the Ford is more responsive than my Tacoma, from a throttle perspective. I’d say most of that comes from Toyota’s poor transmission shift map.

Road behavior isn’t even a contest. The Ford was stiff and jittery, and every bump and crack was felt. The suspension on my Tacoma just swallows all of that up, and remains manageable. Big edge to Toyota, imo.

The interior of the Ford just seemed tinny and cheap. The doors felt light. The seats seemed comfortable, and the seating position was good. The power adjustable seats was certainly welcomed. However, I felt most of the buttons and knobs would wear out or break without much effort. I did appreciate the location of the 4x4 selector, but even that knob felt cheap. Tacoma’s interior is far more robust than Rangers, and generally much better suited for my needs.

I’m really glad I had the opportunity to drive that Ranger for a while. There have been times, that my Tacoma’s transmission has just pissed me off, and made me question my decision to buy it in the first place. I’ve had some “what if” types of thoughts, and wondered if I should’ve looked harder at the Rangers. Over time, I’ve basically gotten used to the Tacoma, and have accepted it for what it is. After driving the Ranger, I no longer wonder “what if”. I’m very happy with my Tacoma, and glad I made the decision to buy it.

 

Good write up man! I’m sure this is going to start another 300+ page shit storm but I think that was a pretty good write up and thanks for sharing! I get why people would get a Ranger same reason you get a Ridgeline. But I truly agree off-road the Tacoma is king!

 

Thanks. Just wanted to put some thoughts out there, based on real world experiences.

 

Yea I truly appreciate it! It’s one thing for people to say I hate this because I seen a picture or one drive by and my trucks better. Always nice to hear real world testing!
I’m curious how it handles mud or anything after seeing some epic fail videos lol!

 

I was hoping to at least get to take it over a fire trail, but didn’t have the time. I did use 4H to get to the fishin hole, but more out of caution than necessity. Based on the way it handled and it’s stance, I’d say the Ranger would need significant changes to its suspension, vs where I’ve taken my stock Tacoma.

 

TacoBella about to come in here and be very upset

 

I was trying not to say “he who’s name shall not be spoken” lol

 

I honestly can’t wait till someone I know gets one so I can actually give one a drive. I’m a total one sided argument right now but would love to try one just to see what some people rave about.

 

I’m sure if the shift map is really fixed in the 2020, a lot of the second guessing will stop.

 

Thread needs a pic.

 

Hey another cool another Ranger thread on TW...this site is f’n bizarre man. How else can it be explained. So much passion for a truck (Tacoma) but still the ever wandering eye and subsequent threads that only inspire more interest in the forbidden fruit (Ranger).

 

Almost as bizarre as the FoMoCoBros hanging out here instead of the Ranger/F150 forums.

OP:

I've owned a 2017 Taco (AC) and swapped it for a 19 for the DC. It's not my main car.

We purchased 5 new Ranger XLT 4x4s for our company. We run mainly 2500 diesels for crew trucks, 4500s for utility trucks and the occasional 3500. We will not buy Ford diesels (we had a bad run with the 6.0 the 6.4s and the 6.7).

One of my partners was able to secure a smoking deal on the Rangers - I was not happy, but whatever. We use them for courier trucks - running small parts from site to site or for the office engineers to use to visit the field or take to bid on jobs. We had previously used a combination F150s, and Chevy/Ram 1500s. Those were getting up in mileage and the costs of keeping them running was becoming prohibitive. On these newer cars all the sensors start to take a shit before the major mechanical components and it's damn expensive.

...and we decided to go smaller.

Last week I had my first long trip in one of the Rangers - SF Bay Area to Bakersfield. My impressions are very similar to yours. The Ford is more responsive than the Tacoma, but not amazingly so...and I noticed some harsh kick downs, lags and lugging that I would not have expected with a 10sp tranny. The interior is feature laden, but....I don't know - thin? Appreciated the car play.

The seats were comfortable and the seating position was good, but fuck, the ride! You hit the nail on the head with jittery - I'd add unsettled. Our trucks do not have the FX4 package.

Mileage was a little better. About month ago I drove the Taco from the Bay Area to La Jolla and got about 20.1 MPG. Visalia to the Bay Area (which omits the Grapevine and surrounding mountains) was 21.2.

The good thing about Ford is that they evolve quickly. A new Ranger expected here in 2021 or 2022. It looks to be a fresh sheet design and will probably be a major improvement over the current one.

The bad thing about Ford is that they evolve quickly. If the new one is a significant improvement, the depreciation on the five we just purchased will be nasty. We'll have to run these things into the ground to not lose money.

We also owned a Colorado prior to the first Tacoma. I will say that the Ford (except for the ride) is better on all fronts compared to the Colorado/Canyon twins.

 

Could not agree more on GM offerings. I’ve driven several of those for weeks on end. I didn’t even consider them before I bought my Taco.

 

Let’s just go ahead and rebrand this forum...Tacord World. This site needs us if for nothing else than to give the different generations of Tacoma drivers someone to talk smack to besides themselves