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Looking for a truck.


Shane1

New Member
Ham Radio Operator
Joined
Sep 14, 2023
Messages
3
City
USA
Vehicle Year
2020
Transmission
Automatic
Newb here. Researched all of the midsize trucks and so far I like the Ranger. Anyone compare the Ranger to Frontier or Colorado? If I go with the Ranger I am not sure which year and trim level. This will be my everyday driver and I plan on using it for traveling with a small travel trailer. I also live in New England and winters can get rough. We may do some very light off roading. Right now, I am leaning toward an XLT FX4. My budget is $40k or less but I may be willing to go more for the new 2024 If it is worth it. I am confused on which year would be the best. 2019 was the first come back year so that may have had more issues according to car complaints. Thoughts on best year, trim level and packages and how it compares to other trucks?
 
Newb here. Researched all of the midsize trucks and so far I like the Ranger. Anyone compare the Ranger to Frontier or Colorado? If I go with the Ranger I am not sure which year and trim level. This will be my everyday driver and I plan on using it for traveling with a small travel trailer. I also live in New England and winters can get rough. We may do some very light off roading. Right now, I am leaning toward an XLT FX4. My budget is $40k or less but I may be willing to go more for the new 2024 If it is worth it. I am confused on which year would be the best. 2019 was the first come back year so that may have had more issues according to car complaints. Thoughts on best year, trim level and packages and how it compares to other trucks?

To possibly meet your budget, you are definitely going to need to go used. My 2019 STX FX4 was $42K new.

The STX package is required to get the FX4 package on the XL trim.

If you don’t need the terrain management of the FX4, you can get a Ranger with a rear locker without it. Also, the dampening of the shocks on the FX4 rides like an LTD. Not optimal for an off road truck. You can replace them with something else but something to think about.

As far as comparing the Ranger to the Colorado, Tundra, or the Frontier, I have nothing to offer you since I didn’t test drive any of them or owned one. I suggest checking out reviews on youtube for that. TFL truck did a good job comparing the Ranger vs it’s competition when I was deciding what I wanted to get.

The Ranger can tow a pretty decent amount for it’s size. So it should meet your needs as far as a trailer. Just keep in mind you need to factor in all your clothing, food, propane, and water for the total weight of the trailer so you don’t go over. People forget about that stuff.

As far as reliability, my 2019 has been problem free. There has been infotainment center issues that seem to be associated with the higher end systems with the bigger screens. The other issue seems to be with the transmission. I don’t know if it’s a lack of maintenance problem, an actual issue with them, or a combination of both. Or of it is certain years that are having the problem. I don’t recall anyone on here mentioning anything beyond a bit of a lag issue when cold but goes away after things warm up.

Facebook on the other hand has been more vocal on the subject. Not knowing the preventative maintenance being done or how mechanically able the people are, I can’t say if there is a negligence issue or a lack of maintenance issue.

Forum members tend to be more OCD with their vehicles than the general population. Facebook would reflect more of the general population. So, that may be why there hasn’t been much of a problem experienced here.

I would avoid looking at reviews by Consumer Reports. They are horribly biased and will nit pick the crap out of vehicle brands they don’t favor and over look issues on vehicle brands they do favor. They also expect trucks and SUVs to drive and handle like a car. Totally unrealistic.

Car magazines should do a decent job reviewing. Youtube should be a decent source.
 
To possibly meet your budget, you are definitely going to need to go used. My 2019 STX FX4 was $42K new.

The STX package is required to get the FX4 package on the XL trim.

If you don’t need the terrain management of the FX4, you can get a Ranger with a rear locker without it. Also, the dampening of the shocks on the FX4 rides like an LTD. Not optimal for an off road truck. You can replace them with something else but something to think about.

As far as comparing the Ranger to the Colorado, Tundra, or the Frontier, I have nothing to offer you since I didn’t test drive any of them or owned one. I suggest checking out reviews on youtube for that. TFL truck did a good job comparing the Ranger vs it’s competition when I was deciding what I wanted to get.

The Ranger can tow a pretty decent amount for it’s size. So it should meet your needs as far as a trailer. Just keep in mind you need to factor in all your clothing, food, propane, and water for the total weight of the trailer so you don’t go over. People forget about that stuff.

As far as reliability, my 2019 has been problem free. There has been infotainment center issues that seem to be associated with the higher end systems with the bigger screens. The other issue seems to be with the transmission. I don’t know if it’s a lack of maintenance problem, an actual issue with them, or a combination of both. Or of it is certain years that are having the problem. I don’t recall anyone on here mentioning anything beyond a bit of a lag issue when cold but goes away after things warm up.

Facebook on the other hand has been more vocal on the subject. Not knowing the preventative maintenance being done or how mechanically able the people are, I can’t say if there is a negligence issue or a lack of maintenance issue.

Forum members tend to be more OCD with their vehicles than the general population. Facebook would reflect more of the general population. So, that may be why there hasn’t been much of a problem experienced here.

I would avoid looking at reviews by Consumer Reports. They are horribly biased and will nit pick the crap out of vehicle brands they don’t favor and over look issues on vehicle brands they do favor. They also expect trucks and SUVs to drive and handle like a car. Totally unrealistic.

Car magazines should do a decent job reviewing. Youtube should be a decent source.

Thank you for the detailed response. Th e heaviest trailer we are considering is a GVWR of 5,000 and dry weights of around $3k. We would keep the tongue and loaded weights down. We dont have a lot of stuff.
 
Thank you for the detailed response. Th e heaviest trailer we are considering is a GVWR of 5,000 and dry weights of around $3k. We would keep the tongue and loaded weights down. We dont have a lot of stuff.

You should be golden on the trailer then. I have no idea on the tow limits of the other vehicles in question. I suspect they would be similar. From what I understand, the connection for a brake controller is already there. You just need to get a brake controller if the truck doesn’t have one already. My utility trailer isn’t heavy enough to require brakes. So, I never actively looked into the subject.
 
my buddy has a lower trim 2019 and he said its been trouble free since he bought it new.

i have driven the new frontier a few times because i also have a 2017 titan but think the smaller would be better. i just cant get myself to get rid of it because its a nice truck. the frontier was very nice

i also drove the tacoma, which felt under powered and the seating was not comfortable to me.

my dad had a few colorados and he still has one with a five speed. he said he going to keep it for the long haul as his work around the yard truck because it tows fine and never breaks down.
 
Test drove the Frontier Pro-4X and new Chevy Colorado today. The Ranger is definitely the one for us. More comfortable, smooth, and great payload/towing. Now I have to find one. A dealer called me today and said he has a 2021 Tremor coming in next week with under 10k miles. That looks interesting too. The EPA fuel mileage is confusing though, The regular ranger has 21 combined/19 city/24 highway. The Tremor says 19/19/19. How can it be the same? Any real world experience out there? Everything about it looks good except the mpg.
 
Test drove the Frontier Pro-4X and new Chevy Colorado today. The Ranger is definitely the one for us. More comfortable, smooth, and great payload/towing. Now I have to find one. A dealer called me today and said he has a 2021 Tremor coming in next week with under 10k miles. That looks interesting too. The EPA fuel mileage is confusing though, The regular ranger has 21 combined/19 city/24 highway. The Tremor says 19/19/19. How can it be the same? Any real world experience out there? Everything about it looks good except the mpg.

As far as I know, only one member has a Tremor and he’s only had it maybe a month. I agree, the listed mpg is confusing. Most everything is the same about that model compared to the others except for the tires as far as things that should effect mileage. I would expect the all terrain tires to effect the mpg by 1 or 2 mpgs since they do have a higher rolling resistance but that should be across the board, not make everything even. The 21 combined and 24 highway makes sense and that is what I see with my 2019. I don’t do any city driving. So I don’t have anything to compare with there.

And I can’t use my 2011 as a basis for comparison since I upped the tire size as well as put all terrain tires on it. So, not an apples to apples comparison.

My guess is someone messed up or didn’t have all the information they needed. So, just threw some numbers in there and called it good. Best guess, the mpgs would be about 1 to 2 mpg less than the Rangers with road tires and no, the tires that come on an FX4 are not all terrain tires even though the sidewall says that they are.
 

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