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I owned a 2004 2WD Ranger for several years, had zero problems with it. I used for commuting and light hauling.
I put about 30,000 miles on it. I only sold it because I needed a 4WD, and now I have a 2006 Ranger.

The 4 cyl 2WD trucks are made by Mazda and have a Mazda engine in them. The mileage will be in the high teens and low 20's.

My only complaint is the standard cabs are kinda small and the bench seat isn't very comfortable after about an hour or so.
 
In by business i've dealt with thousands of used trucks over the years.
Hands down, your best bet is a ford ranger.

Toyota's are not bulletproof and when they do break, the parts might as well be made of solid gold.
At one time I had 2 4runners and 2 tacoma's sitting out back. One was waiting for a replacement transmission, two were waiting for replacement motors, and one was waiting for a replacement transmission AND motor. These all had between 120,00 and 180,000 miles.
Every one of the owners were telling me how reliable they had been as they were writing out checks for THOUSANDS in repairs.
 
I have no doubt that many people prefer the Ranger. But the fact is Toyota quality, and efficiency are superior. There is decades of data that supports it.
Naturally a very well kept ranger might outlive a poorly maintained Taco, but all things being equal I'd put my money on the Toyota every time. And I've had both. As I said before YMMV
 
I've had dealing with hundreds of each, and I'd take that bet any day.
I don't doubt you would.
But for every wrench who agrees with you, how many do you suppose would passionately disagree? I think my money is safe.
I have no dog in this fight, just a pretty well experienced opinion and I might add that I put it here because someone asked for it, not because I wanted to insult anyone's passion for S10s and Rangers.

Also, just as some anecdotal humor, have you ever watched Top Gear on BBC? You might notice a rather crumpled Toyota truck on the set every week. It's from an episode where they tried to utterly destroy it. The final act was to park it on the roof of a tall building set for demolition. When they dug it out of the rubble it took a mechanic very few minutes to get it running and drive it away. And that was after other painful tortures that would make a car guy wince.
 
Get what would make you happy. We only live once. Practical justification has to end somewhere, may as well be here. I could get by on 5 guns too, but what fun would that be ?
Part of me is leaning that way too, I could make the truck my priority and maybe swing a 2 or 3 year old low mileage Nissan. A lot of other things would have to wait for sure if I did though.
 
There are good and bad in alll makes, and many of the toyotas are made right here in the US.
I have a hunch the electrical components on nearly all American made cars are made in Mexico.
The engines that come out of Japan are built very well and durable.
We have over 200K on our truck now and just put in a new (used engine from Japan) and for under 1500, including labor.
Ready for another 200K miles+
The Camry was built in the US and runs like a new car at 125K miles.
There are folks that have toyotas that have reached a million miles with minor repairs. Good maintenence and clean oil.
Most vehicles fail because they are not maintained (or total abuse)
I like the Ranger, but the fact they put their steering wheel at a slight angle, not exactly perpendicular to the vehicle drives me nuts.
Look at it, it is at about 5 degrees off. Like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. :)
Other than that little bit of annoyance its is a great truck.
 
I have a '02 Dodge Dakota 4.7L V-8, full crew cab (or one gigantic dog cab)! It will haul anything I can fit in or on it! It's way more comfortable than a Ranger! Last year on a trip through Idaho the wife was cruising through the mountains at 85-90 MPH, got 19-20 MPG! Loaded with gear and my wife's big behind! Only problem has been when we had to drive a lot over the ice ruts 2-3 years ago in the big ice storm with a full load. That Cost us almost $500 in frt suspension work but there were a lot of full sized trucks of all makes getting the same repairs! Other wise, just maintence and I don't baby it a bit! Only 109,000 miles now but runs good, never failed to start right up! Heck folks, it's still QUICK!!! I love my truck and you will too!

PS: 4X4
 
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I'm not going to get into the ford/toyota fight, but I have owned both and as stated earlier, I currently own a Ranger. I bought it with 137,000 miles and it now has 218K. Timing belt, water pump and starter are what I've done (besides front brakes and tires). It's a 2.3l 5spd 2wd. In 5 1/2 years that's not much. I paid $1800 or $1900 for it and I don't doubt I could get near that much for it now. Great return on my money. Like the OP, I just couldn't bear to spend as much for a used truck as a Toyota would have cost me. To say that the Ranger is 1/2 of the truck as a Toyota is not true. One half of the truck would mean that you would see no older Rangers on the road. Keep your eyes open. Locations may vary, but I saw far more older Rangers to and from work today than I did older Yotas.

Like another poster, I work on this stuff for a living so I've seen them all.

Nissan and Toyota? Much rather the Toyota, but both of them are fairly spendy to fix if something major goes wrong. Maintenance stuff is the same between all of the trucks. (personally, not much of a Nissan fan...)

S10? First body style has a one problem that I just can't get past. The freaking door hinges fall off of the cab, usually on the driver's side (Duh, most use) Since they are not bolted on, they have to be welded, then they break again fairly soon.
Second Gen? Ask my boss. He bought it new. Takes good care of it. Still wishes it had as few problems as my Ranger. 4.3l is a great engine, but we've replaced the heads and are having ABS problems. May be a one off, but...
Dakota? They do have an optional V8, but if you are gonna get that crappy of fuel mileage, might as well own a full sized truck.
One thing I was thinking about...
I also wanted a standard cab short bed. But I found a good deal on the extended cab. Sure am glad I bought it. More room for the driver and plenty of room for stuff. I pull the jump seats partly open and it's a great place to lay my double rifle case!
 
I drive a Chevy G20 work van. My tools stay dry year round and they are out of sight.
The roof rack will hold anything I want to carry, and I have a real sturdy 10' x 5' trailer for hauling dirt/gravel etc.
It's not four wheel drive, but I'm city driving most days.
 
I bought a 1991 Ranger xtra cab 4.0 v6 & 5 speed manual in 97 with 100,000 mi for 2500. Drove it 6 yrs to 235,000 and it blew a head gasket. I changed the oil and did brakes. Thats it! Always got 19mpg. Standard cabs have really bad seats but I liked the buckets in the xtra cab. Had an Explorer for a while after that with 4.0 and auto. Never got over 14 mpg.
 
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I don't want anyone to get the idea that I hate any of these rigs or am trying to be disrespectful to anyone.
Everyone has a preference and every marque is going to have a decent little truck here and there. Heck, I had a little Jeep Comanche standard cab that wasmy first new car (1988 iI believe). Drove it cross country couple times, put a ton of miles on it and only ever changed the power steering pump other than regular maintenance. Over 100k on it when I sold it.
I'm not a snob in terms of builder. Loved my Z71 Silverado to pieces, like my old 02 Ram with 177k on the clock I have now (4.7Ltd).
 
A 1998 Toyota Tacoma 5 passenger 4X4 will run you $3000 to $5,000. With the 2.7L I4, you can expect 17/21 MPG. Less mileage than what I currently get in my 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a 5.7L Hemi V8. Hmmmmm.......

My '88 4X4 with a 2.4L I4 and 5 speed was like this one for sale on eBay Motors for les than $4,000, located in Indiana.... <broken link removed>


You really cant compare your MPG with my old yota to your 2012 jeep its apples to oranges. Especially since the technology has improved so much they are gettin small v6 (even some 4 cyl) economy out of v8s now.

Bact to Topic tho Good luck OP hope you LIKE what you decide on, other than suiting your needs, that is an important thing to consider. Test drive everything and go with your gut! Oh and as said dont forget the jeep commanche those motors last forever in fact the 4.0 inline 6 has had very few changes in the last 20+ years of production! They still in production now my aunt has same motor in her 2011 Jeep Patriot!
 

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