New Ford Ranger FX4 Takes on Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro
Fast Lane Truck compares Ranger FX4 against TRD Pro, and the Ford impresses with its strong performance-to-cost ratio.
The YouTube channel of The Fast Lane Truck recently pitted the new Ford Ranger FX4 against one of the reigning champions of the mid-size truck marketplace, the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. The Fast Lane Truck contributors Tommy Mica and Andre Smirnov ran a Ranger and a Tacoma through a handful of tests so see which one would come out on top.
On paper, the two trucks are similar, though the Ranger is quite a bit faster thanks to it’s turbocharged Ecoboost motor. The Ranger’s 4-cylinder pumps out 270 hp and an impressive 310 lb/ft of torque to the TRD’s same 270 hp but far less 265 lb/ft of torque. Thanks to it’s power advantage and more comfortable interior, the Ranger is also a better value, costing about $5,000 less than the $49,000 TRD Pro.
The video begins with the Ranger and the Tacoma facing off on the challenging and rugged Ironclads off-road trails in the partially snow-covered Rocky Mountains of Colorado to see which is more capable of crawling up a rocky trail. “The interesting thing about both of these trucks is that they both have a sort of off road cruise control,” says Mica as he prepares to tackle the climb in the Tacoma. “It’s going to be a cakewalk for one of the trucks and its the green one, I fear,” he quips as he sets off. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite as planned. The Tacoma gets stuck on some rocks while in the automatic crawl control, forcing Mica to resort to the old school method of using his right foot on the throttle to finish the ascent. When Smirnov takes the Ranger up, the Ford’s crawl control does a better job, getting the Ranger up the hill. Score one for the Ranger.
Next up is a drag race for the two mid-size haulers to see which one will get you to Home Depot the fastest. The trucks line up at the drag strip of IMI Motorsports Park in Colorado. On the first run, the Ranger gets the jump on the TRD. “That was a slaughter,” says Mica as the Taco gets its doors blow off. The two drivers switch trucks and with Smirnov behind the wheel of the TRD, he’s able to get the jump on Mica. Ultimately, despite the Ranger’s superior power, the drag race is a draw. After that the two trucks face off to see which has the better slow-speed crawl ratio. The point here is to see which one can maintain the slowest crawl speed. The Tacoma takes the win as the Ranger creeps ahead.
When comparing the two trucks styling, Smirnov sees a similarity. “If I look at the two front grills and headlights, they look almost identical to me,” he notes. “Although the Toyota is sitting a lot higher visually.” So, a draw when it comes to appearances, though Mica feels that the TRD’s snorkel makes it way cooler. The last segment the two trucks get compared on is the snowy, icy hill climb. Using the Mud and Sand setting, Mica notes that the TRD’s low-end torque really helps the truck get up the hill.
Smirnov has nothing but praise for the Ranger as well when he makes his run up the hill using the Grass, Gravel and Snow setting. “This truck is a like a little mountain goat. It just goes, and keeps going and going.” When Mica asks Smirnov which truck he would choose, he falls into the Ranger camp. “Well, if I wanted to be camouflaged in the forest like your Tacoma is right now, I would take the Tacoma,” he says. “But actually I fit a little bit better on the inside of the Ranger and the FX4 you see here is around $44,000, which is a little bit less than the TRD Pro. So for those reasons I would pick the Ranger.”
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