mmarshall

Hope this isn't a repost.....I didn't see it anywhere in Car Chat.

Anyhow, having reviewed all four of these trucks myself, my own ranking of the four is close to (but not exactly) their view....but also for a few different reasons than they list.

It would have also have been interesting to see where the new Jeep Gladiator pickup would have first in...it was omitted. The aging Nissan Frontier was also omitted, but my guess is that it wouldn't have ranked very high.

https://www.motortrend.com/cars/chev...ma-comparison/

The article is quite long, so I won't print the entire length here, but I'll post the article's basic conclusions.



Last Place: Toyota Tacoma. In last place is the supremely disappointing Toyota Tacoma. The Tacoma is all hat and no cattle; it looks fantastic, but whether you haul air or hay, it's let down by a cramped cabin, narrow bed, grabby brakes, and an engine and transmission that work in tandem about as well as a pack of cats and dogs.

Third Place: Ford Ranger. In third place, in a surprise to us, is the Ford Ranger. As we saw on the farm, the Ranger is capable. Its stellar powertrain has more than enough power to tow and haul, its platform handles weight well, and its extra-wide bed proved to be incredibly useful. But on the road, the Ranger doesn't measure up to our top two finishers. Its suspension tuning is (at best) compromised toward a duty cycle this truck will rarely see in America, and its cabin is cramped and dated. "The Ranger, being the newest truck here, somehow manages to feel the oldest and least refined," Walton said.

Second Place: Honda Ridgeline. The second-place Honda Ridgeline is slavishly designed around the idea of the lifestyle truck, where it excels. But it's relatively (and surprisingly) capable, too. Its pickup box is exceptionally large for its size, and the dual-use tailgate is a much more elegant solution to the problem of unloading a pickup bed than the overly complicated multiposition tailgates on some full-size pickups. There's still room for improvement, though; we'd like to see a dedicated tow-haul mode and something done to improve ride quality when hauling.

First Place: Chevrolet Colorado. Our unanimous winner for best midsize pickup truck is the Chevrolet Colorado. The Colorado so effortlessly walks the fine line between being a lifestyle pickup and a work truck. It has plenty of power for work or play, a buttoned-down ride that doesn't beat you up on your daily commute, a good back-seat package, and an incredibly functional bed. It's the uncompromised pickup—the one that drives like a compact but hauls like a heavy-duty. "It's like these guys are truck-building experts or something," Evans deadpanned. "Not hard to remember why this is a two-time Truck of the Year." No, it's not. As for how it measures up to the (Jeep) Gladiator in the arena? We're as eager as you are to find out.

SW17LS

I personally wouldnt consider the Ridgeline in the same category, its a crossover with a bed, not a real pickup truck like the others. Jeep Gladiator isn't out yet.

I'm surprised the reviewer is so poorly informed about the Ranger. The reason it feels the oldest is it is, the Ranger is new to the US but that model is actually quite old.

Yet it sells the best.

JDR76

mmarshall

I think the reason that the Tacoma sells so well despite its crudeness is that, underneath its rather utilitarian skin and rental-grade interior, it has a drivetrain that is as tough as nails. It is common for Toyota truck drivetrains to outlast the rest of the truck...especially with rust problems.

JDR76

JDR76

mmarshall

The old rust problems, decades ago, from the bed-mounting points were fixed, yes, but there are newer ones from the C-channel frames.

JDR76

jimbosr1

The Ridgeline always ranks pretty good in most tests.Dont knock it until you rock it .Go and drive one,i think you might like it.I love mine.
Handles everything i throw at it and its fun to drive and comfortable.

mmarshall

That's the key....comfort. The Ridgeline offers good road manners and a car-like driving experience like no other mid-size truck, though the full-sized Ram 1500 probably sets the standard in the supple-ride and library-quietness department for trucks in general.

Fizzboy7

I'm probably seeing more new Tacomas than anything else in L.A. Very loyal Toyota truck following on the west coast. Very loyal GM/Ford following in the heartland. If I were in the market, the reliability and styling of the Toyota would easily win me over. The 3.5 V6 reputation also leads to no long term worries.

While I have the mic, one of my biggest journalist pet-peeves is when a writer uses the same words to describe things in close sequence. Here we see the cheesy, shock-news word "surprising" used when describing the Ranger and Ridgeline. Then we see the word "lifestyle" pop up when describing the Ridgeline and Colorado. How weak. When you do articles such as those, one is supposed to proofread a million times to be sure thoughts, words, and expressions aren't over-used or repeated. End rant.

FrankReynoldsCPA

A sure sign that a journalist knows jack all about trucks...... They include the Ridgeline.


It's literally not a truck by definition.

situman

In summary: Tacoma lost because its not very good all around. Ranger ranked ahead of Tacoma because of the better powertrain. Ridgeline? Who let that one slip in? Colorado wins because it just does everything well and probably deservedly so.

mmarshall

Legally, it's a truck according to EPA/DOT/NHTSA classification. But, no, if you consider a "Truck" to be traditional frame-rail construction and a separate body/bed, one cannot call it a traditional truck.