Someone give me their opinion about these trucks

[IAm_Not_Lost]

Hey all, thought I would ask my fellow forum members to help me out with an off topic subject. I am currently looking at buying a new vehicle, and I am mainly focusing on compact trucks, but occasionally my mind wanders to the jeep wrangler.

Really what I would like to gain is ground clearance and 4x4 capability, I'm tired of bottoming out my car trying to get down forest service roads and the like. A truck seems practical, maybe a crew cab, but I've always liked the jeep wranglers, just the way it is I guess. This vehicle will be my commuter as well.

I've narrowed it down to these five: Tacoma, Frontier, Equator, Ridgeline, Wrangler.

Help me.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[BigJon10125]

Why those? I am in the market and the top 3 trucks listed are ALWAYS Ford, Ram, and Chevy. Is it because your are looking for compact"ness"? Price wise it seems you could do much better with American trucks. Jeeps are WAY too expensive for what you get IMO. I have looked at many and I bought an infiniti suv for less than a jeep and it had many many many more features.

Good luck and I hope you get what you want!

MY opinion on those only is that I would take the Frontier. But I loved my first Ram and will love my next one, unless I fall in love with a Ford...

[RKflorida]

Always number 1 for me is reliability. Check out JD Powers or possibly Consumer Reports used vehicle guide.

[JaySkiBum]

I'm a Jeep guy at heart and I've owned a Cherokee for a few years and have modified it. (extensively) Too bad they stopped making the Cherokee because they're hard to beat. I currently drive a Dodge Ram and have taken my Jeep off the road and will be assigned to permanent trailer duty in the spring.

If you get a regular Wrangler you'll hate not having any room out back, unless you are used to driving a regular cab truck that has no back seat. The Unlimited model which IIRC is a 4 door model now in most cases, is awesome for most people who want some room but want a Jeep. Can't beat the ability to take the top off either! A hard top is great for winters but you're in Arizona so I don't see too many issues with that. If you're not set on having a bed to put whatever in, go for the Jeep. The smaller trucks make no sense to me when a good SUV does the same job. If you actually need to use a truck bed then just get a full size truck...

[Extas]

Been in the used car business 9 years. Since you'll be commuting my vote is for Tacoma.

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[SIXTO]

I'm a Jeep guy too, but I will admit that most people who buy wranglers regret it in a short amount of time. Look at the used market on them- a dime a dozen. If you were looking for a hardcore off roader, then yes, wrangler it is. But I promise the novelty will wear off and you'll be left with an expensive reminder.

Ridgeline... ehh... it would be OK as long as you never expect it to act as a truck. But they are nice as a suburban run around town type of "truck". I wouldn't mind having one if I wanted the AWD just for snow covered roads- they are nice vehicles. But, I have a hard time calling them a truck. Its more of a crossover' crossover. I really question its off road capability based on the power to weight ratio, gearing and the lack of clerance at steeper approach angles.

Equator- Check resale value. There is none.

Frontier- Cool little truck with some neat features. I shopped these a month or so ago when I thought my Grand Cherokee was a goner. I had an 97 Nissan 4x4, and it was one of my favorite trucks. It wasn't the nicest, or most powerful by any stretch, but man that little truck was tough and could go any where. Its one of the trucks I miss the most.

Tacoma- the little truck in which all others are judged. Nice truck, but Toyota is awful proud of them. You'll be paying through the nose if you want anything more than a stripped out model. But, resale is good and it will last.

[Kimberpackn]

Bought an 07 Ram (Long Horn Edition) with a hemi. I love this truck. This my first dodge. I like Ford too but my ram is a rocket.

[JoJoGunn]

I vote for the Toyota Tacoma, I have a 1999 TRD extended cab 4wd model that everyone wants to buy from me when I tire of it.

Not happening.

I like the truck and it is the only pick up I have ever owned. I would own another in a heartbeat.

[azchevy]

Hey all, thought I would ask my fellow forum members to help me out with an off topic subject. I am currently looking at buying a new vehicle, and I am mainly focusing on compact trucks, but occasionally my mind wanders to the jeep wrangler.

Really what I would like to gain is ground clearance and 4x4 capability, I'm tired of bottoming out my car trying to get down forest service roads and the like. A truck seems practical, maybe a crew cab, but I've always liked the jeep wranglers, just the way it is I guess. This vehicle will be my commuter as well.

I've narrowed it down to these five: Tacoma, Frontier, Equator, Ridgeline, Wrangler.

Help me.

the Tacoma or the Wrangler... the rest are junk.

tacoma has toyota quality and IFS for a smooth ride

wrangler has chrysler unreliability and solid front axle which is good for offroading if you plan on rock crawling

tacoma has a high price point but has the highest resale value of all trucks.

In the past ten years I have gone from a wrangler, to a chevy, to a ford, to a tacoma and I kick myself everyday for not getting the tacoma to begin with

here are some real telling stats that should tell you something:

[glockman10mm]

I went out to buy another Tacoma and ended up with an FJ Cruiser. And I'm glad I did. Toyota products are tough built. I had a friend who worked the oil fields in Texas, and that's all he drove. He had Fords, Chevys, and Dodges, but said they did not stand up to the abusive roads and driving that the Toyota did.
But he drove 200 + miles every day, and always carried 2 spare tires minimum. He also was particular about the tires, he only used BF Goodrich with the double ply sidewalls.

[RevolvingMag]

Personally, I would have to vote Tacoma. I work at PepBoys, and I don't really see many of those needing major work unless they've been neglected. Keep your maintenance up, and your grandchildren could be driving it. Not to mention Toyota makes a great small truck.

My next vote would probably be for the Honda. I've worked on a couple, and they seem to have decent power (gotta love V-TEC). Plus, plenty of room. I have come to love Hondas; longevity, fuel economy, and reliability. What more could you really want out of a daily driver? If you're not dead set on a truck, and you think an SUV might do what you're after (even though I hate the idea of driving an SUV- other than a Wrangler or an OLD Bronco) take a look at an AWD CR-V. While my wife and I were waiting for her new Fit to arrive the dealer loaned us a 2007 CR-V, and it was pretty great. Good fuel, nice power for something so large, and plenty of room. The only real downside to it was that the rear seats didn't fold down flat- so I feel that our Fit is better in that regard...

Wranglers are great. If you have REALLY deep pockets. Say you get the Wrangler that you want- after trading off your first born- you'll find that maintenance is not cheap. Since they did away with the old 4.0 inline 6, I feel that Wranglers are under powered. Especially with some of the new factory option tires. Which, by the way, are NOT inexpensive. Personally, there isn't an SUV I would love more than an old Jeep Wrangler. They're just so expensive- I haven't seen a running Wrangler that wasn't for sale at under $3K.

I still have to vote Toyota for a small, dependable, long lived truck. Nothing beats a Tacoma.

[Elk Hunter]

I have a 96 Tacoma with 319,765 miles on it, most everything is original on it even the clutch. You can't beat the reliability, it just keeps going.

[atctimmy]

I have a Frontier with over 100K on it. No problems at all. All it's ever neede was tires and oils changes. I did just tune it up with plugs and wires at 100K. It runs like a champ and I would recommend them to anyone.

[Cold Shot]

tacoma

[IAm_Not_Lost]

Always number 1 for me is reliability. Check out JD Powers or possibly Consumer Reports used vehicle guide.

Trust me I am, the Ridgeline is rated the best for reliability and ride surprisingly by CR, the Tacoma and Frontier are in the middle, the Wrangler gets the worst marks of any suv pretty much, and the Equator is too new for data.

I think I'll end up with the Tacoma, still not 100%, but I'll be doing some serious looking and driving in the next month or so.

To Glockman: How is the visibility with the FJ? Just looking at the outside it seems a bit limited.