What do you think of the Quality of the 6G Rangers - Subjective is Ok

[superj]

i have the mazda 2.5 in my wife's mazda3 touring and that is a rocket ship. great gas mileage and never has given us any trouble. (and forscan works on mazda, also).

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[Lion77]

Got a 2018 CX-9 Grand Touring (wife drives it, uses it for her business), 123k and no issues, no oil consumption, runs great, no corrosion. Few years ago, I needed to buy a replacement car as we gave the Prius C I used just to drive to work to my stepdaughter, so I got a 2023 Mazda 3 Carbon, nice little car, the 2.5L NA Sky Active's 190 HP is decent (way better than 1990's era NA cylinders) and it gets 38-41 mpg regularly and holds about 0.90 g on corners, can't complain for its balance of peppy but efficient powertrain with great handling and I personally love the aesthetics of the current gen Mazda's.

Come March, we got a 2024 RR. Had 50 miles on it just due a few test drives and moving between dealers, was kept mostly in the showroom. This is my first truck, but I have friends and relatives that have an F-150's that I have borrowed on occasion (2015 era) and also an old 2001 F-150 mostly used for a farm truck.

The fit and finish of the RR is on par with the Mazda's, I would even say in terms of "solid feel", the RR is better. I like its elegant simplicity, which is "mazda-like". It's not plain, but also not overly busy. It just works.

Stock power was good, but I did feel it needed a little bit more on-road passing to feel like an F-150 raptor and the 1/4 mile times show the F-150's a bit quicker stock to stock. The Pro Cal fixed that and then some, especially the transmission tuning. The stock power was good, but not quite great and now it's great.

Suspension and chassis were spot on from the beginning. That's all stock and I love it, it's just fun to drive and drives well on-road and even better off-road. I personally like the K03's even though they lack outright cornering grip on-road, because when the pavement ends, the K03's really start to shine and that's the core focus of this truck.

I already had to use it to tow (no, the Pro Cal does not affect towing, this was verified with FP directly and there's a whole thread on that), my daughter's boyfriends car broke down out of state while we are visiting grandparents for a holiday, so I had to tow it several hours on the highway.

Tows like a champ, I had zero issues, and the truck didn't feel "labored" at all. It just did its thing. I was most impressed when towing the car up a very steep 20+ degree gradient, I was expecting to get at least 50% into the throttle but just barely had to add any at all.

Utility wise, it is the most practical vehicle for family trips. With a tonneau cover, I'm now averaging 20.9 MPG on the highway going 78 mph (cruise on). The cab is just right sized for my family; the bed has plenty of space for non-work uses.

Just passed 15,000 miles on the Odo, mostly highway. We typically use it on the weekends and family trips, but I drive my 3 for work and the 9 is for my wifes business and to pick up and drop off our son from school. Time will tell, but with proper maintenance, I expect a good service life.

Since it's Pro Cal tuned, I would be fine is the transmission only made it to 150k miles and I had to do a rebuild, I would just go with GPZ friction material and drive it another 150~200k. This one I think is a keeper. Given how good the chassis and suspension is, once it's paid off, I think it will turn into one of those (had it for 20 years type of deals) even if it requires a big mid-life boost (but it might not).

My parents had a Mercury mountaineer with the 4.6L, ran to 252k miles before the transfer case failed and it wasn't worth fixing due to the age / mileage. I don't beat on the truck all the time, but I also have zero issue driving it hard when the occasion merits, particularly looking forward to Silver Lake next year!

 

[Ranger XLT Fan]

What's everybody's thoughts on the overall quality of their 6G Rangers?

Myself - I have been a Toyota fanboy for a longtime, own 3 5th gen 4Runners, and kind of hold up the 4Runner as a reference of a quality built vehicle.

Very similar experience…except with Tacomas…three of them. Loved Toyota, but I wasn’t going for their 4 cylinder. I wanted to see how I liked the 2.7L EB...so I test drove one. I liked it so much I bought it. Probably would have been happy with the 2.3L too...and could have saved some money. But I didn't want to wait on ordering one. The 2.7L was what they had and the salesman said, "this won't last through the weekend." And I fell for it.

But I'm really happy so far. Feels very sturdy, drive is very strong and solid. Hauled a quarter cord of firewood and felt like the bed was empty. Interior is very comfortable and quiet. I'm normal size...6 feet tall, 180 lbs...seats feel fine to me. I like CarPlay on the big screen. The digital instrument cluster could be better, more customizable. And the tires could be better. But they're better than the Dunlops that came on my 2011 Tacoma. I'll run these a year or so, then put on KO3's. Haven't noticed any creeks yet. Should have push button start. The seat belt reminder on the instrument cluster and the autostop/start are nonsense. I might go off-pavement. But I don't do any real rock crawling.

 

[superj]

The seat belt reminder on the instrument cluster and the autostop/start are nonsense. I might go off-pavement. But I don't do any real rock crawling.

You can turn the sest belt junk off using forscan and thr auto stop/start with the 18 dollar plug in module from ebay or amazon. Just search for it and it pops up on the sites.


Or you can buy the 100 dollar one. They both work fine but some people are more comfortable with a name brand

 

[TSY]

Coming from post Toyota and a JLR 110 Defender (20+ variant) - I'm going to give a nod to Fords interior on the 25" RR. It's really solid, quiet and the materials have gotten much much better. (my brother has a 17' F-150 Raptor and his interior isn't as nice - even when new - but it's our desert beater so ymmv.). I've had a chance to run my new one off road quite a few times this summer - nothing rock crawly, but a few water crossings, ledge drops and some sandy dune type roads here and there - loaded up with dirt bikes, fuel and weekend camping kit - and been extremely pleased, sometimes quite surprised when I expected a frame bump or a bumper drag and didn't get one!

* OK, I did install the Adventure Lab Trailer Plug Relocate Kit when I brought it home from the dealer, otherwise that bit of dangly kit would have been "removed" super early.

I haven't owned an American vehicle in decades ... tbh I've been really surprised by my experiences to date with my RR. Fingers crossed it continues...

Fyi : I will agree with other reviewer's about the rear axle position sensors - they should have been tucked inside the bracket at the rear at minimum - and the cross members are a rock magnet. A trans skid from factory should have been included... but there's a lot of aftermarket options and non of these is a deal breaker by any measure.

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