Navara or Ranger

[Laith]

Getting a new work vehicle soon and have been given a choice of a D40 ST diesel manual dual cab or a Ranger XLT Manual Diesel dual cab. The Ford is a good 3 or 4 grand cheaper to, not that it is my worry.

There will be no major mods allowed as such (suspension, bash plates ect).

I am leaning towards the nav although I remember reading that they are susceptible to underbody damage when taken off road. Any one know if the Ranger is any better/worse.

Also on paper the ranger is down on power with 115 kw. I'm wondering if they tow OK or if they struggle due to this.

[Racer]

Laith, I would go the Navara over the Ranger. Have driven the Rangers quite a lot in various conditions at work, when they get a bit of load on them they have no ticker, 4WD system is pretty gutless and they do drop out of gear from time to time in the hard stuff. Also, I found them to be quite narrow in the cab....However, I have never driven a Navara but have been in one, much more room inside...and it seem to drive a Shit load better with load....

[Laith]

Thanks for the reply Mitch.

The Navara I test drove went really well and feels quite roomy inside as you have said.

I do now remember you mentioning in the past your thoughts on the Rangers.

The nav has cruise where the Ranger don't. The navara looks like winning.

[Racer]

I am sure there will be Ranger owners coming online for a bat. A mate has one (single cab) and loves it....

What about a Great Wall 

[Moopla]

I was asking myself the same question for the last few months. Both drove well but the st navara doesn't have the mounts for the baby capsules in the back. Much to my surprise . It does come standard on their st-x model but couldn't justify the price. We've got two young children and it was going to cost 500 per mount to have installed and adr approved. So we went for the sdx bravo (same as the ranger). Pick it up tommorrow. Can't wait to see how she goes towing the camper. So keep that in mind if you've gotta throw some little ones in the back.

[Laith]

No more babies for us Moopla  but yeah its crazy they dont have them fitted standard. Good luck with you new car mate.

Racer: I told the boss at the start that I wouldn't have a great wall or a van.  (just my opinion though. Sure they are great)

[theflyingbadger]

(just my opinion though. Sure they are great)

and they'll go places a Patrol won't as well. apparently....

[BradandPeta]

Alright seeing as how u asked .. Cousin had one of the first rangers as a farm ute I drove it new and seemed great it has since lived on corrugates and dirt roads he sold it recently and said it had no issues at all except the aluminum trAy rattled to pieces early on. Also there's alot off rangers with fifth wheels on them on the highway at the moment . I could b wrong but I think the ford has greater ground clearance than the Nissan as standard ?

[HEM19X]

Laith,

The Ranger/BT50's have had problems with clutches...susceptable to burning them out when reversing up hills when towing trailers. I did mine [BT] backing the Safari into our shed...small incline & the CT waould have only been a bit over a tonne...supposed to be rated to 3 tonnes.

Regards

Hem

[strudeltoowoomba]

Ok

I have owned an STX auto and driven lots of Rangers of the last couple of years.  I went with the STX based on cab size over the Ranger, that said I find the Ranger has a better useable torque range.  I found the Navara too light in the back end and too much exposed underneath to flying rocks and trail damage which was one of the main reasons for selling.  That and the fact the auto guzzles fuel.


Cheers
Steve

[Laith]

Thanks guys,

Yeah Brad the specs say the Ranger has 12mm or so more clearance.

Hem the Navara's must use the same clutch as they have many reported probs as well. It's disapointing to read that these new vehicles are having problems like these.

Strude, thanks for the info. The extra room inside is something I noticed. The damage underneath is what 4WDA said about it on a ute test a few years ago. I could just see myself trying to explain that I wasn't mistreating it when it got damaged.

[Nutto]

Hi Laith
Well, naturally, I'm gunna say get neither - get a D-max!! 
I went thru the whole process re which d/cab - glad i went the d-max - it's a ripper. 
Plently of space & clearance.  Good underbody protection. Good flat spread of torque & no turbo lag from 3.0L.
No major reported issues, and I seemed to dig up plenty on others, esp clutches on ford & nissan.    Go to complaints corner website - see what the most whinged about vehicle is....
Other thing for me was that I wanted the vinly flooring, and the D-max IS the only one out there where you can have this AND retain all the comforts, features & gadgets of the with the top line model.  All others with vinyl flooring means poverty pack.
Price is good to

 
Nutto

[Racer]

D-Max are a good truck. The Rangers are also far from economical. Our work trucks use to be Rodeo/D-Max and they were fantastic....

Either way, I drive a Pajero now for work....

[spargo]

Would take a Navara (or anything actually) over a Ranger - we have Ranger's at work, and they are awful.

Have you considered a Triton? I have the previous model ML with the 3.2L diesel and absolutely love it. The MN's are excellent also.. Huge cabin space, and the MN has the longer tub meaning it now doesn't suffer in comparison to other utes when comparing tub length.

[toad]

 G'day Laith. I can only comment on the Navara. Deb's 2007 manual is an ST-X but the cars should be essentially the same. We took it up the cape in 2009, the only thing we did was an ARB 40mm lift and a bash plate from TJM for $300, plus ATR's.
Scraped a bit coming out of the Pascoe River, but apart from that it performed flawlessly. We tow a 1.5 tonne AORC Odyssey and (fingers crossed) the clutch is still OK after 50K.

[BradandPeta]

D-Max are a good truck. The Rangers are also far from economical. Our work trucks use to be Rodeo/D-Max and they were fantastic....

Either way, I drive a Pajero now for work....

I think you might be using that word "work " a bit too freely buddy !

[Matto]

Hey Laith,

I'd also suggest the Navara, with the knowledge that their underbody clearance isn't great. Purely based off feedback from my father-in-law. He's recently put in an order for his new work truck - and went with a dual cab Navara with custom back.

He's been driving a Ranger for the last 2 yrs, and while he says it's a great truck (lots of power), he much prefered the Navara he test-drove. The fact that it's a bigger cab goes over well with his crew - 4 big blokes packed into the Ranger, and it's a tight squeeze. The Navara seems to be wider, resulting in much more shoulder room for everyone. He also commented on the Nav being noticably quicker in the test drive.

He discounted the Triton very early on - they've got a few of them as work trucks, and apparently the feedback from their crews has been almost universally bad. Everyone complained about the turning circle, compared to the Rangers and Navs. Now, I'm sure that:
A) they're a great car (I'd actually like one myself, to be honest), and
B) the turning circle isn't really that bad,
but it seems that everyone that drove the Tritons back to back with the Navs or the Rangers came away preferring either of the other cars. Keep in mind, a lot of their work is tight, close driving around things in unmaintained locations to find inspection points, etc, that aren't always well marked. So a highly maneuverable vehicle is always going to win for them above pretty much every other criteria.

From memory, with the Ranger and the BT50 pair - one had relocated the intercooler down very low behind the bumper, and their was concern that it was vulnerable to damage that would stop the car in it's tracks. The other had the intercooler mounted much higher up and better protected. I can't remmeber which one was which though. If you're concerned about "battle damage", it might be worth looking into. I believe it's an easy fix to retro-fit the other car's intercooler and plumbing, but probably not something you want to bother with on a vehicle that's not yours.

On the DMax note, my Dad's got a Colorado (single cab, 2WD), and it's a great car.

Long story short, I'd be happy with any of them if they were given to me, but if given the choice I'd be ticking the Navara box.

Good luck!
Matto

[Tezza1974]

I have a Ranger space cab 3 ltr turbo diesel ute as work ute that i use to Rep with in a very large chunck of Qld based form Brisbane.....yes its driven well with not an ounce of drama 94 000 kms on the clock. it gets serviced every 10k which work pays for. I drive in all sorts of conditions as i sell equipment to all construction / agri applications

it has burnt a clutch at approx 70 000 kms and i never use it for towing or carry loads..( at all) its a 2 wheel drive....... thats due to town driving;;;;;;;;;; after a day behind the wheel racking up 500 kms i am buggered...would i want another one.? i dont know....if i had the choice between the Nav and Ranger...i would take the Nav without even test driving it.

it doesnt have a speedo cruise....maybe cos its manual....they are cheap....i have opted as my next ute to be a holden SV6 purely for ride comfort more than anything

take both utes for a test drive...they should give it to you for the weekend if the salesman are serious

Regards


TK

[MDS69]

Would take a Navara (or anything actually) over a Ranger - we have Ranger's at work, and they are awful.

Have you considered a Triton? I have the previous model ML with the 3.2L diesel and absolutely love it. The MN's are excellent also.. Huge cabin space, and the MN has the longer tub meaning it now doesn't suffer in comparison to other utes when comparing tub length.

Another vote for the Triton.
I know it is not what you asked for feedback on but as others have said don't discount it. I have a 2WD MN GLX auto 2.5L diesel dual cab company provided vehicle and love it. A lot more room inside than the RA Rodeo I came out of. Took a bit of getting used to the different power to the V6 Rodeo but love the tourqe of the MN and it is the baby engine compared to the 4WD. Matto commented on the turning circle which Shits all over the Rodeo but as he said they had back to back comparisons with the vehicles you are looking at

[Laith]

Thanks everyone for your info packed posts. Much appreciated.

Spargo, MDS69. Thanks for your thoughts. Ill have to have a better look at the Triton. Kind of wrote it off without really looking at it.

We went to look at the Dmax and asked for a drive. We were told they didn't have one for us to drive at the time. Still hasn't got back to us with a quote after 4 weeks either. So Dmax is out.

The Colorado seemed ok. Just didn't jump out at me though. I didn't like how the up spec one is an inch lower than the povo one.

The Navara is looking good though. Maybe I could just fit/pay for some bash plates for my own piece of mind and sell them when it gets sent back.

Thanks again everyone. 

[pepiman]

Just upgraded from a 1991 V6 petrol 4 runner to a 2008 Navara STX diesel Auto . First thing took it to my mechanic to get second battery sorted out. He told me problems with Navara clutches on manuals as well as the 4x4 Mazda and Fords. He said the Navara auto was the pick. I love our new car. Plenty of room, comfortable, plenty of power towing the camper.

[Jon]

Hey Matto, you're right in saying the triton turning circle is not bad for a ute of this size. My ML was fine and I would still have it except that the lure of a wagon was too much.
Also the Triton engine WAS 3.2 at the time over the 2.5 in the Nav.
Must admit though, I do see a LOT of rangers DC 4WD as fleet vehicles - Price maybe?

And Laith, well you know the rules.
 

[albany_nomads]

We have got Ford rangers for our company cars..my work bus is due for replacement..and i was told I only have a choice between the Ford Ranger or Mitsubishi Triton....THE reason being as they are the only two utes that supply SIDE air bags as standard or option.

[Silvo]

I think triton is a good option..

Otherwise I have to say the navara.. I loved mine.. One thing to consider for yOu mate is the back seat..for the nav, they are crap..the triton is much better in this regard.

Dan

[Laith]

The D40 back seat is definitely better than my old D22 back seat Dan although you are right about the Triton, I recon it is the only one in the range with a decent back seat.