07 Comparison

[Walt Brown]

Well,

In case you wonder how the 07 trac compares with its competition, within the last few weeks I have tested the following vehicles, all 4X4 crew cabs, all road driving. Here is how the Trac stacks up IMO.



07 Sport Trac, V8 Limited

06 Honda Ridgeline, RTL

06 Nissan Frontier, NISMO

06 Tacoma, non-TRD (TRD not on the lot)

06 Dodge DakotaTRX4 Laramie



Here is my analysis and order of preference:

To start, the Trac and Ridgeline are in a different league from the rest.

1. Sport Tarc. Depending on what an owner uses their vehicle for, the Ridgeline could easily be in the #1 spot.

BLUF: Greatly improved driving while retaining truck capabilities.

I put the Trac first for the following reasons:

a. Can tow 1400 lbs more

b. Has a low gear for better off roading

c. Fully boxed frame

d. I can order a sunroof on any trim level, with the Honda I have to get leather also or spend big bucks on after market.

e. More and better exterior color choices.

f. Exterior is the best in the group (the main reason my wife wouldn't let me buy a Ridge)

g. The tonneau cover/ bed extender is a great combination

Minuses:

- Not thrilled with the interior design/ the tan and grey interior. Wish charcoal was offered in the XLT.



2. Ridgeline

BLUF: A Honda Accord with a truck bed and towing cabalility

a. This vehicle is the most fun to drive. Quick and nimble while the Trac feels a little less nimble, a little more like driving a Cadillac.

b. Honda quality

c. The trunk is a fabulous feature, I can think of a 1,000 uses. The Trac's Tonneau/ bed extender is almost as good, except I can't have a "trunk" securing amping gear and bikes on top in the bed like I could with the Ridge.

Minuses:

- Not sure 5,000 lbs is enough

- Not sure it has enough off road capability

- Looks

- Sirius not offerd at the dealership ( I prefer it over XM, wich is all you can get at Honda)

- Have to get leather with Moon Roof

- Rims are uglier then the truck



3. Nissan:

a. The best of the solid axles to drive

b. Great Off-raod capability

c. Second best looking truck in the group

d. Rear seat bottom flips up or the back flips down

e. Cargo system in the back

Minuses:

-Full time 4WD not available, had quite a bit of tail spin while driving on dry roads

-I can't get the bed flexibility I can get with the Trac or Ridge. Tonnaue covers would intefer with utili trac in the bed. Also, covers are not easily removable like they are on the trac. Its either an open, unsecured bed or a closed bed.

-I have to go after market for a rear slider.

-No heating/cooling vents for rear passengers



4. Toyota

a. Nicest interior in the bunch

b. Best fuel economy, I believe even with mid-grade gas money is saved compared to the Nissan.

c. Great off-road capability (not sure wich is better, Nissan or Toyota)

Minuses:

- I did not like the driving experience at all. I felt like I was driving on a bubble, not connected to the road. It was alittle unnerving. Perhaps the TRD would change that.

-Because of the cab roof shape I can not get a moon roof.

-Full time 4WD not available

-I can't get the bed flexibility I can get with the Trac or Ridge. Tonnaue covers would intefer with utili trac in the bed. Also, covers are not easily removable like they are on the trac. Its either an open, unsecured bed or a closed bed.

-I have to go after market for a rear slider.



Dodge:

1. Ordering flexibility (amount of options available for different trims)

2. Full time 4WD available, did not test it

Minuses:

-Worse of the grouip

-Interior just a little more appealing then the Chevy Colorado

-Worse engine of the bumch

-I can't get the bed flexibility I can get with the Trac or Ridge. Tonnaue covers would intefer with utili tra

 

[Alex W]

Good job man! A lot of good info there. I really like the Ridgeline also, but the price goes up way to fast with certain options.

 

[MARVIN McINTYRE 2]

got1b, very good job of comparisons. All in all, I will not go to that length to test that many trucks, but nevertheless that was informative, and good for people who are sitting on the fence of indecision. The reasons I like the Trac is simple:



PROS:



Clean, uncluttered design (refined)

I like the SPort Trac above all others

Versatility

2nd Generation upgrades

Power

It's a FORD Truck(subject to everyone's discrection! Love it / Hate it)

Safety (5 Star rating)



CONS: (I still LOVE the TRAC!) (getting an 07 in 07 (March)



Color choices (thought that Ford was going green?)

Interior choices (good grief..greyish and/or tannish... Ford must have tunnel vision!

NO ADVERTISMENTS TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL!!!(Brag on it sometimes!)

PDBL is now an OPTION!

SLow to come to market! (who's in charge anyway?)(Bill, where are you?)

DID FORD GET IT RIGHT THIS TIME? (Quality + Cost = Satisfaction?)

NO GREENS

NO YELLOWS

NO ISLAND BLUES! :wub:like my 2001) :angry:



All the other stuff I can live with!

BTW, Vanbortel Ford in NY has a 100,000 Mile warranty with every Ford vehicle sold! I lve in Texas, but WILL BUY an 07 ST from them! That freight charge $615)is for anywhere in the continental US!



mrmarvyn OUT!

 

[P M]

Great notes, thanks! I have looked very seriously at both the Ridgeline and the ’07 ST. I have not driven the RL yet, but I may eventually. I fully expect it to drive great. The ’07 ST drives fantastic. I too like the trunk of the RL, or at least the idea of it, but I run into an issue of it being under the other things being carried in the bed. Not everything I carry and want out of the weather will fit in the trunk. That may not be a negative to some, but for what I carry it would be an issue. Although, I would have to remove everything out of the bed to get to the spare tire or whatever was carried in there. Also, if you have the T-cover on the RL the inside height is quite a bit lower than the ST. Some of the boxes and stuff I routinely pack into my older ST would not fit in the back of an RL with the cover on. I want to keep everything dry and locked so the T-cover is a must. I’ve heard, but can’t say first hand, that the cover on the RL is not waterproof. That would be a major oversight in my book. The ST is waterproof can be removed in about a minute or so with no tools, that’s a plus. My wife and I went with from a Ford dealer looking at an ’07 ST to the Honda dealer to look at an RL. My wife generally liked the interior of the RL, but she said she didn’t think I should get it because it does not look like a very manly vehicle! :blink: She would be okay with me driving a minivan though. Ouch! :lol:That leads me to the thing about the RL I don’t think I can get over…it’s not an attractive vehicle. That shouldn’t matter as much as it does, but it matters. I realize Honda has a great reputation for quality, but I’ve had no problems with my ST after almost 70k so I don’t think I can improve on that regardless of which way I go. The reality is, there are many fine vehicles to choose from, just depends on what you need it to do and what appeals to you.



mrmarvyn: About Vanbortel's warranty, I assume that is good at any Ford dealer just like a regular warranty? That's a good deal! I may have to think pretty hard about that. I could even drive it home to VA if I had to.

 

[R 2]

(From 3/22



07 ST Advantages over 06 RL:



- Standard AdvanceTrac w/ RSC (RL has standard vehicle stability assist bue offers no sensing or protection in vehicle roll situations).

- Available Class IV (5K lbs and greater) trailer tow hitch - ST max towing capability is 6800. HL only offers Classs III (3501-5000 lbs) which is its limit.

- Standard SMC cargo bed - RL uses steel reinforced compound carbo bed, which could still be subject to many of the same drawbacks (dents, dings, rust, etc) as all-steel cargo boxes

- Carbo bed tie-downs and cargo bed power point - ST features a total of 10 cargo tiedowns inside or outside of the cargo bed and has a standard power point in the cargo bed. RL has 6 inside tie downs and does not offer a cargo bed area 12-volt power point.

- Intelligent Safety System - standard, it provides optimized crash protection thru a complex network of sensors and adaptive restraint components. The ISS is designed to meet ALL KNOWN governmental crash test req's thru 2010MY.

- Available 4.6L 3-valve SOHC V8 engine - RL nada.

- Available class-exclusive 6-speed automative overdrive - mated only to the optional 4.6L 3-valve SOHC V8.

- Available Control Trac Four-Wheel Drive System - CT provides a 2-speed transfer case which allows the drivfer to choose 4x4 auto control for set-and-forget sur-footed control but also provides option for 4x4 high or 4x4 low. RL features an automatic 4WD control but only a single-speed transfer case, not a 2-speed transfer case with torque multiplication...(so how effective can it be in serious off-road driving????? duh)



Also, base price is cheaper, length if longer, wheelbase longer, more legroom, more torque.



Take dat to de bank.....................................:lol: