Ranger Raptor...

[04Ram2500Hemi]

I'll be curious about the final price tag. i think it's a cool truck, but I don't think it's going to be cheap.

 

[fifty]

Everything I read about the Chevy diesel is it's great until you need to go over 30 in the dirt. And it's great if you drive in the city and never have to accelerate. And that's it's disgustingly horrible on the freeway. And the mileage and the engine characteristics on the freeway are terrible.

But that's the story of small displacement diesels. They just don't produce the power for speed.

 

[Clutch]

Everything I read about the Chevy diesel is it's great until you need to go over 30 in the dirt. And it's great if you drive in the city and never have to accelerate. And that's it's disgustingly horrible on the freeway. And the mileage and the engine characteristics on the freeway are terrible.

But that's the story of small displacement diesels. They just don't produce the power for speed.

I have yet to drive one of the smaller diesels*, but yan know I don't go much above 2500 rpm in my Toyota cruising down the highway...would think the GM diesel would be even better with all that torque for cruising at an even lower rpm. Maybe getting up to speed? But I don't ring my truck's neck either going down the on ramp, take my time getting up to speed. Occasionally you have to smash the pedal to the floor...but for me, that isn't very often, as I rather drive defensively than offensively.

My commute is nearly 60 miles round trip, mostly flat at 65 mph, with little to no stop and go traffic, until I exit, which I only have two lights to go through then I am at work. On the highway set the cruise at 63 (yeah I am "that guy" that everyone else hates), I dunno, think the little diesel would fine for me and my interstate commute.

As much as Dalko and I go back and forth over diesels, honestly wouldn't mind giving one a go. Maybe buy and then trade it in before the warranty is up...or *gasp* maybe even lease one. Which I never thought I would ever do, since I am "buy with cash" type of person. But my buddy is leasing his Sprinter, first because he wanted one, second...he said no way would he own one out of warranty. Kinda got my wheels turning. Might be nice to get a new vehicle every 3 years, instead of my keep it for years and years, run it into the ground mentality that I have now.




*edit: Let me take that back I did drive a VW Jetta TDI for day on the interstate, it was more than antiquate.

 

[fordracing19]

Everything I read about the Chevy diesel is it's great until you need to go over 30 in the dirt. And it's great if you drive in the city and never have to accelerate. And that's it's disgustingly horrible on the freeway. And the mileage and the engine characteristics on the freeway are terrible.

But that's the story of small displacement diesels. They just don't produce the power for speed.

Hate to hear that. I love the 2.1l diesel in my e class Benz. 196hp,369tq with 7 speed auto. It rolls on out on the highway.

 

[Dalko43]

Everything I read about the Chevy diesel is it's great until you need to go over 30 in the dirt. And it's great if you drive in the city and never have to accelerate. And that's it's disgustingly horrible on the freeway. And the mileage and the engine characteristics on the freeway are terrible.

Have you ever driven a modern diesel? I'd suggest you do so rather than rely on hearsay as gospel. They get very good fuel economy, as long as you don't drive like an a$$hat. They don't accelerate or give you the same pep that a comparable gasoline engine will, but you can definitely feel the low-end torque and you can get good highway performance as long you stay within the usable RPM band, which should require no effort on the driver's part when the transmission is an auto.

If you want the ultimate in highway performance and 0-60 times, get a sports car. This stupid and singular fascination with acceleration and straight-line performance has been ruining a lot of North American trucks, and cars for that matter, since the 1980's. I've driven plenty of modern diesels, here and overseas. They handle and drive just fine at highway speeds, as long as you treat them like trucks and not souped-up Baja vehicles or sports cars.

But that's the story of small displacement diesels. They just don't produce the power for speed.

They produce the power just fine, often times at RPM's much lower than comparable gasoline engines. The issue is they have much more narrow RPM bands in which they have usable power relative to gasoline engines. Stay within that RPM band, and their highway performance is more than adequate.

 

[Clutch]

If you want the ultimate in highway performance and 0-60 times, get a sports car. This stupid and singular fascination with acceleration and straight-line performance has been ruining a lot of North American trucks...

I agree with that! Reading on Tacoma World, a lot of guys are coming from the sports sedan market, and the Tacoma is the first "truck" they ever owned...always complaining about its' "lack" power and acceleration. It is a gawd damn truck...and really apparently they never drove a 22R! I'll never use all the power the new engines are putting out these days.

That and the interior amenities the sports sedan crowd desires...ruining trucks.

Bollinger interior...now that is what a truck interior should be.

 

[kdeleon]

I was impressed with my brother's Montero Sport with a 2.4 Diesel. Fully-loaded and we were cruising nicely at 75mph with decent passing power. Which makes me wish i have a diesel on my Jeep since it can use some low end to get push this rolling block of kleenex.

And yeah, the Rangers look really nice. I saw a lot of them modified, and i think they'd be a good competition for the Tacomas.

 

[rkj__]

Cool truck.

It will be interesting to see if a Ranger Raptor ever makes it to North America.

 

[Owyhee H]

Everything I read about the Chevy diesel is it's great until you need to go over 30 in the dirt. And it's great if you drive in the city and never have to accelerate. And that's it's disgustingly horrible on the freeway. And the mileage and the engine characteristics on the freeway are terrible.

But that's the story of small displacement diesels. They just don't produce the power for speed.

Like the others said, you should drive one. They are quite nice off road, city, or highway. Plenty of power/torque for whatever you need.

 

[calicamper]

Everything I read about the Chevy diesel is it's great until you need to go over 30 in the dirt. And it's great if you drive in the city and never have to accelerate. And that's it's disgustingly horrible on the freeway. And the mileage and the engine characteristics on the freeway are terrible.

But that's the story of small displacement diesels. They just don't produce the power for speed.

Its all realitive. If your a v8 or high strunng v6 type thats the same type of feed back you give the Subarus too. Tough 18yrs with the 170hp Subarus has been fine plenty fast and gets it done without any drama. The 4cylinder toyota types that went Diesel canyon or colorado all seem to like the power and mileage. I was following a blog fwc owner doing a 3month trip to Alaska from Main. Loaded heavy he was really pleased with the truck 22-25mpg 70-85mph pending headwinds. His toyota struggled hard doing those speeds and 12-14 mpg was typical.

No its not a V8 thats for sure or a duel turbo v6. But everyone I know who has the GM 2.8 has been really happy with it so far.

 

[Dalko43]

I was impressed with my brother's Montero Sport with a 2.4 Diesel. Fully-loaded and we were cruising nicely at 75mph with decent passing power. Which makes me wish i have a diesel on my Jeep since it can use some low end to get push this rolling block of kleenex.

Having just spent a fair bit of time in a Nissan Pulsar with a 108HP 1.5l turbodiesel, I had the same experience. I certainly couldn't rev that thing out the way I would a gasoline engine, but that thing had more than enough grunt to get me (and 3 other passengers) up to highway speeds (75mph) without any drama.

The 3.2l inline 5 turbodiesel that will supposedly be an option for the upcoming ranger should provide even better highway and hauling performance; the reviews from overseas have been extremely favorable.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

Having just spent a fair bit of time in a Nissan Pulsar with a 108HP 1.5l turbodiesel, I had the same experience. I certainly couldn't rev that thing out the way I would a gasoline engine, but that thing had more than enough grunt to get me (and 3 other passengers) up to highway speeds (75mph) without any drama.

The 3.2l inline 5 turbodiesel that will supposedly be an option for the upcoming ranger should provide even better highway and hauling performance; the reviews from overseas have been extremely favorable.

I was talking to a guy at the fuel station when I was fueling up. He drives one of those 1 ton transit vans with the little powerstroke, I thought it was a 3.2? Anyways he said the first engine threw a rod at around 80k and its been in the shop for multiple other engine issues. Really his mileage wasn't even that good, if I remember it was around 15.

 

[Sergio828]

Another 2.8 duramax (Canyon) owner here. Coming from an F150 ecoboost, it's certainly no rocketship, but the torque is there and it will move whatever you need to behind it (within reason). Not sure where the 'horrible on freeway' comments are coming from, but I suspect it's from guys who've never driven a diesel and simply mash the throttle instead of rolling into it when needing to pass. Could be me getting older, but I'll take 30 mpg on the highway and never needing to drop a gear vs. 16 mpg and the 'potential' to pass someone at 95 mph.

 

[Clutch]

Its all realitive. If your a v8 or high strunng v6 type thats the same type of feed back you give the Subarus too. Tough 18yrs with the 170hp Subarus has been fine plenty fast and gets it done without any drama. The 4cylinder toyota types that went Diesel canyon or colorado all seem to like the power and mileage. I was following a blog fwc owner doing a 3month trip to Alaska from Main. Loaded heavy he was really pleased with the truck 22-25mpg 70-85mph pending headwinds. His toyota struggled hard doing those speeds and 12-14 mpg was typical.

No its not a V8 thats for sure or a duel turbo v6. But everyone I know who has the GM 2.8 has been really happy with it so far.

That is encouraging.

Probably too early to tell what the resale value is going to be. Thinking of "trading in before the warranty is up" scenario. Was looking at leasing one, but I drive too many miles...my 25K a year is waaay over!

I was talking to a guy at the fuel station when I was fueling up. He drives one of those 1 ton transit vans with the little powerstroke, I thought it was a 3.2? Anyways he said the first engine threw a rod at around 80k and its been in the shop for multiple other engine issues. Really his mileage wasn't even that good, if I remember it was around 15.

Wonder why the mileage isn't so great on the Fords? Checking on fuelly the mileage isn't so hot. My buddy's medium roof Sprinter gets 25 mpg consistently.

 

[Dalko43]

I was talking to a guy at the fuel station when I was fueling up. He drives one of those 1 ton transit vans with the little powerstroke, I thought it was a 3.2? Anyways he said the first engine threw a rod at around 80k and its been in the shop for multiple other engine issues. Really his mileage wasn't even that good, if I remember it was around 15.

Some of the Ford Transit vans do have the 3.2l (it's referred to as a Powerstroke, but I think it was Ford's European division that developed it). I wouldn't put too much stock in one person's misfortune. The engine, and the Ranger platform, are sold and used globally. They engine has gotten pretty decent reviews overseas and it's not unheard of for people to get ~25mpg in mixed driving. I would expect similar mpg to what the 2.8l duramax gets in the Colorado.

I'll take those kinds of fuel economy #'s and the better torque delivery over what Toyota offers in their 4runners and Tacomas any day of the week.

Could be me getting older, but I'll take 30 mpg on the highway and never needing to drop a gear vs. 16 mpg and the 'potential' to pass someone at 95 mph.

I have the same attitude on trucks...I would say that it might have something to do with my aging process as well, but I was never a fan of the thirsty gasoline engines that are used in fullsize trucks and up.