Pickup Trucks

[Evoex]

Forum Sponsor

We're look at chopping in the Santa Cruz for a real truck, which is definitely bittersweet. We've really loved it and it has served us well, but I've discovered the frame isn't rated for a weight distribution hitch, which is a deal breaker for towing a full-size RV. Could probably get away with it, but we're already past the 80% mark with our 4200 lb (loaded) trailer, so it's time to step up to a body-on-frame.

We don't need the limo rear seat, and would prefer something a little more compact (and less ubiquitous) than an F-150, so we're shopping midsize. After digging around and comparing specs and packages, it's come down to two choices: a 2025 Ford Ranger XLT (maybe Lariat for the right price) with 2.7 V6, or 2025 GMC Canyon.

Does anyone have any first-hand experience with either from the current gen? The Ford looks like the practical choice, it's very work-trucky and is marginally better on gas. But the wife has become enamoured of the GMC, and I have to admit, it looks great in black. I've test driven both, and the GMC drives like a truck and the motor feels like a diesel. The Ford feels lighter and smoother, and the motor goes like stink. But the GMC is definitely a nicer place to sit and comes with more gadgets. Ford is cheaper, GMC has a much better finance rate at 3.99 for 2025 models. On and on it goes...

Anyway, would love to hear from anyone who has lived with either about what they love and what drives them nuts.

What GM motor and transmission? They have been getting beat up over both since covid

 

[Priller]

What GM motor and transmission? They have been getting beat up over both since covid

2.7 turbo four and 8 speed auto. What I've read about the former is it's been pretty solid, and the latter had major issues but has been sorted out, mostly (current one is an 8L80 MFC). Always hard to tell with truck info, especially out of the US, as everyone has their brand.

The Ford 2.7 is apparently also relatively bulletproof, after some teething issues, and is mostly the same as the one in about a billion F-150s. Apparently the 10 speed auto isn't quite as robust, but has sorted the issues with creeping bushings that plagued the previous unit up to 2022, and is much smoother than the GM unit.

It's all a bit of a crap shoot when stuff is still relatively new and doesn't have the service history. We could look at the Nissan Frontier for something with old but tested components, but their payload numbers can be hilariously low and is a dealbreaker. And I'm not paying the Tacoma tax. Had one, still think it's the most overrated vehicle on the road.

 

[Hardwrkr13]

2.7 turbo four and 8 speed auto. What I've read about the former is it's been pretty solid, and the latter had major issues but has been sorted out, mostly (current one is an 8L80 MFC). Always hard to tell with truck info, especially out of the US, as everyone has their brand.

The Ford 2.7 is apparently also relatively bulletproof, after some teething issues, and is mostly the same as the one in about a billion F-150s. Apparently the 10 speed auto isn't quite as robust, but has sorted the issues with creeping bushings that plagued the previous unit up to 2022, and is much smoother than the GM unit.

It's all a bit of a crap shoot when stuff is still relatively new and doesn't have the service history. We could look at the Nissan Frontier for something with old but tested components, but their payload numbers can be hilariously low and is a dealbreaker. And I'm not paying the Tacoma tax. Had one, still think it's the most overrated vehicle on the road.

The Lariat is a huge step up in features/tech/luxury over the XLT so I'd compare that one against the GMC (not just on paper, driver both back to back on the same day to compare).
The 2.7 in the Ford is a stud and gets exceptional fuel mileage (yes you're correct that the 10-speed issues appear to have been sorted).
I think they're both equally good looking trucks. I'd check with actual owners to see what kind of mileage they're actually getting (I can speak for the Ford 2.7, but not the GM). My neighbour has the Canyon Denali which is nice.
The Ford has a fantastic app that's free and the Carplay/AA works great. Verify those on the GM.
Lots of leftover '25's in either brand so expect rates/pricing to be in your favour as we enter '26 in a few days.

 

[Priller]

The Lariat is a huge step up in features/tech/luxury over the XLT so I'd compare that one against the GMC (not just on paper, driver both back to back on the same day to compare).
The 2.7 in the Ford is a stud and gets exceptional fuel mileage (yes you're correct that the 10-speed issues appear to have been sorted).
I think they're both equally good looking trucks. I'd check with actual owners to see what kind of mileage they're actually getting (I can speak for the Ford 2.7, but not the GM). My neighbour has the Canyon Denali which is nice.
The Ford has a fantastic app that's free and the Carplay/AA works great. Verify those on the GM.
Lots of leftover '25's in either brand so expect rates/pricing to be in your favour as we enter '26 in a few days.

All adds up. Just left the Ford dealership, comparing the Lariat to a well equipped Elevation trim Canyon.

Basic takeaway is the Ford motor is better, and by a lot. The 2.7 V6 is fantastic, way faster than the GM 2.7 despite similar claimed power and more torque for the I4. By all accounts gets better mileage, too, though how much better is hard to pin down. The GM motor feels very diesel-like, pulls on torque, but without much urgency. Still fine, but not the rocketship that the Ford is.

But the GMC is much more nicely put together, is a nicer place to sit, has a marginally longer box (only by a few inches, but that's the difference between being able to use a bed extender with the RC51 vs the tire at the very back of the tailgate), and looks better to my eyes, at least in black. It feels more like a well-appointed semi-luxury vehicle, as opposed to the Ford's work truck aesthetic. Nothing wrong with work trucks, I think they're super cool, but this is our only vehicle. Also don't like the Lariat pleather upholstery, would rather stick with cloth and nicer seat covers.

In the end, looks like we're going with the GMC. The Ford dealer tried really hard to make something work, and gave up way more in dealer deductions. But the GMC is cheaper to start with, and we're financing a good chunk, so their massive advantage in rate (3.99 vs 5.99) made the deal, even over five years. If Ford was as aggressive with the Ranger rates as they are with the F-150, the deal would have swung the other way...

Still have until Monday to change my mind, though! Have flip-flopped about a hundred times on this one, and the margins were very fine. Calculating for our fuel use against real-world data (Ford advantage), consumables (draw), maintenance (draw), significantly higher insurance for the GMC, etc., the difference came down to a microscopic $648 margin to the Ford over five years, functionally identical considering the variables. I've never been more tortured about making a vehicle purchase choice before...

 

[Scuba Steve]

All adds up. Just left the Ford dealership, comparing the Lariat to a well equipped Elevation trim Canyon.

Basic takeaway is the Ford motor is better, and by a lot. The 2.7 V6 is fantastic, way faster than the GM 2.7 despite similar claimed power and more torque for the I4. By all accounts gets better mileage, too, though how much better is hard to pin down. The GM motor feels very diesel-like, pulls on torque, but without much urgency. Still fine, but not the rocketship that the Ford is.

But the GMC is much more nicely put together, is a nicer place to sit, has a marginally longer box (only by a few inches, but that's the difference between being able to use a bed extender with the RC51 vs the tire at the very back of the tailgate), and looks better to my eyes, at least in black. It feels more like a well-appointed semi-luxury vehicle, as opposed to the Ford's work truck aesthetic. Nothing wrong with work trucks, I think they're super cool, but this is our only vehicle. Also don't like the Lariat pleather upholstery, would rather stick with cloth and nicer seat covers.

In the end, looks like we're going with the GMC. The Ford dealer tried really hard to make something work, and gave up way more in dealer deductions. But the GMC is cheaper to start with, and we're financing a good chunk, so their massive advantage in rate (3.99 vs 5.99) made the deal, even over five years. If Ford was as aggressive with the Ranger rates as they are with the F-150, the deal would have swung the other way...

Still have until Monday to change my mind, though! Have flip-flopped about a hundred times on this one, and the margins were very fine. Calculating for our fuel use against real-world data (Ford advantage), consumables (draw), maintenance (draw), significantly higher insurance for the GMC, etc., the difference came down to a microscopic $648 margin to the Ford over five years, functionally identical considering the variables. I've never been more tortured about making a vehicle purchase choice before...

I am curious what you think after you get it if the transmission issues are fixed I may take a look at a canyon in the near future. I have heard they are good now. Funny I have heard from multiple people that the Ford trucks have more aggressive programming as they feel faster than the gm equivalent. It is probably just ap programming difference in the torque control and throttle input Ford must be dialing in more throttle early to make them seem faster. I actually prefer the other way when towing etc to avoid wheelspin and prolong tire life.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Gaoler]

F150 fan boy here...
I just can't get my head around that 2.7 in a pickup...
Purely anecdotal, but I know one guy with the 2.7 thats 80000km in with no issues and another guy with one thats blown one engine and appears to be ready to blow another.

If i ever buy another F150... It'll be the crew cab. 6.5' box with the 5litre engine.

 

[Priller]

I am curious what you think after you get it if the transmission issues are fixed I may take a look at a canyon in the near future. I have heard they are good now. Funny I have heard from multiple people that the Ford trucks have more aggressive programming as they feel faster than the gm equivalent. It is probably just ap programming difference in the torque control and throttle input Ford must be dialing in more throttle early to make them seem faster.

The clearest measurement I've seen to highlight how different each motor feels is the 50-70 mph (roughly 80-110 km/h) testing that Car & Driver does. The Ranger 2.7 blows the GM out of the water, doing it in 3.8 seconds to 5.2 seconds. Considering that's what you'd do to pass someone on a two-lane highway, it's a useful metric and probably the place where oomph matters most to me. That matches my butt dyno feeling from driving both.

I actually prefer the other way when towing etc to avoid wheelspin and prolong tire life.

Agreed, but ideally it'd be all the zoot for normal driving, then an adjusted map when you're in tow/haul mode to limit spin. The GM motor feels downright lazy compared to the Ford. The two trucks have dozens of hair splitting pros and cons in either direction, but the motor is by far the biggest advantage to the Ford.

F150 fan boy here...
I just can't get my head around that 2.7 in a pickup...
Purely anecdotal, but I know one guy with the 2.7 thats 80000km in with no issues and another guy with one thats blown one engine and appears to be ready to blow another.

If i ever buy another F150... It'll be the crew cab. 6.5' box with the 5litre engine.

To a certain extent, you're showing your age. I'm with you, a 2.7 feels like a ridiculously small motor for a quarter ton. But looking at the numbers, it makes 325 HP and 400 lb-ft, most of which comes low in the rev range. That's more than much bigger V8's from not that long ago, and far more efficient to boot. It's a lot stronger than the 5.4 Triton I had in a 2006 work truck way back when, for example.

And the Coyote motor isn't any more reliable, apparently. Lots of issues with the cylinder deactivation and oil consumption, at least up to a few years ago. It is obviously more powerful, and would be a better choice for someone who hauls a lot. But for daily driving, the 2.7 is realistically all you need, especially when you consider equivalent F-150s weigh ~500lbs less now than they did in 2006...

Forum Sponsor