the US market and apparently the rest of the world.
While the current Ford Ranger is selling well, most people agree the styling is rather soft and not masculine. This is mainly due to Ford making the decision to quickly re-enter the US market by simply retuning their Australian designed truck. They knew it wasn’t exactly the truck they wanted for the US market, but it was close enough and would help them get back in.
Some time ago and most likely due to the Chicken Tax, Toyota splits their US and non-US truck lines. The world loves the Hilux. In truth, it is superior to the Tacoma in most ways, except US drivers prefer a lot more HP than they need, so the Tacoma gets a V6 whereas the Hilux does not. The Hilux does, however, get a stronger frame and is known for being one tough truck.
The one main drawback? It looks just as soft as the overseas Ranger. The rest of the world seems to love their car looking trucks.
Anyway, it’ll be interesting to see in 2022 if a more US-ified version of the Ranger increases sales. If not, maybe Toyota can re-consider bringing their car looking Hilux here.