Great gas milage average 20.8 (have 3.0 V6 auto trans) The CD player sounds great. Easy to handle, power is adequate, however a little more would be better. The 3.0 engine is a good balance of power and gas milage.

Have troubles from start. Rear end went bad one week after purchase. Also failed to start, it is in shop now, my guess is fuel pump or coil pack. It starts at high RPM's in the cold and a bit noisy.

Even with the problems I have had (hope this is it) the Ranger is a good buy. I have the XLT package which gives you good accessories. CD, Chrome wheels etc. The ride is a bit bumpy but it is a truck and not a luxury car.
This is the third Ranger Super Cab I have owned, would recommend this truck

Similar Products Used:

Drove a Tamcoma with the 2.7 four cyl engine. The Ranger ran quiter and had more pick up. The interior of the Ranger has more room and has better interior quality. Also the Toyota was pricey, Toyota asks big bucks if you want a V6 engine.

Ford Ranger is one of the most reliable trucks that are on the market then and now

The only thing i really dun like about it and this might just be mine i cant get it to burn second gear, only down side other than thats love it!!

It has lots of power ive like it ever since i oghut it but now since i lowered it i like it even more now. It gets great gas milage, it has 75,000 miles on i and still runs like a champ at first when i bought it it was not running at the top but now i got it humming, and also its an extended cab,and few reccommendations to do toa ranger:
Flow master-makes it sound liek a Mustang
New plugs and Wires, and a Super Coil
Super Chip-does alot well did to mine!
Lower it if u got the moeny looks Hard
Rims and Low profiles

Similar Products Used:

N/A whole family owns Ford's

* Quick at a stoplight
* Looks good for a truck
* Good room for regular cab (i'm 6'3")
* Cheap! (i + my dad paid only $10,000 + tax and other crap!)
* Seems tough

* Weak 2.5L I-4. I drive up to Nevada ski resorts and it barely makes up the hills (won't go over 60mpl in 4th gear sometimes - embarrasing!)
* Extra cab is well worth the extra dough! As is the v-6.
* Poor handling in wet weather.
* Trasmision is too jerky, (also sometimes with clutch depressed all the way down you grind the gears - have to take the foot of the clutch and press it again to shift gears)

- best choise for commuting/all around vehicle.
- mine got in a wrek ($9500 in repairs at 1 year old) and has 30k miles on it and it seems to work great. very sound truck.
- great first vehilce choise.

Similar Products Used:

my first car/truck

I like the looks,and the ride is great.the gas milage is awsome.I have never seen a truck that gets such good gas milage.My ranger gets over 300 miles to a tank of gas and it only costs about $22 to fill it up with mid-grade gas.The reason for the milage is the engine.I bought the 2.3 liter EFI, I-4twin plug engine .So the fuel is burned in the first 4-cyl, and then the unburnt fuel is sent through the next 4-cyl to be completely used.The A/C works great.The truck only has 32,430 miles on it.So for $3,000 I have had no problems with the transmission it shifts like a dream.My ranger has only 32,430 miles on it and for $3000 i think i got a hell of a great truck!

The only major weakness I can think of is the power.If you are looking for a muscle truck I would suggest gettin a Dodge Ram 2500 24valve turbo diesle not a ranger.All the engine sizes could use a good extra 30 or 40 horses to accomidate for the a/c.

If you are looking for a stylish truck that can do just about anything you want it to do and still have money in you pocket,I strongly suggest investing in a Ford Ranger. My truck is a 92 XLT 2x4,2.3 Liter EFI, I-4 twin plug engine.

Similar Products Used:

a(77) Honda Accord...no comment! Test drove several other small trucks around the same price range....none compared to the ranger.

Great all around truck. Keeps going even after 330,000 miles on the original motor that has never been rebuilt. With a few modifications makes a great 4x4. All parts on it are built very strong and very rarly fail. This truck is for people who want a pickup but don't want to deal with the size of a full-size.

Rear leaf springs are weak but are easy to make stronger. Also water pump seems to go out every 40,000 miles. They seem to lack power but this can also be changed by adding a high preformance computer chip.

I only paid $2,000 for my Ranger and I have had nothing but good luck with it and it is still runing strong and I look foward to using it for years to come. This truck has been to places whare people were afrade to take their jeeps and it has made it sucessfully. This truck has had no major repairs even with the milage that it has.

Similar Products Used:

Chevy S-10, The Ranger is a much better veichle and lasts longer. From my experence I hove found that Ford makes a much better product than chevy. The Mazda pickups are very simmilar to the ranger but they lack the power.

Fast of the line for a compact pickup
Pleanty of power for passing at high speeds
Good looks with the splash package
Easy to operate in city traffic
solid feel
drives like a sports car

poor gas mileage (16mpg)hwy
small gas tank
very bumpy ride on bad roads (I might have some loose teeth)
interior is very bland
hitting a pothole at high speeds can send you into the next lane

I paid $8,000 for a 1994 with 60k miles
If i had to do it over i would have purchased a model with extended cab
but other than that I am very happy, It seems to be very reliable as I have not put a dime into it yet execpt for brakes. It feels like a very solid little truck that gives you big truck confindence on the highway.
I did get the splash package which gives you flaresides and reduces the bed to a narrow 3.5 feet wide and 5.5 feet long, not to usefull for hauling those sheets of plywood. All in all I think that if you want a sporty compact truck that can blow away any other rice burner on the road then this is the truck for you.

Similar Products Used:

chevy s-10 pickup
very lame compared to my ranger

Tough durable truck. Good strong brakes;saved me on more than one occassion
The paint job held up pretty well. it was pretty easy to keep clean.

It was a bumpy ride. It also had bad gas mileage. Didnt have enough power for a truck. Had electrical problems. Generally did not have enough room inside.

As far as performance it pretty much did what I needed it to do. I gave this truck one hell of a beating and I didnt have to make any major repairs. However, a myriad of small problems poped up. I had to replace the fuel pump 4 times and my mechanic still cant explain it. I had unexplainable problems with the electrical system; at times the power mirrows, the windsheild wipers, the power windows, and the lights wouldnt work. This truck left me stranded 4 times on the side of the rode and that is unforgiveable and unexceptable. Dont know if I just got a lemon but im not going to buy another Ranger to find out.
For a v-6 it was pretty weak. I expected it to have more power and acceleration but this just wasnt the case. I got sick of watching bowties flying by me. However I did haul a whole bunch of stuff in and behind it and it never gave me one problem. Great for hauling boats.
I wouldn't recomend this vehicle on long trips or if you have a ways to go to work. Also if you are tall or your passenger is tall, forget about it

Similar Products Used:

This was the first truck I had. I am going to try a small size Chevy next, hope its better than this.

The price and looks.

Weak engine, extended cab size, ride, slow changes to compete with competition, and no leather seats.

For the price, Rangers should come with at least a v6 and auto for under 14,000. Also, put some muscle under the hood, and better suspension would be nice. Oh yeah, how about some leather. People today want a small enough truck that they can fit it in the garage, but with a enoughh power to haul for special projects. Ford passed on the Ranger recently with the addition of the SportTrac. Why isn't the Explorer suspension based on the Ranger or vise versa? Bottom line is just because the Ranger is the best selling compact truck doesn't mean Ford can coast its success forever.

Similar Products Used:

Good all around, but not special in one catagory.

Sturdiness
Great gas-mileage (improved over the truck's lifetime)
Easy to work on
Good handling

Numerous mechnical problems, mostly minor
Not too powerful
Loud (no headliner in the XL, so you got a lot of road and wind noise)

Bought used at around 42k miles for $6500 in 1988. Great hauling machine, if a bit anemic in the horsepower department. We bought with a standard transmission, which never gave us problems (clutch lasted till the machine's death at 200k miles).

Instrumentation was standard and boring boring boring. Around 1994, Ford finally updated the dash and instrumentation to something quite a bit nicer to look at.

This machine developed a personality, plus a bit of more serious mechanical problems. The personality bit came about in cold weather. This was a carbureted model, and always had a starting problem when winter came around (initial starting was never a problem - only after the engine had been running for a while). We ended up carrying around a flat-headed screwdriver around, with which we would prop open the carb throat valve. That trick always worked, to the point where I could give advice to Ranger owners having the same problems.

Mechanical problems were a few, most minor but one quite serious. The minor: starter problems. We went through 5 starters. After the original starter was replaced, we bought generic Pep Boys type starters, which failed quite a bit, until finally, one savvy mechanic told us the casing was coming loose, and shorting against the engine block. Tightened up the screws on the last case, and that was the end of that problem.

The timing belt broke around 65k miles. Not difficult to replace, but difficult finding a good mechanic (one fellow put the existing belt back on after it had slipped, despite its frayed condition). Ended up doing it myself.

Emission equipment corroded away. Not serious (the car kept running), but sounded LOUD. Finally scrounged a replacement part at a junkyard for $10 (basically, a bent bit of metal tubing running from the exhaust manifold up into the air intake).

The only serious mechanical bit (apart from that which finished the truck) happened at around 140k miles when the steering linkage broke (while my wife was driving it, luckily on the straights in town rather than on the curves on the interstate).

We drove the truck into the ground - it gave up the ghost (and the head + valves) the day after the odometer topped 200k. We really liked this truck - the S-10 we got after it, though so far mechanically more sound (at 70k miles) just doesn't feel like as good a truck.

Similar Products Used:

1996 Chevy S-10 - I liked the Ranger better despite less mechanicals with the Chevy.

*Great heating and A/C
*Great gas mileage
*Pickup is ok for a 4 cyl but slows down around 30-40mph
*Durable and always starts on the coldest chicago days
*Amazing stock stereo

*Front cab is kinda small for me (im 6'4) but is still comfortable
*Bigger engine would be nice
*I cant complain because I have never had to bring it in for anything but there is only 30k on it so far

*I would reccommend this car for anybody who just needs a reliable vehicle for getting around or hauling small things.
*Perfect for teenagers first car because you can run it to the ground and it will still take more.
*The small 4 cyl can beat most 4 cyl's off the line and compete with some v6's
*I love driving this truck but the only problem is only 2 people can go in the cab. The extended cab would be better for teens

Similar Products Used:

*none, first car