New Ford Ranger mega thread

I'm in my early 30s and still prefer driving a manual. Guess I could provide representation for the fogies demographic.

The "today's technology" angle for automatics is fine if you don't enjoy driving a manual. I would venture to guess that most people who purchase a manual do so being fully aware that today's autos, in most cases, deliver better fuel economy and are quicker, but still don't want one! I enjoyed driving a 4 banger Wrangler with it's thumping 120 horsepower and gearbox which felt like a shifter stuck into a bucket of rocks. There isn't an automatic vehicle that I've owned that wouldn't have been more fun with a manual. That driver enjoyment factor is what those that push the "just buy an automatic, it's better" rhetoric can't seem to understand. I'd rather feel like I'm driving the truck then pointing it. Then again, I'm not really concerned about playing with my phone to post a picture of what I ate for breakfast while driving either. For my usage automatics make for a boring driving experience. Different strokes for different folks.

I'm sure the time is coming when herd mentality wins over and the option goes away completely. That's a shame, because in any market, the more options for consumers the better.

 

^^^^^ What he said. I am over 60 and love my 5 speed manual '03 Tacoma.

 

I was expecting a little more aggressive out of it. That power train is gonna make some killer power with a few tweaks. Problem is the reliability might not be there for the long haul.

Overall, I give Ford a B.

 

Mid 40's and actively choose the manual over auto if so have the option.

 

Sorry about that.

Maybe it looks better in lime green:



Or, maybe you’d prefer it with the ground effects package? (and a snorkel....WTF?).

 

I owned a 90 and 94 Ranger. Both were great trucks.

 

with the new 4 cylinder Ecoboost(Found on Road Dead) engine and the 10 spd (cant find a gear) trans. it will give the Tacoma a run for its money LOL

 

Been watching you tube videos, looks very capable. Also saw that the only motor available in the US is the beefed up 2.3 Turbo. WTF.
Would be ok as just an off road truck but we are a nation of campers and trailer haulers.

 

The 2.3 L Ecoboost will out tow everything in the class. Look at the 2.7 L Ecoboost in the F150. In testing it blows the 5.3 L GM V8 away. The red line is the 2.7 L Ecoboost, and the green is a modern V8 in the 5.3 L GM engine. I expect a similar looking chart comparing the 2.3 L Ecoboost and the 2GR-FKS.

 

The one thing no one can argue is that Fords Ecoboost engines put out some seriously high power across the entire power band, where trucks need it, compared to the conventional V8 options and it shows in towing tests.

 

She just came home happy. That's nice every once in a while.

 

Here are the tests the 2017 Global Ranger faced. It looks nearly identical to the ones Ford is releasing here. Depending on how the 2.3L and 10-speed transmission performs in North America (global ranger tested has a diesel), the Tacoma has some real competition.

https://youtu.be/qWV3CrldmMc

 

All the tests and promo videos don't do much for me. I want a reliable vehicle 12-15 years down the road with good resale value. Until I see a history of that, I won't be impressed by anything with Ford really. In the same way I think the video to show the crawl control on the Tacoma was dumb. It's something they had obviously tried over and over to make sure it would look good on camera.

 

I like how it didnt smoke going up that 45 degree grade.

 

There won't be many if any 2nd gen Tacomas that hit that age around here. Frame rot has seen to that.

 

I'm already there.

 

Do You think Jeep will but that 4.0 straight 6 in the new truck?

 

Seriously, who the ** hell drop this kind of load in their truck bed....!!

 

Interesting. Good info, thank you for passing it along.

 

Hey dude, you payed $40k for the Taco. What is another $700, seriously.