New Ford Ranger mega thread

Didn't watch the video, but since the ramp has a "Built Ford Tough" banner on it ....I guess the Ford Ranger did well?.....lol

 

Their version of Crawl Control is smoother and that ramp shows how awful the ground clearance is on the Colorado.

 

I saw one also when I was there this past summer. I wasn't sure if it's a Ranger since I was in a bus. Just took a quick snap waiting at the light.

 

Cars.com recently test drove the new Ford Ranger in one of the first published test drives:

https://www.cars.com/articles/we-te...nger-%E2%80%94-and-you-can-too-1420703520759/

"During our short test drive — on which we were treated to a relatively smooth and sturdy ride on the road — we were surprised at how good the overall visibility was all around the vehicle (benefiting from large rearview mirrors), as well as how quick to respond the 2.3-liter inline-four-cylinder engine with 10-speed transmission was when we put our foot to the floor."

 

Haha exactly my thoughts as well. What a “controlled” environment for the study.

 

one highlight that showed the taco's failing is the low exhaust crossover pipe. I hate that design.

 

Meanwhile, the Ranger has an aluminum front diff casing, aluminum front spindles, and aluminum U-bolt plates:

 

Lol they intentionally put a low-hanging plate on the Taco's tow hitch and say it has a poor departure angle?

 

Yeah wtf , they put the same thing in the Chevy too.

 

They put the same plate on all the trucks

 

So this morning at the Central Florida International Auto Show, I was able to test drive the new Ford Ranger Lariat FX4.



Test Drive Conditions and Location:

Temperature was 72 degrees around International Drive which is pretty flat.

Interior:

The interior to me was okay with a comparible Tacoma TRD Off-Road with the edge going to the Tacoma. I didn't have any issues with the instrument cluster. MPG was at 24.7 at the time of my test drive. I will say that this model had seat height adjustment. The Ford rep also told me that seat height adjustment was available on all trims!!!!








The test drive:

Holy hell!!! You can feel the torque in this thing instantly. It drives like an proper truck. I was able to accelerate quickly in this thing to 50 mph before the Ford rep asked me to slow down before a turn. It's really hard to tell this thing has a 10-speed transmission because the shifting was seamless and smooth.

We also had to navigate through tight turns between parking cones and I was honestly surprised to see how nimble this truck is. My wife also test drove the truck and she loved it. She was thrilled about the seat height adjustment because she's only 4'10".



Conclusion:

I was honestly impressed with this truck. I recommend test driving it of course. These will sell will and as long as the engine and drivetrain stand the test of time, I will be purchasing one also.

 

There's the rub with Ford. They make great interiors. They load their vehicles with options and they drive great. But the in house powertrains are hit and miss on standing the test of time. Their NA motors are often bulletproof, but their trannies (like Dodge/Ram) have historically been their weak link.

I am a partner in a very large highway construction outfit and over the last 30 years we have learned some very bitter lessons with Fords - especially with the turbocharged engines and trannies. After the last go around, we're done. Even when we've gone conservative with the engines (the various NA 8 cylinders) the trannies have been nothing but headaches.

The 2.3T already has a list of issues, even some car mag reviews have noted in long term tests that many of them mysteriously "lose" power (you can look them up on various forums) and the 10 speed has not been ironed out. It doesn't take long to research this.

I'll give Ford this, the have put together a serious contender. It will blitz the Colorado/Canyon and take some serious sales from the Taco. It will out power and out-option the Toyota while getting better mileage and become the darling of rentals and fleets. Unfortunately, the 2.3T and the 10 speed have already proven to have worrisome issues in disparate portions of their line up. I'd been surprised if these pass the test of time.

As a side note, my brother has preordered one. He's always been partial to Fords (even though his current F150 3.5 EB has been a shit show). He attended the Ranger preview in San Jose recently. Told me they're already offering $750 incentives....

Edited to add:

Nice post. Appreciate you taking the time to take some good pics and offer unbiased feedback.

 

I like fords i miss my 2013 f250 xlt i loaded that bed with a bunch of my tool boxes and tools that i couldnt fit anymore and the rear springs didnt sag and rear didnt go down much and driving i couldn't tell the bed was fully loaded. with my taco i wouldnt try that i'd be afraid of braking the composite bed and not to mention how the springs would be. but i like my tacoma anyways its my play toy and i have a company work truck if i have to move my tools again lol

 

Official MPG numbers are out for a 4x2 Ranger:

21/26 (23 combined)

 

Googled "Ford 2.3T problems" while having turkey noodle soup for breakfast. Maybe 1k pages from Ford Focus forums - head gasket issues most prevalent. Ford has a recall going for even 2018 models. Mustang 2.3T not much, apparently Ford got the process right compared to the Focus. Focus had about five block redesigns, head redesigns, head gasket redesigns.

Maybe the Ranger's 2.3T has all of the previous troubles ironed out, so to speak. Even if so I'm not a big fan of inboard-mounted rear shocks.

 

Google “2.3 eco boost power loss issues” and peruse the eco boost mustang forums.

 

That sticker says it has an 18 gallon fuel tank. If true, that's a show stopper right there.

 

^ I think reliability is TOO EARLY to tell. While Ford is using the same engine, no one knows what other enhancements/improvements they've done. I'm a engineer myself (biomedical) and we are always looking at past failures/designs/customer feedback and improving stuff with newer revisions (I'm on the software side).

Pretty sure Ford engineers not simply going to put a known problematic engine in the new Ranger. They've been working on this for years now for the US model.

And if you do online research on the 3rd gen Taco, it will make you think twice before buying one as well. The reliability/issues are the worst VS 1st/2nd gen. And people come to forums to bitch about issues/negative experiences. No one ever puts up a post like "hey...I love my Taco even though the 1st 2 pages on the forums are all negative". A lot of happy truck owners out there with high mileage trucks but they don't post this online on a forum.

I test drove the Lariat too (in our San Jose show) some weeks back and really really loved it. A lot of people that complain about the Taco "transmission hunt" will be pleased with the Ranger. The interior is also more upscale on the Lariat VS TRD Pro.

However, I'm a ex 4Runner/Prerunner guy and have a family of Toyota mechanics so will be getting the Taco. But yes, Ford will be stealing a LOT of Taco sales come 2019. I mean they've already beat Toyota downunder saleswise (Ranger vs Hilux).

 

I'm a taco man through and through but thought this was...interesting. Ranger I spotted in Saigon this am.

 

It's sweet that the Ranger already has aftermarket support on hand from overseas. And the torque to move all that weight around.