My Ranger test drive impressions
#1
11-14-2018, 11:36 AM
My Ranger test drive impressions
we signed up to test drive the new Ranger at Expo East last weekend. They had a nice off-road course set up on a hill similar to what Land Rover does if you've ever seen one of those.
Well it rained cats and dogs Thursday night and all day Friday and they decided not to use the track they had built. In all fairness I saw a Unimog with all wheels locked get so stuck in the parking area that a JD dozer had to pull it out!
Finally got to test drive the truck on a gravel road and a rural road as well for about 15 minutes.
My overall impression is that the truck is very well built and the suspension is nice and tight. Also, the seats were super comfortable. As you might expect it is bigger than my '07 Ranger but smaller than my F-350 inside.
it seemed like it had plenty of get up and go and the 10 speed tranny was flawless. I was able to scroll through the computer and find the mileage listed at 22.8 and 23 MPG so I would expect the highway mileage to be in the 25 to 30 mpg range.
Unfortunately our guide knew less about the truck than I did and was more interested in bragging about how many Marriott miles he was accumulating.....
Well it rained cats and dogs Thursday night and all day Friday and they decided not to use the track they had built. In all fairness I saw a Unimog with all wheels locked get so stuck in the parking area that a JD dozer had to pull it out!
Finally got to test drive the truck on a gravel road and a rural road as well for about 15 minutes.
My overall impression is that the truck is very well built and the suspension is nice and tight. Also, the seats were super comfortable. As you might expect it is bigger than my '07 Ranger but smaller than my F-350 inside.
it seemed like it had plenty of get up and go and the 10 speed tranny was flawless. I was able to scroll through the computer and find the mileage listed at 22.8 and 23 MPG so I would expect the highway mileage to be in the 25 to 30 mpg range.
Unfortunately our guide knew less about the truck than I did and was more interested in bragging about how many Marriott miles he was accumulating.....
#2
11-14-2018, 03:01 PM
Sounds like you didn't have a chance to get it out on the highway and let the little 2.3 Turbo show its stuff? How was the maneuverability? The handling in tight spaces? Did you have a chance to experience that? That is one thing that my F-150 can NOT do is get around in tight spaces!
Thanks for the honest account account. What were your impressions of the truck going into this drive experience? What are your impressions now? Do you like it more, less, the same? Would you buy one?
Thanks for the honest account account. What were your impressions of the truck going into this drive experience? What are your impressions now? Do you like it more, less, the same? Would you buy one?
#3
11-14-2018, 03:09 PM
Sounds like you didn't have a chance to get it out on the highway and let the little 2.3 Turbo show its stuff? How was the maneuverability? The handling in tight spaces? Did you have a chance to experience that? That is one thing that my F-150 can NOT do is get around in tight spaces!
Thanks for the honest account account. What were your impressions of the truck going into this drive experience? What are your impressions now? Do you like it more, less, the same? Would you buy one?
Thanks for the honest account account. What were your impressions of the truck going into this drive experience? What are your impressions now? Do you like it more, less, the same? Would you buy one?
Like I said, the handling was very tight and I feel confident it is more maneuverable than the F-150. While the truck is physically bigger than the older Ranger it drove like a smaller truck.
Although the drive was very short and I will need more seat time to make a final decision nothing I saw/felt made me think less of it. I will have to do back to back drives with the Colorado and new Jeep pick up to make a final decision...
#4
11-14-2018, 06:08 PM
I drove a 2010 Ranger with the 2.3 DOHC motor, and if you think that engine is slow; have you ever driven a 1st gen Ranger with the previous 2.3 SOHC Pinto motor in all its 85hp glory? My 86 Supercab 2.3 Ranger had a 0-60 time of take a nap! 
It was a hard worker but that little truck was all guts-no glory! 
g It was rather embarrassing sometimes being passed by a VW Bug! I loved that little truck though and it served our family very well. There were times I saw that truck do things that it simply should not have been capable of doing. It didn't do it very quickly, but slow and steady wins the race every single time!
I intend to take a hard look at this new Ranger when I'm ready to replace my current F-150. But like you said, I will also be cross-shopping it against the GM twins; and I may also take a look at the Nissan Frontier and maybe the Jeep truck (if that ever actually comes to fruition). Due to some prior bad experiences with Chrysler products, Fiat-Chrysler still has some work to do to prove to me that they can be taken seriously.
It was a hard worker but that little truck was all guts-no glory! g It was rather embarrassing sometimes being passed by a VW Bug! I loved that little truck though and it served our family very well. There were times I saw that truck do things that it simply should not have been capable of doing. It didn't do it very quickly, but slow and steady wins the race every single time! I intend to take a hard look at this new Ranger when I'm ready to replace my current F-150. But like you said, I will also be cross-shopping it against the GM twins; and I may also take a look at the Nissan Frontier and maybe the Jeep truck (if that ever actually comes to fruition). Due to some prior bad experiences with Chrysler products, Fiat-Chrysler still has some work to do to prove to me that they can be taken seriously.
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