After 3 weeks of driving in multiple conditions (city, highway, icy roads, snow storm, short trip, long trip, off-road), this truck is starting to grow on me. From coming out of a leased F150 and then a Flex, there was definitely an adjustment to the smaller size, but overall it fits what I need. Although I sacrificed capacity of the larger vehicles, it was overkill. I do tow, but rarely, and my car hauler with the Mustang is only 4500 lbs. The real benefit of the trade-off is the day-to-day (about 99% of the time) convenience of more garage space, easier parking than the F150 at Home Depot, grocery store, church, etc. and better fuel economy.

Likes:

Power / acceleration – Slightly sluggish from a dead stop, but from 10mph on up, the power is incredible. And from 40-80 in “sport mode” it’s just a blast. Holy smokes this thing flies! Freeway travel (South Dakota 80mph limits) and 2 lane passing is completely effortless.

Fuel economy – Too soon to tell. So far averaging 19.9 overall since new but It’s been sub-zero temps, lots of warmup idling, stop-go rush hour traffic, my heavy foot, etc. On the highway it been doing 25-29. I find it amazing to get reasonable fuel economy with so much on-demand power.

Handling / maneuverability – Feels surprisingly road-stable for being a smaller truck with higher COG and narrower track. Drove about 300 miles in a snowstorm with shoulder-to-shoulder ice covered highway. While others were creeping along at 30-40, I had no problem cruising past at 50-55 (thank you Electronic Stability Control!).

Features / Convenience – After the base-level XLT package on the F150, I ordered the Ranger loaded up with the “works” (Lariat, parking sensors, crash avoidance, lane keeping, heated leather seats, auto HVAC, Off-road, sport-appearance, trailer-tow pkg, auto this, auto that, etc). Still adjusting to every bell and whistle, but this is some cool s**t! Loving the Ford-Pass Connect (allows me to remote start, lock/unlock, check tire pressures, and soooo much more, all from my phone).

Headlights – all I can say about this is….BADASS!! It lights up the highway like friggin’ daylight, and in all the right places.

Dislikes:

Ride – still adjusting to this. With the narrower track width and higher relative COG (especially compared to the Flex), it does feel a bit “rocky” over rougher roads, uneven parking lots, drive entrances, etc. But then it’s a smaller truck and there’s only so much you can do with laws of physics. And no doubt the Off-road package contributes to the roughness.

HVAC auto control – seems a bit “bi-polar.” Can’t seem to maintain a consistent temp without cycling between hot-cold temperature swings from the vents. Slightly irritating.

Tires – the performance is OK but the raised white letter Hankooks are just, well….ugly! Might have to swap those around to blackwalls out.

Back seat storage – I thought this would be OK, but the more I use the truck, the more I miss having more “tuck-away” storage. There’s some, just not enough for my preference. And then again there is, it’s a small truck.

That’s all for now, I’ll add more in the coming months as I get more miles behind me.

 

Thanks for real feedback. I'm looking at them myself, but trying to wait for the next generation, to "hopefully" more engine choices, and maybe a bit better package layout and colors.
Please keep us up to date.
BTW, do you think a good shock absorber package is needed, like on the F150?

 

Not at all. Shocks are plenty robust (if anything I would prefer something a bit softer).
Plus - it's a lease, so I won;t be doing any mods.

 

 

Thanks for the first-hand report so far. I'm looking at buying one myself also, but at least not for another year or two. My current F-150 will be paid off in 2021; might wait at least that long. And being in transition mode in my career right now this isn't a good time to be truck shopping. The company I've been with for nearly 9 years is circling the drain so I need to transition into a new job before I go down with it.

 

I was so excited the day Ford made it official that we'd get a "new" Ranger. I thought about leasing one when my current lease is up, but man, I think Ford chopped this thing bad. These were seen as test mules back in 2015! Yet the rear seat utility is a joke because there isn't any. The chassis/ ride is being bashed, first by MT and now Edmunds basically said the same thing. "The truck is like a pogo stick/ too unsettled etc." I don't try to take much from the opinions of testers, but owners are starting to report the ride is "different". Plus the more I look into Tacoma, the clearer it is to me why it's #1. Look at the back seat and bed flexibility. The rugged good looks and off road cred. Ford is the only brand truck I have ever bought new along with several Ford cars, but I just think this Ranger is another Ford failure like the EcoSport. They tried so hard to get into the market as cheaply as possible, in both cases that they have failed us Ford loyalist. They didn't skimp on the Ranger price tho. It's not that it's a terrible truck, but it is no where near the top of the class. It is more "Frontier" than it is "Tacoma/Colorado", yet Ford priced it like it is the new bar.

 

 

2nd Gen Taco had a religious following. Many atheists in the 3 gen forums on the site I used to go to before I got my F150.

 

Have done several 5+ hour drives, and even with lower back issues, I feel like I could drive all day in these seats all day.
Power and lumbar are fully adjustable to "tweak" the positions just right.
And then with leather and heat - nice!
Actually, my wife is the big fan of the heated seats - I never use them.

 

A few photos...
Winter driving




A lot more "walking room" in my garage. With the F150 I had only inches to spare. This is better, more room for the '62 too!

 

FYI, the FX4 comes with special shocks, so this would be your shock "package" on the Ranger.