Thinking about a Ford Ranger

chartbundle said:
I used to be a die hard manual transmission fan, then I realized that I wasn't doing any driving for fun any more and any time I go within 30 miles of a city I end up stuck in traffic where there's no 'fun' to be had. So I joined the rest of the zombie automatic drivers. Next I want adaptive cruise control to manage things even more automatically.
Click to expand...
My brother-in-law just bought a new F150 with Lane Assist and Adaptive Cruise. He demonstrated Park Assist as well which was pretty neat.
 
Grum.Man said:
Because it's usually tied in with the better engine and towing packages running the cost up even more.
Click to expand...
I really would have been happy with a single cab, longer bed, fewer options truck, but the Colorado Diesel only came in the huge cab, fancy seats, etc
 
in 1997 base F150 regular cab, 2wd, V6, MSRP: $14,500. Inflation adjusted: $22,836
in 2019 XL(cheapest i found on Ford's site) F150 regular cab, 2wd, V6, MSRP: $28,155

About 25% increase in cost. I don't feel like getting into features to compare the two years. I would think that 2019 truck is at least 25% better in terms of quality, features, ride, etc....

So, doesn't seem like new trucks are really all that expensive.

OTOH, if you make a similar comparison with an average sedan, you will end up upside down. New car being cheaper than old one.
1997 Base Toyota Camry: $16,448, Adjusted: $25,904
2019 Base Toyota Camry: $23,945

Again, a lot more features in the car today and also, really, old Camry is more like a new Corolla

So, from that point of view, trucks have went up in cost significantly.

------
I will give up my manual to an eventual BEV. For now, i will keep shifting my own gears for as long as it is possible.
 
chartbundle said:
I have the Diesel Colorado, the only times I even notice it's a Diesel is the turbo lag(probably similar to an ecoboost) and when I'm idling.

Oh, and the 28MPG I get.
Click to expand...

I picked up a 2019 Diesel Colorado at the end of last year, when they were doing employee pricing on them. Crew Cab longbed 4x4 Z71 and I get 27 mpg driving at 70(+) mph, and saw 32 mpg when I did a long stretch cruising at about 60 mph. 15 mpg towing a 5,000# scout troop trailer and full load of gear and scouts from LA to Lake Mead and back. My typical mixed driving in LA gets me about 24 mpg combined city/highway. Even the worst stop-and-go, long idle situations is 19 mpg.

I run it on Propel HPR diesel 90% of the time (basically, whenever I can get it), which is 98% renewable-source (mostly plant), has virtually no smell going in or out, and isn't greasy to handle at the pump. The Propel HPR diesel is consistently >$0.10 cheaper than regular diesel, and currently running the same price as mid-grade gas in my town, and with summer gas prices on the way, will likely be cheaper than all gas pretty soon.

There are definitely a few places where the Colorado could be better - the front seat comfort, for sure, and interior is ergonomically good, but nothing special. I wish the tailgate locked with the remote, though I know there is a $150 aftermarket fix for that.

I drive mountain roads a lot though, and the diesel is fantastic. It never runs out of power. Not fast, but pretty quiet, smooth and easy power. 6,500 miles in 3.5 months and zero problems. The exhaust brake is pretty nice too.
 
genna said:
So, from that point of view, trucks have went up in cost significantly.
Click to expand...

This difference is also a demand-curve result. Less demand for the sedans=low margin pricing; higher demand for trucks=higher margin pricing. No doubt, truck and SUV profits are what keep the auto companies profitable the last several years.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
To me, 20mpg from a mid size truck is an acceptable minimum but I would definitely stop short of calling it efficient. You need to be in the 25+ range to earn that title in my book.
Click to expand...
That is available too, if you want to drive at 60 mph.

However I drive 80 mph everywhere.

If I wanted a different truck, it would require a one ton, with a diesel. The other brands do not have anything that competes unless you step up. Those trucks will not get 20 mpg. Hence why it’s efficient; all relative to the mission.
 
chartbundle said:
I used to be a die hard manual transmission fan, then I realized that I wasn't doing any driving for fun any more and any time I go within 30 miles of a city I end up stuck in traffic where there's no 'fun' to be had. So I joined the rest of the zombie automatic drivers. Next I want adaptive cruise control to manage things even more automatically.
Click to expand...

My wife's new Accord has manual transmission and ACC. The little turbo engine has such a wide power band that it works pretty well. At some point it beeps to remind you to shift down.
 
chartbundle said:
I used to be a die hard manual transmission fan, then I realized that I wasn't doing any driving for fun any more and any time I go within 30 miles of a city I end up stuck in traffic where there's no 'fun' to be had. So I joined the rest of the zombie automatic drivers. Next I want adaptive cruise control to manage things even more automatically.
Click to expand...

Different strokes. I don't mind driving a manual transmission in stop-and-go traffic, and rather enjoy the shifting. There is no car I own or have driven that I think wouldn't be improved with a manual. Even my Lincoln Town Car I wanted to put a manual transmission swap in.

Adaptive cruise, that's another story. Our E55 has that and we do like it. Makes cruise control more useful.
 
genna said:
in 1997 base F150 regular cab, 2wd, V6, MSRP: $14,500. Inflation adjusted: $22,836
in 2019 XL(cheapest i found on Ford's site) F150 regular cab, 2wd, V6, MSRP: $28,155

About 25% increase in cost. I don't feel like getting into features to compare the two years. I would think that 2019 truck is at least 25% better in terms of quality, features, ride, etc....

So, doesn't seem like new trucks are really all that expensive.

OTOH, if you make a similar comparison with an average sedan, you will end up upside down. New car being cheaper than old one.
1997 Base Toyota Camry: $16,448, Adjusted: $25,904
2019 Base Toyota Camry: $23,945

Again, a lot more features in the car today and also, really, old Camry is more like a new Corolla

So, from that point of view, trucks have went up in cost significantly.

------
I will give up my manual to an eventual BEV. For now, i will keep shifting my own gears for as long as it is possible.
Click to expand...

The 2019's City fuel mileage is the same as the 1997's Hwy mileage. :) Ride comfort, handling/acceleration, towing/hauling capacities are all up a reasonable amount as well. So, the $5,500 inflation-adjusted price delta is mostly justifiable for tangible improvements to the model itself.
 
SoonerAviator said:
The 2019's City fuel mileage is the same as the 1997's Hwy mileage. :) Ride comfort, handling/acceleration, towing/hauling capacities are all up a reasonable amount as well. So, the $5,500 inflation-adjusted price delta is mostly justifiable for tangible improvements to the model itself.
Click to expand...

That was my point. At least it started out as my point until I did the same comparison on a Camry. 2019 and 1997 are miles apart in all those tangible improvements. Coupled with a lot more regulations in passenger car market. Yet a new Camry is actually $2000 cheaper than the old one.

Some of that is demand driven, of course, but this trend precedes current "carpocalipse".

Edit: BTW, that's 5 generations of Camry and 4 generations of F150.

No wonder car makers love selling trucks. Making money hand over fist. Incidentally, truck market is a "protected" market with the "Chicken Tax" unlike car market
 
Last edited:
I'm curious with the new Ranger how it does going down steep grades fully loaded and/or with a trailer. My experience with small displacement turbos is they are good at flat land driving, but lack transmission-braking power, which is hard on the brakes.
 
Jeff Oslick said:
I'm curious with the new Ranger how it does going down steep grades fully loaded and/or with a trailer. My experience with small displacement turbos is they are good at flat land driving, but lack transmission-braking power, which is hard on the brakes.
Click to expand...
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Different strokes.
Click to expand...

Indeed, and when it comes to Chrysler products, better you than me, my friend.

I've owned a bunch of them. Used to have an in-law that worked at their Fenton, Mo plant and I Could buy at employee pricing which was CHEAP. I could drive a car/truck for a year, sell it, make money, and buy another one.

I have NEVER had as many issues with cars. Most of the items were covered under warranty but it still took an inordinate amount of time to work thru things. Jeeps/cars/trucks/all of 'em.

And the biggest POS of all. A 2008 3/4T Cummins turbo diesel. It was my company truck for three years and I've NEVER had a vehicle in the shop as much as that thing was. It ate three turbos in less than 70k miles and was an absolutely miserable POS (comfort wise) to take on long road trips. And in those days I was working 8 to 10 hours from home.

The last turbo failed internally and took out every sensor, filter and other emissions thingies coming in and going out. It took multiple weeks to fix. When I picked it up I asked how much it would've cost had it not been under warranty. I don't recall the exact answer, it's been almost a decade now, but it was well over $5k. Within a month it was traded in for a Chevy. No way I was going to own that truck past the drivetrain warranty.

Chevys are definitely the most comfortable truck (for me) if you're typical driving includes long trips. You sit "in" the seats, not "on top" of them like I did in that Dodge and I do in Fords.
 
All I want in a truck is 4wd/air/tilt/cruise and heated mirrors for the winter time. But now if you want heated mirrors, you gotta buy the "bend over and take it" package.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
<Old Man Voice>In my day, trucks didn't even have seats. We found a milk crate in a dumpster and we sat on that and we liked it!</Old Man Voice>
Click to expand...
You had milk crates?!? We had to use barrel cactus.
 
timwinters said:
Indeed, and when it comes to Chrysler products, better you than me, my friend.

I've owned a bunch of them. Used to have an in-law that worked at their Fenton, Mo plant and I Could buy at employee pricing which was CHEAP. I could drive a car/truck for a year, sell it, make money, and buy another one.

I have NEVER had as many issues with cars. Most of the items were covered under warranty but it still took an inordinate amount of time to work thru things. Jeeps/cars/trucks/all of 'em.

And the biggest POS of all. A 2008 3/4T Cummins turbo diesel. It was my company truck for three years and I've NEVER had a vehicle in the shop as much as that thing was. It ate three turbos in less than 70k miles and was an absolutely miserable POS (comfort wise) to take on long road trips. And in those days I was working 8 to 10 hours from home.

The last turbo failed internally and took out every sensor, filter and other emissions thingies coming in and going out. It took multiple weeks to fix. When I picked it up I asked how much it would've cost had it not been under warranty. I don't recall the exact answer, it's been almost a decade now, but it was well over $5k. Within a month it was traded in for a Chevy. No way I was going to own that truck past the drivetrain warranty.

Chevys are definitely the most comfortable truck (for me) if you're typical driving includes long trips. You sit "in" the seats, not "on top" of them like I did in that Dodge and I do in Fords.
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of Chrysler products on the whole, but I am a fan of the Cummins engine and that's why I bought my first Ram in 2004 and now this one in 2017. In the case of the first one I drove it 108,000 miles in 2 years and did nothing to it besides change fluids and get it aligned once after pulling it out of the mud with a school bus that I borrowed (that's another story). The new one, we'll see.

Mechanically, I'd say you bought yours at about the worst possible time. That was the real start of emissions kicking in hard for the diesels, and so you had the early years of the 6.7 and the DPF. Then DEF got added in 2012 or so. By 2017, all of those emissions systems had been out for a while. Before buying the truck I checked to see what people were saying, and while you did have the occasional person who had bad luck with the emissions equipment, by and large things were positive. I don't like to be the first one to adopt "NEW!", part of the reason why I don't want a 2019 Ram with the "NEW!" lightweight block, etc.

Comfort wise, every butt is different. Personally I find Fords the most comfortable and I loved the King Ranch seats I put in my 2003 F-350 that I had before the Ram. My 2000 Excursion was also great, it was a Limited with leather. Didn't like my wife's Avalanche that she had - it was comfortable but the ergos weren't great for me. My Ram was a bit firm when I got it but it's broken in some. I'd still take a Ford interior if I had the choice. Maybe when I wear out the seats in this one I'll see if I can find a good condition Laramie Longhorn interior to pull out, that might be better.

We'll see. The thing may prove to be a giant POS, but so far I've put 30k miles on it trouble-free. I had to take it to the dealer for a recall recently on the drag link, but otherwise I just put in fuel and DEF. I'll do the deletes at some point so that I like driving it better.

Next truck should have a 12V71 and a twin-stick 24-speed.
 
Gerhardt said:
I don't know...I'm with Sooner on this one. I've owned a few Rangers over the years and they all got terrible mileage. And I drive like an old man.
Click to expand...

92-Year-Old Cautioned By Police For Speeding In Golf Buggy

efb563b736d4d8e1acf75f5419f6d5a3.jpg
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Fewer and fewer people know how to drive manual transmissions, and it's easier to be harder on the driveline that way. Automatic - anyone gets in and drives.
Click to expand...
In addition, autos show a better mileage. This is necessary for automakers who are struggling with the CAFE compliance.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Comfort wise, every butt is different.
Click to expand...

Personally, if I can't rest both elbows on something, and still comfortably steer, I'm not buying it. Making me hold my arm in the air on a multi-hour road trip ain't happenin'.

Both of my trucks have center consoles and door armrests that are in the proper location for elbow resting.
 
timwinters said:
Personally, if I can't rest both elbows on something, and still comfortably steer, I'm not buying it. Making me hold my arm in the air on a multi-hour road trip ain't happenin'.

Both of my trucks have center consoles and door armrests that are in the proper location for elbow resting.
Click to expand...

You make this too complicated.

I sit in vehicle. I see if I like driving. If I like, I buy.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
You make this too complicated.

I sit in vehicle. I see if I like driving. If I like, I buy.
Click to expand...
Me too, but "to like" I have to be able to comfortably rest my elbows when driving. (This coming from a guy who averaged 40k to 50k/yr for ten years...and 150 to 200+ hours in the air.)
 
timwinters said:
Personally, if I can't rest both elbows on something, and still comfortably steer, I'm not buying it. Making me hold my arm in the air on a multi-hour road trip ain't happenin'.

Both of my trucks have center consoles and door armrests that are in the proper location for elbow resting.
Click to expand...

Same here!!! I cannot fathom how this is overlooked by product management. Even worse than that is when the door arm rest and the center arm rest are different heights.
 
timwinters said:
Me too, but "to like" I have to be able to comfortably rest my elbows when driving. (This coming from a guy who averaged 40k to 50k/yr for ten years...and 150 to 200+ hours in the air.)
Click to expand...

I was averaging similar number of miles for a while, and as for your hours, I laugh at your puny logbook entries. ;)

I do largely agree, though. I've owned some vehicles that have omitted those and I've done other arrangements to add them in.
 
@Mtns2Skies, that's a pretty truck. But it has too much cab and not enough bed. Wish my old Ranger was King Cab instead of regular cab, though--the extra space would be great!
 
Hank S said:
@Mtns2Skies,... But it has too much cab and not enough bed. ....
Click to expand...

That’s the problem with all 4-door short beds today.

I had to search for 15 months just to find a 2017 F-150 SCrew with 154” wheelbase, which I think is the right bed length if you’re going to use the bed.

Not a single dealer had one in stock new. Finally found a special order that was for sale by a private party.

Glad @Mtn2Skies found what he wanted.
 
Hank S said:
@Mtns2Skies, that's a pretty truck. But it has too much cab and not enough bed. Wish my old Ranger was King Cab instead of regular cab, though--the extra space would be great!
Click to expand...
I just saw the new Jeep pickup, it suffers from the same problem, someone else is working on an electric pickup, same thing. Personally I consider the 6 foot(tailgate closed) in my pickup to be about the minimum usable. Below that I'm just not seeing the usefulness compared to an SUV.
 
Hank S said:
@Mtns2Skies, that's a pretty truck. But it has too much cab and not enough bed.
Click to expand...
Just about all mid-size pickups are like that. When I bought my Frontier a few people told me I'd regret not getting the extended bed. That was 6 years ago, I'm still waiting for the regret to kick in. I use the bed often but I can't really say I wish it was bigger.
 
My seat is adjustable in a million ways. I set the seat height so that my elbows are at the perfect rest height.
 
chartbundle said:
I just saw the new Jeep pickup, it suffers from the same problem, someone else is working on an electric pickup, same thing. Personally I consider the 6 foot(tailgate closed) in my pickup to be about the minimum usable. Below that I'm just not seeing the usefulness compared to an SUV.
Click to expand...

The Jeep pickup also suffers from being ugly as sin. Should have brought back the Comanche.
 
TCABM said:
That’s the problem with all 4-door short beds today.

I had to search for 15 months just to find a 2017 F-150 SCrew with 154” wheelbase, which I think is the right bed length if you’re going to use the bed.

Not a single dealer had one in stock new. Finally found a special order that was for sale by a private party.

Glad @Mtn2Skies found what he wanted.
Click to expand...

Meh, I’ve got the F-150 Screw w/5.5’ bed. In a decade of ownership I can think of only once or twice that the bed wasn’t big enough to haul what I needed with the tailgate up. The flip out tailgate extender solves that problem easily. Anything bigger than that I just use an 18’ utility trailer. Some guys need an 8’ bed to haul full plywood sheets with the tailgate up, most truck owners don’t seem to need that capability very often. I obviously prefer the better turning radius and parking than the extra foot or two of bed length.

Different strokes.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Meh, I’ve got the F-150 Screw w/5.5’ bed. In a decade of ownership I can think of only once or twice that the bed wasn’t big enough to haul what I needed with the tailgate up. The flip out tailgate extender solves that problem easily. Anything bigger than that I just use an 18’ utility trailer. Some guys need an 8’ bed to haul full plywood sheets with the tailgate up, most truck owners don’t seem to need that capability very often. I obviously prefer the better turning radius and parking than the extra foot or two of bed length.

Different strokes.
Click to expand...
I’ve been running that bed size on F150 for almost ten years and have yet to ever need more. 8 ft plywood is fine with the tailgate down.

I absolutely would not want to give up an inch of interior room. Love the interior room. However I also would not want another inch of length, just not practical in the city.

Anything big is better in a trailer that doesn’t sit so damn high. Given that I can pull 10K lbs, a guy is better off towing anyways from a payload capacity and ease of load perspective.
 
My Frontier came with the flip out bed extender and cargo rails package. I went a few years without ever using the bed extender before I finally took it out threw it up in the loft of my shop. I use the truck to move 8' lumber and plywood all the time. I leave the tailgate up and use a strap and nothing ever moves. A longer bed would make the truck bigger with no improvement in utility for me.
 
Hank S said:
But it has too much cab and not enough bed.
Click to expand...
That's a valid point...sorta...

When I bought my 2016 Silverado crew cab, it came with two bed options. 5.5' and 6.5' (finally! earlier years didn't have the 6.5' option in the 1/2 ton series...Only the 3/4 ton).

I definitely went with the 6.5' bed because I need a tool box and, if you throw a 19" wide toolbox in a 5.5' bed...then you don't have any bed left.

Now, if one doesn't need a toolbox then 5.5' is likely adequate for just about all tasks. Must say mine can be a pain to park...it's long. But my 2011 extended cab with an 8' bed was longer (I think).
 
Last edited:
Juliet Hotel said:
My Frontier came with the flip out bed extender and cargo rails package. I went a few years without ever using the bed extender before I finally took it out threw it up in the loft of my shop. I use the truck to move 8' lumber and plywood all the time. I leave the tailgate up and use a strap and nothing ever moves. A longer bed would make the truck bigger with no improvement in utility for me.
Click to expand...

The bed extender isn’t usually too helpful with small lumber lumber anyway since a 2x4 would slide right through mine. Mine usually comes into play when I’ve got something like a couch/loveseat or a bedroom furniture set I just bought which allows me to have a secure guard across the back as a failsafe as well as an anchor point for tie downs/ropes. Also serves as a bed divider when stowed which keeps smaller items from rolling around (say like 4-5 gallon jugs of used motor oil I’m taking up to the auto parts store to be recycled). I don’t want that stuff in the cab in case it were to leak, and it works well in those instances.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top