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2019 Ford Ranger First Drive Review


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Motor Trend just wrote an article on its first drive of 2019 Ford Ranger in the U.S. They confirmed it's a hack job, "an old truck with modern technology". Exactly what I expected when I pre-ordered a 2019 Ranger. Also good news is that the 2.3L engine performs just fine. 0-60 mph in 6.8 seconds for the Crew Cab 4x4. https://www.motortrend.com/cars/ford/ranger/2019/2019-ford-ranger-first-test-review/

"The new Ranger is a great truck if you want an old truck with modern technology and fuel economy, and many truck guys say they want that. More power to them. If you're getting out of a 25-year-old truck and into this one, it'll be an upgrade. The reason we're so down on the Ranger is because Ford completely oversold the differentiation between this truck and the world market version. To hear the Blue Oval tell it, the U.S.-market Ranger is practically an all-new truck with all-new sheetmetal, an all-new powertrain, and all-new technology. Although that's all technically true, it's clear most of the new stuff was a necessity for American crash and emissions compliance, not a fundamental redesign to suit American tastes and expectations. It's a placeholder filling a gap in the product lineup until the next-generation truck arrives in a few years, designed with input from American product planners. That's not a bad thing, but it's not what we were promised, either. You can absolutely teach an old dog new tricks, but you can't expect it to perform like a puppy."

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I'mnot big on defending Ford these days; but at the end of the day this is a truck. It should react and perform as a truck. These sports car magazine editors all judge pick-ups the same as they do an Accord.

 

My mom & step-dad borrowed my F-250 to go about 100 miles to pick up some items. When they returned; mom said to me: "Only a man would buy something that rides that rough!" My reponse: "Mom, why didn't you guys take your Buick to pick up that bedroom suite?" Mom: "The Buick isn't supposed to be able to haul furnitu....ok....I get your point."

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1 hour ago, akirby said:

Ford didn’t want to pony up for the TOTY award.

No hack job will win TOTY. Ford's goal with 2019 Ranger was to rush this product to market so it could have an entry in the fast growing midsize truck segment in the U.S. before the economy goes south.

This satisfies customers like me that own older Rangers. Like Motor Trend said, it will be an upgrade for us. Not a big deal that 2019 Ranger is far from being best in class. As Motor Trend and Blue Oval Forum readers know, there's a completely new Ranger coming in a few years. Ford can do what's needed to make that future Ranger a best in class product. 

Maybe Motor Trend got too caught up in Ford's marketing when they said "it's not what we were promised". Anyone who looks at the details of 2019 U.S. Ranger knows that it's a placeholder.

Edited by rperez817
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1 minute ago, rperez817 said:

No hack job will win TOTY. Ford's goal with 2019 Ranger was to rush this product to market so it could have an entry in the fast growing midsize truck segment in the U.S. before the economy goes south.

This satisfies customers like me that owned or have owned older Rangers and Courier trucks. Like Motor Trend said, it will be an upgrade for us. Not a big deal that 2019 Ranger is far from being best in class. As Motor Trend and Blue Oval Forum readers know, there's a completely new Ranger coming in a few years. Ford can do what's needed to make that future Ranger a best in class product. 

 

First, TOTY has nothing to do with the vehicle and everything to do with advertising plans/cash.  This has been well documented by insiders.

Second - MT makes NO mention of how the Ranger performs relative to its competitors.   Therefore I don't think you can say whether it's competitive or not based on that review.  I don't think the others are all that great either.

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It is what it is. A little harsh being that it performs better in almost every metric compared to it's competitors. It's not ground breaking in the segment though. The segment leader Tacoma has succeeded based solely on it's bullet proof reliability. The whole segment has not been innovative compared to  full size pick ups. Virtually all of them are old dressed up dinosaurs. I don't put this in the Ridgeline category, no matter how Honda markets it.

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2 minutes ago, akirby said:

 

First, TOTY has nothing to do with the vehicle and everything to do with advertising plans/cash.  This has been well documented by insiders.

Second - MT makes NO mention of how the Ranger performs relative to its competitors.   Therefore I don't think you can say whether it's competitive or not based on that review.  I don't think the others are all that great either.

TOTY/COTY/SOTY criteria are here. https://www.motortrend.com/news/how-we-determine-our-car-truck-suv-of-the-year/

MT 2019 Ranger first drive article has a brief comparison to Chevy Colorado V6. It's toward the middle of the article.

"Hitting 60 mph from a stop takes 6.8 seconds, perfectly acceptable despite being nearly half a second behind a Chevrolet Colorado V-6. A 15.2-second standing quarter mile at 91.3 mph means getting on the freeway is no chore, though you'll still be chasing that Chevy. Things look just as good in the handling data, despite Reynolds' subjective opinion that it's "really bad at the limit." He continued: "You can explain some of this away by pointing at the tires, but the truck's damping is very absent. There's lots of roll but too much bounding after that." Still, it pulled 0.75 average g on the skidpad, just behind the Colorado's 0.78 g. The Ranger was even closer on the figure-eight course, completing a lap in 27.7 seconds at 0.61 g average, just a smidge behind the Colorado's 27.6-second lap at 0.63 average g.

Braking likewise looks good on paper. The Ranger actually out-braked the Colorado from 60 mph, 127 feet to 128. Had the brakes not been stinking to high heaven and the tester's notes not read "big delay between pedal hit and actual slowing, as braking begins at the max dive angle—like taking up all the slack first," it would've been at least one decisive victory for the Blue Oval."

I'd like to see a comparison among Ranger, Colorado, Tacoma, Ridgeline, Frontier. Maybe MT will do that later this year.

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5 minutes ago, jcartwright99 said:

It is what it is. A little harsh being that it performs better in almost every metric compared to it's competitors. It's not ground breaking in the segment though. The segment leader Tacoma has succeeded based solely on it's bullet proof reliability. The whole segment has not been innovative compared to  full size pick ups. Virtually all of them are old dressed up dinosaurs. I don't put this in the Ridgeline category, no matter how Honda markets it.

LOL, did you over look the Tacoma frame and leafspring recalls?

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8 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

Certainly not naive enough to think TOTY has "everything to do with advertising plans/cash". You and any so called "insiders"  can believe whatever conspiracy theories y'all want.

If that's not the case then why does the mfr have to submit their advertising plans up front?

 

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3 minutes ago, jcartwright99 said:

Yeah the frame recall was almost 20 MY ago. It's been at least 10 years since the leaf spring recall. I think they have learned their lesson with oxidation over the past 10 years. Doesn't make my statement any less true though.

Was still on going in  2018

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/extension-to-frame-recall-oct-2018.574184/

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10 minutes ago, coupe3w said:

I didn't realize it was still going on. Hilarious (or sad)  that this been on going on for 20 years. One would think they could of come up with solution by now if they wanted to. Yet, this thing still sells more than any other pickup in this segment regardless.

 

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1 hour ago, rperez817 said:

No hack job will win TOTY. Ford's goal with 2019 Ranger was to rush this product to market so it could have an entry in the fast growing midsize truck segment in the U.S. before the economy goes south.

This satisfies customers like me that own older Rangers. Like Motor Trend said, it will be an upgrade for us. Not a big deal that 2019 Ranger is far from being best in class. As Motor Trend and Blue Oval Forum readers know, there's a completely new Ranger coming in a few years. Ford can do what's needed to make that future Ranger a best in class product. 

Maybe Motor Trend got too caught up in Ford's marketing when they said "it's not what we were promised". Anyone who looks at the details of 2019 U.S. Ranger knows that it's a placeholder.

got news for you...it leapfrogs the competition significantly....Id love to know the specifics that Motor Trend considers "hack"....and if / when the upgrade comes its game over...bias aside, I would personally take a Ranger over ANY of its competition...

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1 hour ago, coupe3w said:

Well I saw the proof of that.  I'm northbound on I-495 the other day about 10 miles from Lowell Mass.  I pass a flatbed loaded with new frames!  I thinking I thought Toyota was done with that.  Guess not.

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1 hour ago, Deanh said:

got news for you...it leapfrogs the competition significantly....Id love to know the specifics that Motor Trend considers "hack"....and if / when the upgrade comes its game over...bias aside, I would personally take a Ranger over ANY of its competition...

2019 U.S. Ford Ranger is a refreshed version of a 10 year old truck. People who do their research know that. Ford's hack job approach with 2019 Ranger allows them to participate in the hot U.S. midsize pickup truck market now.

And that should be good enough for existing U.S. Ranger owners. It is for me, that's why I pre-ordered one. I'm happy Ford didn't wait until 2022 to give American buyers a midsize truck offering. Look forward to taking delivery of my 2019 Ranger XLT 4x2 Supercab in a few months.

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I suspect ranger depriciation will be significantly higher than other similar offerings....no chance the ranger knocks the taco off the small segment truck mountain...you want a small truck by all means buy the ranger...just dont believe it will reinvent the small truck segment...at the end of the day it still falls far short of anything in the full size segment...with f150 mpg as it is now i keep asking myself why ford dumped cash into this segment..

Ps:  motor trend is garbage

Edited by snooter
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I think using the term hack-job insinuates they held this thing together with bailing wire and duct tape.  The truck is on an older platform, but admirable in its longevity while still being competitive. There's older stuff out there (re: 300 / Charger / Challenger) that sell pretty good for what they are as well.

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There was a ton of hyperbole in that article, as such I take it with a grain of salt. I don’t put much stock in MT opinions regarding trucks, because I feel like their testing approach is biased by their car testing roots as was stated earlier in this thread. 

It is true the truck has some old bones, but they make it sound like it was hardly updated and isa pile of garbage.  This is the only review I have seen/read to date that wasn’t favorable.

 

 

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35 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

2019 U.S. Ford Ranger is a refreshed version of a 10 year old truck. People who do their research know that. Ford's hack job approach with 2019 Ranger allows them to participate in the hot U.S. midsize pickup truck market now.

T6 Ranger s now just 8 years old (not 10) and to tell the truth much younger than Colorado and Tacoma that stretch  back to the early  2000s.

Ford the last 12 months I've been telling you guys that this Ranger is a piggy back off the final global refresh, what has now suddenly changed save for Motor trend wringing their fists in rage?

It seems like your new favorite word is hack job, or is your open mind now so colored that you see Ranger differently?

Ford chose to re-enter the mid sized truck market with a mature platform that has all the bugs worked out but not only that, Ford gives class leading performance with 2.3 Ecoboost and 10-speed auto across the board. Not bad for a "hack job".

Edited by jpd80
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