2009 Ford Ranger XL 2.3L OHC
Summary:
A good little work truck
Faults:
U joints went bad just before 130,000 miles.
Several sets of tires and brakes.
General Comments:
This is a delivery truck for my auto parts store. We have several of these trucks, but the one I'm reviewing is a 3 year old unit with over 130k miles on it. The other trucks are too new to comment on.
It is a basic Ranger XL regular cab short box. The Ranger has a rubber floor, vinyl seat, crank windows, AM/FM radio, plastic bed liner. This is a basic truck that gets decent fuel mileage. I checked the mileage, and with two drivers that drive with a heavy foot, the truck got about 22mpg in mostly stop-and-go delivery driving.
Ford Rangers are durable, no getting around that fact. The seats are supportive and the vinyl seating surface is easy to clean.
The steering wheel blocks the view of the speedometer, but it has a thick rim, which makes it comfortable to grip in tricky driving.
The suspension can be twitchy until it settles in. Going around tight turns with bumps will cause the back truck to get "loose". Once broken in, they corner pretty well..
Cup holders hold cans, 20oz bottles and 16 oz coffee cups well. There is a small console on the floor up against the firewall, with one deep partitioned area and a shallow partitioned area. The console holds pads, pens and CDs. The glove box locks, and is a good place to keep your GPS and other things you want out of sight. Behind the seat is just enough space for a road side safety kit and a jug of washer solvent.
If I were to buy one of these, it would have to be the extended cab, tilt steering wheel, and would prefer a stick shift and the 4 cylinder.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 23rd September, 2011
11th Mar 2015, 08:01
I was the original poster to this review. Forgot I even posted this. The Ranger I had been driving when I was a delivery dude back then made it to somewhere short of 200k miles before being wrecked. However other units that ranged from 03 to 2011 made it well past 200k miles with basic upkeep, u-joints, brake parts and that's about it.
My truck got about 18 MPG during the winter, idling at every stop with defrost and wipers going... an awful truck in regular cab, but easy to get around in the city and in tight parking lots. The extended cab models have more room and a longer wheelbase, so they actually ride pretty well.
If you want a simple yet rugged, pint-sized truck, the Ranger is tops. Fully boxed frame rails, 8.8 rear end and not anywhere near enough power to hurt itself these, little buggers are solid. Oh and the sheet metal is thick. The bed sides are actually double walled according to the sales papers of the time. Sometimes large truck tires would get away from me and hit my truck - no dents, just a rubber mark. Ford Tough for sure.... well I think I wasted enough time writing about a delivery truck.