Faults:

TCS light will randomly come on and stay on till the truck is shut off and restarted (wheel speed sensor?).

General Comments:

With the 4.0L V6, the truck gets less than stellar gas mileage. The seats are decently comfortable, but due to the front torsion bar suspension it has a very bumpy ride. Especially compared to my previous car.

The factory limited slip works great in the snow, especially with some weight in the bed.

The 3.55 rear gears make it chore to tow anything over 4000lbs. 4.10s would be best.

With this truck being 2WD and having the 4.0L, it's pretty quick. Would be even better with the 5 speed manual.

Faults:

The Ranger has a very slight rattle somewhere in the dash. It only seems to do it when it's cold.

Other than that, nothing.

General Comments:

It doesn't ride quite as well as my old Landcruiser, but I just put that down to the different suspension designs. At least it gets vastly better fuel economy than the old Toyota. The LC got 23-25L/100Km. The Ranger gets about 8L/100Km. Overall, I'm very pleased with the car. It has excellent torque and power.

On a recent work trip we had a Ranger as a hire car. It was an older model with over 400,000Km on the clock, and it was very badly abused (ex mining vehicle). The old Ranger performed and handled very well considering its condition. I will be a happy man if my Ranger drives as well as that one with that many Km's on it.

Faults:

I just purchased a 2011 Ford Ranger in Canada 4 x 4 Sport. I've only put 1500 Klm on the truck so far, but now there is a knock in the transmission. When I put the truck in Drive, the knocking can be heard below. This is also noticed by passengers when we come to a red light and I put my foot on the brake. I've had it to the dealer 3 times thus far with no results of a cause or fix. I was fed up with the dealer, so I called Ford directly; they called the dealer, and ordered them to take my truck in and find out what the knock is.

The A/C will not turn off; it's on all the time, plus the muffler resonates a sound when idling.

My old GMC Sonoma had 4000 KLM and ran like a gem; go figure.

General Comments:

Nice truck. Rides well, but has service history issues.

Faults:

Tailgate cable needed to be adjusted (under warranty).

Squeaky clutch pedal (lubrication added at no cost).

General Comments:

I have been in the market for trucks for 6 years, and never could afford one or find one to my liking. Until recently I was looking at 2005-2011 Tacoma and Frontier, but they were way out of my price range, so I began looking at used 2005 and recent Rangers, and all were reasonably priced. Ford was offering great rebates on the new 2011 Ranger, therefore I decided that was the best way to go, and I don't regret it.

I am aware that I have owned the truck a such short period of time, and therefore will base my review on my CURRENT experience and update it. As of now, the truck has impressed me, I went into the dealership wanting a manual 2wd with Supercab, power options and AC and was lucky to have one in Canada already built. So I bought it without hesitation.

Handling, Suspension, Brakes:

The truck handles great, except the turning radius does feel more like a full size, but I don't mind making 3 point turns. The steering does have a great sporty feel, being direct and having good response when you are up to speed, but the bed can be jittery when empty. I currently have 200 lbs in it for more traction in the snow, and it now takes bumps and potholes in a car like fashion. The 4 wheel disc brakes have a great feel to them, but I do feel they can be a little be touchy when parked for more than a day, which I believe can be normal for car just being broken in during winter. The truck does feel its own weight during heavy cornering, but it is manageable and normal at a vehicle of this height.

Performance, Fuel Economy:

The 4L offers great performance, it gets to speed easily without pushing the truck or bringing up the RPM too high. The manual and clutch feel is excellent, one of the best I have driven, and it impresses me every time. I haven't tried towing with it or under load, but empty the truck is faster than some are willing to admit, and can pass cars with ease. Fuel economy is decent, but again it's being broken in, so it can only get better from here, but I still get 500 Kms on a tank of 74L in winter for mostly city driving. The truck is rated at 29 MPG. I am really glad that the Ranger includes traction control, stability management and roll over management on all Rangers; it works great in even thick snow.

Fit and Finish, Interior components:

Fit and finish is solid, no creaks or a peep from any of the interior components, the wind noise is good with very little noise from the stock Goodyear tires, and you hear the 4L only when you want to. I like the easy to read instrument panel (night and day), all the buttons are at hands length, but the long manual shifter can get in the way of the climate controls, but only at night when it's very dark. The sound system is good, MP3 compatibility, CD and 4 speakers do their job, but the sound could be better in my opinion, but it's more than enough for the average buyer. The glove box, does not have a locking feature, which would be nice, and is on the small side, but can fit what you need.

Exterior Features:

I can't comment much on this element, since I have yet to use it yet, but the 6 ft bed is enough for normal use, and it does have tie down hooks, which are convenient, but the tailgate does not lock either. Unfortunately the 2wd does not come with mudflaps, I did get them included in the deal at not extra cost. The truck has great ride height, higher than most 2wd trucks and has a great stance. I am really fond of its exterior, from its fog lights to the fenderflares. It's a great looking truck, I am looking forward to trying it in the summer, and I will try and keep this up to date.