The True Ancestor of the 5G Ranger

[DapperDean]

This Explorer SporT Trac was parked in front of Farley Ranger, my 2020 Ranger Lariat. It hit me that the only things that the current Ranger and past Rangers have in common is that they aren't Ford F-150s and the name, When it comes to size, looks, four-door availablity and sophistication of platforms, the Sport Trac is the true ancestor of my Ranger.

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[Joeiconic]

The concept of the Sportrac seems more like it’s an ancestor of the Maverick to me.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Plus one to what Joe and RP have said.

These “ancestors” were in ROW markets starting in 1998 and there may have been earlier versions.

 

[Aonarch]

I had a SportTrac when new.

To me, that is the best generation Explorer. Very bullet proof.

 

[DapperDean]

What I neglected to mention in my original post, is that all Explorers of that generation were actually built on a modified version of the Ranger body-on-frame truck platform. It had nothing to do with the next Explorer that moved to a crossover unibody platform. Therefore is has nothing in common with a Ridgeline, Santa Cruz or Maverick which are derived from unibody platforms.

 

[gfitzge2]

What I neglected to mention in my original post, is that all Explorers of that generation were actually built on a modified version of the Ranger body-on-frame truck platform. It had nothing to do with the next Explorer that moved to a crossover unibody platform. Therefore is has nothing in common with a Ridgeline, Santa Cruz or Maverick which are derived from unibody platforms.

That sounds right. The quote below is from the explorer wiki site.

In my opinion the Unibody vs body on frame, makes vehicles a completely different class. As in car/suv vs TRUCK. . Yes I realize that most cars in the not all that distant past were body on frame. Those fall into the Detroit iron class.

"Currently in its sixth generation, the Explorer has been offered with multiple chassis and powertrain layouts. The first two generations were directly derived from the Ford Ranger, switching to a model-specific chassis for the third and fourth generations. The fifth generation was repackaged as a CUV, adopting a variant of the Ford Taurus chassis architecture (developed for SUV use)."

 

[gfitzge2]

Just a little trivia here. First generation Rangers, Explorers and Bronco II s were at one time built in Louisville Assembly Plant. That is where Escapes are made now.

 

[db_tanker]

I'd much rather have this beastie....5 cyl 3.2 TD Aussie goodness.

 

[rydfree]

I liked my 1st year Sportrac . It was just underpowered IMO . It did make for a great motorcycle hauler though and before video displays and backup cameras were common I had outfitted it with all the goodies . Behind the seat were my VHS audio/video controls and a pair of the 1st 3D video glasses

 

[Rebel Ranger]

My best friend has a sport trac, and I have never looked at it like it was a modified explorer. It just doesn't look like an explorer with the back end cut off and capped off. The jeep gladiator does look like a modified wrangler to me.

 

[OHTREMOR]

Plus one to what Joe and RP have said.

These “ancestors” were in ROW markets starting in 1998 and there may have been earlier versions.

Seems right to me. We are driving a truck developed outside the US.

The Sport track is to me a deadringer for the current Ranger less some styling.

Wonder if Phil can shed some light.

 

[Aonarch]

My best friend has a sport trac, and I have never looked at it like it was a modified explorer. It just doesn't look like an explorer with the back end cut off and capped off. The jeep gladiator does look like a modified wrangler to me.

As a former Gladiator owner, they are just too damn big. It's great that they are basically a four door Wrangler with a bed, but that also means they weren't designed to be a truck day 1. They should have redesigned the whole thing.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Seems right to me. We are driving a truck developed outside the US.

The Sport track is to me a deadringer for the current Ranger less some styling.

Wonder if Phil can shed some light.

Years ago, I saw the strangest 4-door vehicles in Australia that were only available as 2-door version in NA. So to me, the Mazda-based 4-door Rangers that were followed by the 4-door T6 Rangers that inspired/became our NA Rangers, are the true grampappy to the SuperCrews.

The NA Rangers are definitely the ancestors of my SuperCab but with a bit lot of Aussie styling and R&D - and that’s okay with me.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Years ago, I saw the strangest 4-door vehicles in Australia that were only available as 2-door version in NA. So to me, the Mazda-based 4-door Rangers that were followed by the 4-door T6 Rangers that inspired/became our NA Rangers, are the true grampappy to the SuperCrews.

The NA Rangers are definitely the ancestors of my SuperCab but with a bit lot of Aussie styling and R&D - and that’s okay with me.

Hi Duke,

Might not be aware, but the SuperCrew was inspired by the South American Ranger. We had the idea to import it but Chicken Tax and the huge cost to federalize it received a thumbs down from the bean counters.....

Assembled in Argentina from locally sourced parts... I was responsible for it too and sent my Spanish speaking Graduate Trainee, Crissy R. to the plant for 5 months to help keep tabs on it...

Best,
Phil

 

[onemanlan]

I actually agree with OPs take. They do look very similar. Truth be told I hated the SportTrak's look, but they've grown on me as they've aged.

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