10,000 Miles

[slowmachine]

So, the Ranger made it to 10K with no serious issues. I have an appointment at the Ford dealer tomorrow for an inspection, but have already changed the oil and rotated the tires here in my own garage. It's been a bit of a learning process, but I'm very satisfied with the purchase and performance so far.

I like it a lot, but two things stand out I believe need serious improvement:

First, the ergonomics of nearly every control not on the steering wheel or shifter is really very poor. I came to the Ranger from two BMWs, which are, arguably, one of the the very best in ergonomic design. I may be spoiled, but I expect more from Ford. Simply illuminating all of the dash buttons while the truck is running, regardless of exterior lighting status, would at least make them easier to see, especially when wearing sunglasses. The transfer case knob is just crappy. It's too easy to shift from 2H to 4H inadvertently. I'm pretty careful, and I've done it twice.

The second thing is the Sync 3 Voice Command system. It's horrible. Ford is in good company with this, though, because it is a problem all across the auto industry. Apple's Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa, all have very good natural voice recognition and processing. Why auto manufacturers can't figure out how to incorporate this level of functionality in the in-dash systems is beyond me.

Every other idiosyncrasy of the Ranger design seems to me something more to learn how to operate efficiently (or simply ignore, like the sliding rear window that I have yet to open) than something I would want to modify to fit my desires. After 10,000 miles, I'm comfortable with the way it works and confident in my ability to get what I want from it. I went shopping looking for an F150, but I have no regrets in downsizing to the Ranger. It's a better fit for me than a full-size pickup.

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[Viscerol]

The manual rear sliding glass is one thing I don’t understand. The only time I would enjoy this feature is on a country road with the windows down. Am I to pull over during my commute to manually open the sliding glass to enjoy? Then pull over again to close when I hit the highway? I think not. My commute involves city, state highway and country roads.
The lack of a/c vent control with tactile buttons irks me as well. You have 3 ways to adjust track/volume, etc for the stereo, but have to deep dive to get the chill off your feet.
And finally at this price and trim you should get ALL LED bulbs (not half and half), heated steering wheel, memory drivers seat, and finally a moonroof. I know... first world problems.

 

[wanted33]

Mike, sans the 4wd selector, mines a 2wd, I agree with your assessment. I've always thought the SYNC lady inside the system had problems with me because of my southern accent. But I see you're from New Hampshire, so I'm going to have to come up with something else to blame.

 

[Texasota]

SYNC is always an adventure.
i'm glad i dont have hard objects near me when i drive....i likely would have thrown several thru the windows by now.
I hate that the language is limited and you have to follow steps to get what you want.

my dream one day is that Ford and Google perhaps have a baby and it becomes as easy as "hey google, find this address" and boom, its done.
so tired of the current process.

You can do that now in your Ranger if you don't mind using Apple Carplay or the Android equivalent. It works great.

 

[Joeiconic]

Mike, sans the 4wd selector, mines a 2wd, I agree with your assessment. I've always thought the SYNC lady inside the system had problems with me because of my southern accent. But I see you're from New Hampshire, so I'm going to have to come up with something else to blame.

You’ve clearly never met anyone from New Hampshire.

 

[CO2Ranger]

The manual rear sliding glass is one thing I don’t understand. The only time I would enjoy this feature is on a country road with the windows down. Am I to pull over during my commute to manually open the sliding glass to enjoy? Then pull over again to close when I hit the highway? I think not. My commute involves city, state highway and country roads.
The lack of a/c vent control with tactile buttons irks me as well. You have 3 ways to adjust track/volume, etc for the stereo, but have to deep dive to get the chill off your feet.
And finally at this price and trim you should get ALL LED bulbs (not half and half), heated steering wheel, memory drivers seat, and finally a moonroof. I know... first world problems.

That manual rear window made sense when the trucks were small enough you could just reach back and slide it from the driver seat. I've got ridiculously long arms and I wouldn't even try now. Electric would've been a nice option.

 

[slowmachine]

You’ve clearly never met anyone from New Hampshire.

Funny story. I'm not a New Hampshire native, and I can't even fake sounding like one. I've traveled the country and the world with the Marine Corps my entire adult life. I was in the Concord, NH Sam's Club last year, and another customer, overhearing my conversation in the Optical department, said loudly, "You're not from around here." I turned toward him and said, "No, I'm not. Where do you think I am from?" "Kentucky!", he replied. I lived in Versailles, KY from 1967 to 1972, and returned only once, for a single week of training with the KY State Police, in Frankfort in the 1990s, but some part of Kentucky remains in my speech all these years later. We all had a good laugh in Sam's Club

 

[Joeiconic]

Funny story. I'm not a New Hampshire native, and I can't even fake sounding like one. I've traveled the country and the world with the Marine Corps my entire adult life. I was in the Concord, NH Sam's Club last year, and another customer, overhearing my conversation in the Optical department, said loudly, "You're not from around here." I turned toward him and said, "No, I'm not. Where do you think I am from?" "Kentucky!", he replied. I lived in Versailles, KY from 1967 to 1972, and returned only once, for a single week of training with the KY State Police, in Frankfort in the 1990s, but some part of Kentucky remains in my speech all these years later. We all had a good laugh in Sam's Club

HA! I‘m southern and one of my best friends is a NH transplant to Georgia. We can barely understand each other.

 

[wanted33]

HA! I‘m southern and one of my best friends is a NH transplant to Georgia. We can barely understand each other.

Now that's funny Joe. I have quite a few folks from above the Mason-Dixon line living around me. I had one tell me that I had an accent, I told them "no, you're the one with the accent". He's a good guy, and we have learned to interpret each other quite well now.

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