2014 Escape -> 2023 Ranger.. right move?

[Kevan]

Hello all!

Stumbled on this forum doing a bunch of midsize truck research and I'm glad I did!

My 2014 Escape SE 1.6l was/is my first Ford (despite my cousin leading their engineering department for years, my family has been filled with GM diehards). I've liked basically everything about it despite my own families issues, but now we look to make a move (internationally) and need to sell it to purchase a new vehicle back home in Indiana.

It's just my wife and I with the almost 3 year old. Wife wants more kids.. probably 3 total. Need something that can tow (I have 3 trailers, all under 5,000lbs fully loaded) as well as carry the family as it grows. The plan is to get a functional vehicle (new, to build credit), and later add a more spacious/comfortable SUV for the wife's primary. So I guess my main points of concern/query to this forum would be:

1. Is it big enough for 3 small kids in the back seat (car seats/boosters)? My wife and I are both around 5'10.
2. Does this realistically get better mileage than the v6 alternatives?
3. My 1.6l experiences rather annoying turbo lag - is the 2.3l a smoother experience with less lag?
4. I'd be buying XLT/Lariat 4x4 but w/o offroad package - probably XLT (as I prefer a physical key). How well can I expect it to do mileage wise without all the extra suspension? Everything I watch online is FX4 or Tremor which doesn't really fit my use case.
5. Ordering with the spray in liner seems to be a point of delay on build process, can anyone recommend a good aftermarket liner?
6. How does it do long distance? From IN I'll need to visit (at least): MI, OH, MN, MD, TX, CA and FL to catch up with family. Is it a good distance truck?

That's all for now.. sorry for the 'dump' but .. I got questions.

As a bonus (and you can ignore everything else and just answer this if you want: why did you buy a ranger over (any) n/a V6 offerings?)

Thanks everyone!

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[Frenchy]

I had the 2019 XLT Sport. It was also my First Ford. I will say i liked it. You can fir 3 small kids in the back. Car seats? 2 at the most. I'm 5 11 and had no problems in the truck. Fuel Mileage? Conditions will vary. When towing you will always get lower than without towing. Most with travel trailers have seen around 12-14. I towed an 1983 280ZX on a Uhaul auto carrier wich was 5500 combine roughly. It was still lower than the truck and I was able to do around 18-20. Even towing my tool box in a Uhaul 5x9 open trailer i say about the same. I did have a tune(Livernois Tow) with the Old Man EMU Lift and i had both 32 and 33 inch tires. That was mostly due to going OffRoad wich i suspect wont happen with you as a guess. I did travel to MI from CO last year and it did well. For be liners there are a few brands out there. Line-X seems to be the preferred by most.

Hope that helps

 

[Kevan]

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it. That turbo help you out a lot at the altitude shown? I'm guessing that is one of the advantages over the n/a V6's..

Bookmarked Line-X, looks pretty good - again, thanks.

 

[Frenchy]

Regardless of the engine a Turbocharger helps quite a bit for elevation. Before the Ranger I had a 2016 Nissan Frontier(good truck and had my reasons for trading). It was a 4.0 V6 with the 5 speed Auto. It did well for towing and MPG was alright for what it was. Getting into the Ranger I was able to improve the Acceleration and the MPG. Side not, you can only have good MPG or Great Acceleration.... There is no inbetween with a turbocharged vehicle lol. The only two things I did not like about the Ranger was the oil filter location(behind the front fender) and the lack of storage under the rear seats. Other then that it was a great truck. Unfortunately I dont have it anymore since February after coming in contact with some Ground Beef(Cow). Now i have my 1993 Pathfinder as my fun OffRoad Rig and my Grandpa's 1994 F150 that he bought new. If anything I'm enjoying no vehicle payments at this time.

 

[Dereku]

Buy the ranger and "escape" the suv! Honestly I could not live without a truck. 5th ford truck, all had over 200k abd ran when sold. 8th ford I have owned. I have always hada truck, hard to beat the utility of them.

Lag is non-existent. If three kids fit in the escape they will fit in the ranger. Basically the same interior space as the first two rows on the explorer. Little less rear seat leg room, but kids dont care about that. Road trips are great, i have done almost 900 miles in one day a few time with it already. My record was 1600 miles but it was 26 hours in my last truck.

I have an XLT 4x4 no fx4 and it does great on gas. Long drives get close to 25mpg depending on terrain and wind, once the turbo has to help mpgs will suffer. I set the cruise at 72 so thst helps. Please get the locker, its a cheap option and is great if you need it. Boat ramps, loose soil or rocks, snow and ice (if you have experience with a locker in snow) or just having fun!

 

[Kevan]

I have an XLT 4x4 no fx4 and it does great on gas. Long drives get close to 25mpg depending on terrain and wind, once the turbo has to help mpgs will suffer. I set the cruise at 72 so thst helps. Please get the locker, its a cheap option and is great if you need it. Boat ramps, loose soil or rocks, snow and ice (if you have experience with a locker in snow) or just having fun!

Nice! 25mpg ain't bad at all for a truck.

Does the locking differential affect your mpg and/or ride quality if not used? How often would you say you use it in the snow? Obviously that's an Indiana problem as well..

What still confuses me is that we used to have a 1998 blazer with the 4.3 v6 and that could actually get 26-28 on long drives doing 60/65mph cruise. That was a heavy vehicle (back when it was body on frame), and obviously a larger displacement. Now even the Explorer seems worse on mpg than that..

I had been looking at an explorer but decided the vehicle size with the same 2.3l was probably a bad idea. Good to know the seating is nearly the same.. actually not a comparison I'd looked at.

I don't plan to do much off-roading but I do hunt, so some dirt/gravel roads are a given. Doubt I'd need FX4+ for that.

 

[Frenchy]

The locker is something you do not want to use on Pavement(even in snowy conditions). With a good set of All-Season Tires or Snow Tires with a few sand bags or other form of weight in the bed the Ranger does pretty well in snow. When i had my 33's(285/70-17 Firestone Destination XT's) I had no problem with the Colorado Snow. Mileage would usually be low 20's. I was able to see 27-28 when I had the 32's. With factory tires, no lift and stock I was usually around 23-25 in the Rockys of Colorado. Mind you if you go past 75 you can forget about MPG

 

[Dereku]

Nice! 25mpg ain't bad at all for a truck.

Does the locking differential affect your mpg and/or ride quality if not used? How often would you say you use it in the snow? Obviously that's an Indiana problem as well..

What still confuses me is that we used to have a 1998 blazer with the 4.3 v6 and that could actually get 26-28 on long drives doing 60/65mph cruise. That was a heavy vehicle (back when it was body on frame), and obviously a larger displacement. Now even the Explorer seems worse on mpg than that..

I had been looking at an explorer but decided the vehicle size with the same 2.3l was probably a bad idea. Good to know the seating is nearly the same.. actually not a comparison I'd looked at.

I don't plan to do much off-roading but I do hunt, so some dirt/gravel roads are a given. Doubt I'd need FX4+ for that.

My wife had a 17 explorer with the 2.3. I got 26-27 mpg on long drives. I was blown away. Traded it for a jeep.... Anywho. I am moving back to Indiana soon so ill let you kmow how it handles. My last f150 had a mechanical locker and was 2wd. A beast in snow and ice of handled properly, otherwise its an accident waiting to happen. The locker will not impact mpgs at all and should only be used for short times in the same way 4wd is to be used.

 

[CO2Ranger]

Car seats are a pain in the ass in the Ranger. The solid back bench makes child tethers a bitch, ESPECIALLY if you have more than one. 3 child seats, even boosters are hit and miss. We can fit 3 across barely, and the middle one is an inflatable booster seat.

Personally, I'd opt for an Explorer over a Ranger if I was planning on 3 minions. Save yourself the pain. Kids require tons of shit.

 

[Frenchy]

Car seats are a pain in the ass in the Ranger. The solid back bench makes child tethers a bitch, ESPECIALLY if you have more than one. 3 child seats, even boosters are hit and miss. We can fit 3 across barely, and the middle one is an inflatable booster seat.

Personally, I'd opt for an Explorer over a Ranger if I was planning on 3 minions. Save yourself the pain. Kids require tons of shit.

Now I wish they would.have joined for the trip a few months back just to see the Inflatable car seat!!

 

[CO2Ranger]

Now I wish they would.have joined for the trip a few months back just to see the Inflatable car seat!!

Haha. That's just for the carpool kiddos. The other 2 are regular boosters.

 

[Kevan]

Thanks for all the info guys!

I think with the spacing of the kids I'd likely have the Ranger long enough with just 1/2 that having 3 would be in rare cases and my wife would probably have a larger 7 seater SUV at that point. As far as comfort, obviously they'd have their own seats, then boosters.

Could always maintain it for a while and trade in for a F150 if the need arrived. I'm not sure if we'll go Explorer for the wife or not - she likes the comfort. If I can afford it I might just go Lincoln.

I've read a few articles about mods and tuning you can do on the 2.3l to increase cold air intake, horsepower, etc. Do any of these mods improve mpg or they're mostly for reliability/performance?

Does adding things to a special build like a locking rear diff or tech packs slow down the build process due to the extra chips? I.e. more basic, faster delivery?

 

[Msfitoy]

Excellent choice...welcome!

 

[Frenchy]

Extra stuff will usually slow down the build process, but you can always explore to see whats on the lot. As for performance upgrade vs MPG.... Remember a lot of it will still be your foot.... As for tunes, I have found them to be the most bang for your buck upgrade in power and MPG if you get the right one. I went Livernois and I did increase MPG. Others have gone with Ford Performance and lost MPG(but then again it could be thier foot). Just depends on what you want to do.

 

[BettaRanga]

Here’s my experience with the back seats and car seats. TLDR - works but not without some challenges.

I currently have 3 across the back row - two boosters with a rear facing infant/toddler car seat in the middle. The infant/toddler rear facing fits fine in the rear middle seat, but requires purchasing narrow car seat options. This setup works pretty well for me.

I’m not able to put a rear facing car seat on either rear side seat or else there isn’t enough room for the front passengers.

It can be hard for the kids to buckle themselves and it can be hard to fit my hand in there between booster and car seat to help them buckle when needed. My 7 year old can buckle independently most of the time, but my 5 year old can’t. The 5 year old can do it independently in our minivan.

If you are using a booster or car seat that needs to tether behind the seat, the behind the seat clips are an absolute nightmare to use. Just prepare yourself for some rage filled moments when installing or uninstalling. Also since it’s not a split fold rear seat, all car seats need to come out when making changes to the behind the seat tether.

I have not tried to put a front facing toddler car seat behind the driver or passenger seat yet, but those days are probably coming for me. I’m unsure if it will allow enough room for the front seat occupant. This will also require the behind the seat tether.

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