Consumer Reports Likes the Ranger

[RAS100]

CR never really loves any car unless it's a Honda Accord or BMW 3 series. It gave the Ranger a decent recommendation in it's recent new car issue. It only recommended the Honda Ridgeline and Ford Ranger in the compact truck category. Lows for the Taco: "Ride, handling, braking, noise, driving position, seat comfort" They liked resale value and off road capability. I don't buy vehicles based on Consumer Reports reviews but I do like to see what they say about reliability and they give the Ranger very good marks. I was surprised at the low reliability ratings for the Canyon/Colorado and low owner satisfaction. Glad I didn't seriously look at them when I bought mu Ranger.

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[Rocketeer61]

CR never really loves any car unless it's a Honda Accord or BMW 3 series. It gave the Ranger a decent recommendation in it's recent new car issue. It only recommended the Honda Ridgeline and Ford Ranger in the compact truck category. Lows for the Taco: "Ride, handling, braking, noise, driving position, seat comfort" They liked resale value and off road capability. I don't buy vehicles based on Consumer Reports reviews but I do like to see what they say about reliability and they give the Ranger very good marks. I was surprised at the low reliability ratings for the Canyon/Colorado and low owner satisfaction. Glad I didn't seriously look at them when I bought mu Ranger.

I totally get it. I waited for a long time to buy a new Ranger and now that I finally have the seat dialed in I'm very happy with it. Never been impressed with the C/C but then again I have of late sworn off GM for the rest of my life. The way they kicked Saturn owners to the curb, myself included, with the VTI transmission fiasco was the very definition of bad faith and they don't need any more of my money.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

CR never really loves any car unless it's a Honda Accord or BMW 3 series. It gave the Ranger a decent recommendation in it's recent new car issue. It only recommended the Honda Ridgeline and Ford Ranger in the compact truck category. Lows for the Taco: "Ride, handling, braking, noise, driving position, seat comfort" They liked resale value and off road capability. I don't buy vehicles based on Consumer Reports reviews but I do like to see what they say about reliability and they give the Ranger very good marks. I was surprised at the low reliability ratings for the Canyon/Colorado and low owner satisfaction. Glad I didn't seriously look at them when I bought mu Ranger.

Hi Rich,

I had to subscribe to CR while at Ford. Had to keep a finger of the pulse of CR. We even had drive evaluations with the question of what would CR rate this feature/development/vehicle. One satisfaction I had almost immediately after retiring was to cancel my subscription immediately.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[RANGER_MARC]

Thanks for bringing this report to our attention. It is really interesting that there is such a gap in Consumer Reports' ratings among the class-leading Ridgeline, the second-place Ranger, and the third-place Taco.

I would never buy anything solely based on CR.'s reviews, but I do take them into consideration along with other sources for important purchases. Here is what they had to say about the 2020 Ranger: "The Ranger returned to the U.S. after an eight-year absence. It serves as an alternative to full-sized pickups for drivers who want a maneuverable truck with off-road ability that can capably haul and tow. The Ranger is distinguished by its strong powertrain and standard automatic emergency braking (AEB). Under its tough, rugged appearance we found a relatively quiet and fuel-efficient machine compromised by a punishing ride, clumsy handling, and a few ill-designed controls...."

 

[RedlandRanger]

Thanks for bringing this report to our attention. It is really interesting that there is such a gap in Consumer Reports' ratings among the class-leading Ridgeline, the second-place Ranger, and the third-place Taco.

I would never buy anything solely based on CR.'s reviews, but I do take them into consideration along with other sources for important purchases. Here is what they had to say about the 2020 Ranger: "The Ranger returned to the U.S. after an eight-year absence. It serves as an alternative to full-sized pickups for drivers who want a maneuverable truck with off-road ability that can capably haul and tow. The Ranger is distinguished by its strong powertrain and standard automatic emergency braking (AEB). Under its tough, rugged appearance we found a relatively quiet and fuel-efficient machine compromised by a punishing ride, clumsy handling, and a few ill-designed controls...."

"Punishing ride"????? Where on earth did that come from? I could see someone quoting clumsy handling with the "bouncy" ride, but that is at the opposite end of the spectrum from "punishing" in my mind. And "Ill designed" controls is just like "Intuitive UI" - it is totally up to the person - for some people, something may be completely intuitive and for others it is completely UNintuitive. Same goes for ride characteristics - just look at all the comments here.

 

[Rocketeer61]

Thanks for bringing this report to our attention. It is really interesting that there is such a gap in Consumer Reports' ratings among the class-leading Ridgeline, the second-place Ranger, and the third-place Taco.

I would never buy anything solely based on CR.'s reviews, but I do take them into consideration along with other sources for important purchases. Here is what they had to say about the 2020 Ranger: "The Ranger returned to the U.S. after an eight-year absence. It serves as an alternative to full-sized pickups for drivers who want a maneuverable truck with off-road ability that can capably haul and tow. The Ranger is distinguished by its strong powertrain and standard automatic emergency braking (AEB). Under its tough, rugged appearance we found a relatively quiet and fuel-efficient machine compromised by a punishing ride, clumsy handling, and a few ill-designed controls...."

Punishing ride? What were they driving?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

"Punishing ride"????? Where on earth did that come from? I could see someone quoting clumsy handling with the "bouncy" ride, but that is at the opposite end of the spectrum from "punishing" in my mind. And "Ill designed" controls is just like "Intuitive UI" - it is totally up to the person - for some people, something may be completely intuitive and for others it is completely UNintuitive. Same goes for ride characteristics - just look at all the comments here.

I wouldn't even think that "Punishing" would be a fitting descriptor for the ride quality on the Ranger. Yes in stock form is definitely is not perfect, but there's not a truck out there that really is. I mean, it's a truck if you want a vehicle with a perfect ride, don't buy a truck. Does it have room for improvement? Sure.. But Punishing? No.

 

[JeffM]

Let's be honest, the AC temp control and folding mirror buttons may be the worst design ever. However all in all it's still the best mid size truck available.

 

[UncleBob]

"punishing ride, clumsy handling, and a few ill-designed controls.

Well, I am going against the grain of the previous comments here but I (surprisingly) have to agree with the CR comments for at least 2 of the 3 complaints.

The rough 'bouncy' ride on the highway CAN be 'punishingly' annoying.

Some of the console controls can be dangerous to use. Trying to find the right button to push to adjust the climate controls can be extremely difficult and time consuming with the tiny almost unreadable signage and lighting (or lack thereof). You need to take your eyes too far away from the windshield for too long of a time for it to be safe. Plus there is no tactile feel way to easily discern what button you are touching.
The steering wheel controls are not that much better for some of the functions, and even worse for others.
The only saving grace for climate controls is to use the display screen for some of the changes, but even then it can be awkward.

I have no complaints about 'clumsy handling'.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Let's be honest, the AC temp control and folding mirror buttons may be the worst design ever. However all in all it's still the best mid size truck available.

The mirror fold button isn't that bad once you get used to it being there. It's darn near second nature for me now since I do it all the time.

I do wish there was knobs for climate control. I like knobs and not buttons. But I have the auto climate control so I usually just leave it be all the time anyways. Maybe change temp +/-2deg depending on how I feel, but very rarely. I would definitely be more upset with a manual controlled climate system though. But all-in-all, definitely not a dealbreaker by any means.

 

[SubVet]

I may be odd but I don't use the buttons when I change my climate, radio, and other voice-activated systems just tell the system I want the climate set 73 and it does it. as well as a ton of other settings, All voice-controlled.

To date, I have not touched the manual temperature settings. Why should I when I can just sit back and tell the system what temp and other settings to use.

But that's the kind of stuff that I buy what I'm looking for a vehicle. Convenience. Nothing is more convenient than telling the truck what to do instead of fumbling for manual buttons

 

[Augie81]

While I did a lot of research before buying my Ranger including online reviews and reading a ton of posts here, I love my Ranger now that I have it and that's all that matters to me.

 

[Zaph]

Punishing ride? What were they driving?

A truck with the tire pressure set to 45 PSI from the dealer, probably.

Personally I wasn't worried about 1st year reliability since this truck was really born in other markets years ago.

But mainly, I bought the truck because of the motor and the seat comfort. Everything else is just a bonus.

 

[jsphlynch]

Folks complaining about folding mirror and knobless climate control and I'm just over here with my XL happy as can be ?

Sometimes it pays to have simple tastes I guess.

 

[Floyd]

Whew!! glad I didn't see that before I bought! It would have added an element of worry while I waited.
I guess even a blind pig occasionally finds a truffle!

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