Performance, Transmission, Bouncy ride, overall drivability

[Roy Johnson]

I get the feeling when I read comments on these issues that you all don’t like your trucks. Also that you did not thoroughly test drive your vehicle before purchasing. When I bought I drove everything in the class. Eliminated the Tacoma based on head room. Eliminated the Honda based on bed Interior height. Came down to the Colorado and my Ranger. The Colorado front seat was built like a park bench. I just could not get comfortable in it. Over all the ride comfort of the Colorado was superior. T but that seat was a bench. Even tried driving a used one with a broken in seat. But that just felt broken. The ranger front seat put right amount of cushy on my tushy. I like it. Power on the V6 in the Chevy was good but I love the turbo response of the Ford. They are both good looking vehicles. I am not a big picky color guy but the hot pepper red caught my eye. Traded in a race red 150. After checking threads about tire pressure e I decided to check mine. Wow I was at 45 all the way around WTH. My dealership did not prep the truck after delivery. I’ve got the tire pressure down to 31 and love the ride. Nice and smooth but I have the big payload and towing when I need it. It rides like a short wheel based truck but ten times improved over the 2008 Ranger I previous owned . It is never going ride like the f150 I traded and that had a little chop to the ride with the 20 inch wheels. Enjoy your trucks. Heck you got a new model heavy duty truck that performs in every way. And looks great. Do your moods to make it yours but keep the mechanicals stock. It already hauls.

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[VoodooRanger]

My assessment of the truck is pretty similar to yours. Biggest difference is this is my first time owning a truck.

I test drove a 4cyl. Colorado a couple years ago, and I too did not find the drivers seat comfortable. Though I didn’t like the material the Z71 seats came with. Not having driven a V6, I can’t make an apples to apples comparison. Though I was amazingly surprised to see how quick this little 2.3 could get up to speed. My first couple days driving I had to ease way off the throttle after glancing down at the speedo.

The Ranger is not without its share of problems or quirks. Then again, this truck is still new to the US market. I’m surprised mine is listed as a 2019 even with an 11/19 build date. I was always under the assumption that by late summer the next year would already be in production.

 

[AzScorpion]

I get the feeling when I read comments on these issues that you all don’t like your trucks. Also that you did not thoroughly test drive your vehicle before purchasing. When I bought I drove everything in the class. Eliminated the Tacoma based on head room. Eliminated the Honda based on bed Interior height. Came down to the Colorado and my Ranger. The Colorado front seat was built like a park bench. I just could not get comfortable in it. Over all the ride comfort of the Colorado was superior. T but that seat was a bench. Even tried driving a used one with a broken in seat. But that just felt broken. The ranger front seat put right amount of cushy on my tushy. I like it. Power on the V6 in the Chevy was good but I love the turbo response of the Ford. They are both good looking vehicles. I am not a big picky color guy but the hot pepper red caught my eye. Traded in a race red 150. After checking threads about tire pressure e I decided to check mine. Wow I was at 45 all the way around WTH. My dealership did not prep the truck after delivery. I’ve got the tire pressure down to 31 and love the ride. Nice and smooth but I have the big payload and towing when I need it. It rides like a short wheel based truck but ten times improved over the 2008 Ranger I previous owned . It is never going ride like the f150 I traded and that had a little chop to the ride with the 20 inch wheels. Enjoy your trucks. Heck you got a new model heavy duty truck that performs in every way. And looks great. Do your moods to make it yours but keep the mechanicals stock. It already hauls.

Like you I get drove the Ranger (twice) and the Colorado ZR2. Coming from a 2016 Tacoma there was no need to test that as I hated that truck. I liked the ZR2 but thought the interior was outdated and wasn't all that impressed with the powertrain.

After my second test drive with Ranger I bought it on the spot! I was super impressed with the powertrain and quickness of this little 2.3. I've always had F 150's (besides the Tacoma) and this Ranger suites me perfectly! I think the ride is fine and even before I added the level kit and larger tires I didn't feel any bounce but again I've driven 8 different F 150's over the years. I love this truck and can't wait to see what the next Gen brings!

 

[rangerdanger19]

I'm with you, here. People whine about the same few issues.

• "outdated" interior
• bouncy rear end
• frequent, jolty low-speed transmission shifting
• sounds like a 4 banger with an exhaust

The interior isn't all that out-of-date for a 2019. I get that it's a lot of stuff carried over from the overseas models, but it all works fine and if you're familiar with Fords, they're easy systems to learn. Plus, it's comfortable and easy to maintain. Why fix something that isn't broken? (plus, if you realllllly want to keep it 'up to date,' there are plenty of ways to get Sync 3 to Sync 3.4)

The rear is bouncy unloaded, but is far more confident with a trailer or a heavy load in the bed, as it should be. It's a truck, after all. But on the highway on roadtrips, it's perfectly fine and comfortable.

Yeah, the Ford 10 speed is great with the exception of 0-30 mph. The 1-3-5 skipping can cause jolts and shutters, but even a low-end, 87 octane daily/tow tune could fix that. Above 30, though, this trans is a rockstar. There's always a gear available in the power band, and the shifting is relatively quick for this class of vehicle.

It sounds like a 4 banger because it is a 4 banger. I don't understand why people complain about this. If you don't want a 4 cylinder, go buy a Canyon, Colorado, or anything else that offers a V6. If you a V8, go get a 5.0 F150. Personally, I love that it sounds like a 4 cylinder, because when I beat bigger V8 trucks (or cars) from the line, I want them to hear that a 4 cylinder, mid-size pickup truck just beat them.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

I get the feeling when I read comments on these issues that you all don’t like your trucks. Also that you did not thoroughly test drive your vehicle before purchasing.

I think this is a case of the most opinionated scream the loudest. That's why you'll hardly ever find a middle of the road review anywhere and why politics seem so divided. Either people love it and usually just go about their day enjoying it, don't feel one way or the other and live with it, or they hate it and feel the need to tell everyone about it. The problem with this is that in the past some "media" outlets have quoted this forum (sometimes out of context on top of it) as a way to show how much Ranger owners hate their trucks, which gives the general public a bad image of the vehicle. When in reality this forum represents a small number of Ranger owners, and an even smaller number of those people are the ones yelling about how bad their truck is.

As far as test drives, it does seem like a handful of people on here didn't test drive, haven't read the manual (there's a lot of those), and don't understand how most of the trucks functions even work. Which tells me they did little to no research. But again, they are in the minority, at least on this forum.

The majority of us, myself included, absolutely love our trucks. This is my favorite vehicle I've ever owned!

 

[Roy Johnson]

Thanks folks on your reply. On the transmission hard jerky shifts. I have noticed a small amount in the morning if get right in and drive. I have remote start that I use almost every day and have noticed when the truck is warmed up and past the initial high idled start up the jerk in the shift is gone. This is my first 10 speed automatic trans and I am wondering if this is common. When doing prebuying research all indicators for the trans were good based on previous installs. Have pulled my boat and towed just like the 150 around town. You can’t even tell it’s on.

 

[RedlandRanger]

I’m surprised mine is listed as a 2019 even with an 11/19 build date. I was always under the assumption that by late summer the next year would already be in production.

Since the 2019 production started late, they continued 2019 production into November. 2020 production started mid November if I recall correctly.

As far as not liking the truck, at some point I think things get nit picky. No vehicle is perfect, but this is my favorite vehicle I've ever owned and I love this truck. Does it have some negatives? Sure, but the positives heavily outweigh them. This is a fantastic daily driver.

 

[RANGER_MARC]

I get the feeling when I read comments on these issues that you all don’t like your trucks. Also that you did not thoroughly test drive your vehicle before purchasing. When I bought I drove everything in the class. Eliminated the Tacoma based on head room. Eliminated the Honda based on bed Interior height. Came down to the Colorado and my Ranger. The Colorado front seat was built like a park bench. I just could not get comfortable in it. Over all the ride comfort of the Colorado was superior. T but that seat was a bench. Even tried driving a used one with a broken in seat. But that just felt broken. The ranger front seat put right amount of cushy on my tushy. I like it. Power on the V6 in the Chevy was good but I love the turbo response of the Ford. They are both good looking vehicles. I am not a big picky color guy but the hot pepper red caught my eye. Traded in a race red 150. After checking threads about tire pressure e I decided to check mine. Wow I was at 45 all the way around WTH. My dealership did not prep the truck after delivery. I’ve got the tire pressure down to 31 and love the ride. Nice and smooth but I have the big payload and towing when I need it. It rides like a short wheel based truck but ten times improved over the 2008 Ranger I previous owned . It is never going ride like the f150 I traded and that had a little chop to the ride with the 20 inch wheels. Enjoy your trucks. Heck you got a new model heavy duty truck that performs in every way. And looks great. Do your moods to make it yours but keep the mechanicals stock. It already hauls.

My impression from reading members' posts over the last year is that most of us love our trucks--including me! There is of course some griping about this or that feature, but most of it is affectionate nitpicking, in my opinion. And most members, it seems to me, enjoy adding modifications to eliminate what we don't like or improve on what could be better. Still, it is easy to see how some of the nitpicking can be taken out of context by non-members and the wrong impression given, purposefully or otherwise, to the general public....

 

[Roy Johnson]

It is very entertaining.

 

[VoodooRanger]

Since the 2019 production started late, they continued 2019 production into November. 2020 production started mid November if I recall correctly.

As far as not liking the truck, at some point I think things get nit picky. No vehicle is perfect, but this is my favorite vehicle I've ever owned and I love this truck. Does it have some negatives? Sure, but the positives heavily outweigh them. This is a fantastic daily driver.

Thanks for info, i did not know that.

And you are correct, it is a fantastic daily. My father in law wasn’t impressed when we went for a drive. He mentioned you forget you’re in a truck once you’re up to speed.

 

[Shomare]

It’s a truck. It doesn’t ride like a car. If you want a “truck that rides like a car, buy a Honda.
I’ve carried a couple decent loads and with weight in the back it smooths out the ride considerably, because it’s a truck!

 

[Roy Johnson]

It’s a realitively short wheel based vehicle wi th a high center of gravity. I think the corner handling is exactly what it should be. If I am getting a lot of body roll I am going to fast. Nice job on the engineering Phil!

 

[egilbe]

It rides like my 97 F150 I had. Feels about the same, but the F150 was a 5 speed std. I haven't, as yet, smashed my foot into the break pedal to shift, but my hand does want to rest on the shifter. I took my normal bumpy drive to work this morning and the bumpiest road wasn't as bad as it was in my Elantra. Tires are at 36 all around, so maybe deflating those some may make it a little softer. The floaty feeling is different from a sedan, too. My GF loves riding in it. She says its smooth.

 

[Roy Johnson]

Older lady at work said I didn’t know that was your truck. Actually her husband comments on how sharp of a truck that is as I park it right where everyone drives right past it entering our parking lot. He drives a 70 2wd f150 with the explorer package that is original . I drove past them on the way out recently. Car people are really watching the 5g ranger. Hot pepper red catches the eye.

 

[rang19ca]

I too have been very impressed with this truck. When I was working, my employer bought 30-40 new vehicles every year. I was the person who in-serviced all of them, so I got to drive new vehicles every year. This truck is a very good mix of power, shifting, ride quality, handling and mileage all combined. It may have a nit pick or two for some people, but over all it fills all of my wants and needs.

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