Good looks, comfortable ride. Roomy interior with the extended cab.
Good gas milage. I average 20 mpg. Truck handles very well. I received comments all the time on the looks of my ranger.
I like the off road package that my truck has. It has manual locking hubs. Much stronger than automatic locking hubs.

4.0L with a 5spd, needs more power. Glad to see ford is going to be putting the 4.0L SOHC in the 2001 ranger. Old 4.0L is ok, but it lacks low end torque. Power comes at high rpm's. I spend time in the mountains and have had situations where I had to use low range to climb a small hill, however it does climb very well. I've climbed a hill that very few people would dare attempt even on a motorcycle.
Not much mantainance required, however I have had to replace the speed-ometer twice at $400 a pop! Speed-ometer needs to go beyond 85 mph. I also had to replace the resistor on the fan blower motor, no big deal. $16 and 20 minutes time to replace.
Muffler and tail pipe rattles when lugging the engine.

I would highly recommend a ranger to anyone looking for a compact pickup. It is a great little truck. I've had a lot of fun driving mine. For someone going to purchase a new ranger, get the new 4.0L SOHC engine. It is well worth the extra bucks. Plus your not sacrificing much on gas, the power makes up the differance.

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This little truck is pretty sporty. I really like the styling. The chrome grille, bumber, door handles and windshield trim add to it. The controls are easy to read and use. Gas is pretty good and the small engine does a fairly good job. Power steering is a must. Rides like a luxury car. Cloth bench seat is comfortable.

Has 130,000 miles and I fix it every day! Stuff literally falls of it while you drive. It is a good truck for the price I paid but not for a penny more. The one of the starter bolts loosened up and the other fell out, wouldn't start, and thought it was the battery until someone else tried to start it and i saw the starter dancing around. Quick fix after I spent $80 on a new battery. The 3spd automatic tranny was good for a couple of months but then it wouldn't shift correctly on it's own, I had to manually shift it. A couple of hundred dollars there. The brake line broke while the tranny mechanic was test driving it too. I starts and runs good in the summer but the carbed engine starts but won't run until you babysit if for 10 minutes in the winter. I had to replace the gas guage for only $20 but you have to take off the bed to do it. Small gas tank. You have to keep filling it up.

I would recomend this truck for anyone who is mechanically inclined and is friends with an tow truck driver. If you can find a good one, snatch it up. They are great little trucks. You become very attached because you spend most of your free time working on them. I went to a junk yard to get cruise control off a totaled Bronco II because the gas pedal was pretty stiff to push and got uncomfortable on long trips.

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It handles my bumpy dirt road well. Looks ok. Sound system is ok. Peels out nicely.

SLOW acceleration, pre-runners would be faster with their 190 horsepower. Shifting is notchy and stiff. No limited slip rear, only one tire spins at a time. Interior rattles around, but its been driven on dirt roads it's whole life.

Buy used if you want a good work truck, but not in place of a car. Trucks can get on your nerves with their poor ride and slow accelration. Don't buy a new one, other trucks are better.

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Nicer interior than 93 toyota truck.

The 2.9 Fuel Injected 4 Cyl is a great engine.
I love the way it handles.
This little truck had over 207,000 miles on it when sold it.
the whole time i owned it I never replaced the clutch, starter, alternator or even the heater hoses. All I did was service it every 3,000 miles. The only thing I did to the truck was normal maint. like brakes and u-joints.
The guy who bought it drives it everyday to work. (I think it's now ready for a clutch. about time though).

The 5 speed transmission shifter wears out and you have to learn how to shift it.
Other than taht it's great.

I don' think I will ever own another truck as good as this one. I bought a used 1990 Ford F-150 with only 80,000 miles on it and I can tell allready that it's not the truck my little ranger was. (Gee, I sure miss that truck).

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Don't know of anything that can come close to it.

Powerful 4.0 litre V6 engine, Excellent 4x4 system(with manual locking hubs)..comfortable interior, looks great. Handles well on road.

It uses a lot of gas, a little too much. Off road handling isn't too great.. tends to bounce a lot. Had to replace the fuel pump after 60000km(38000miles). Brakes are only okay,

I would recommend this truck for anyone who wants a tough truck but nothing too big like the F150 or GMC sierra. Reliability is great.

Some come equiped with Firestone tires, would recommend replacing them with something of higher quality for better traction.

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Looks way better than the S10,

This is a very reliable vehicle with 140,000 miles. In 3 1/2 years of owner ship have had the following work done: clutch and master slave cylinder replaced at 80000 miles. Other than that all other all work has been routine maintenance (oil changes, tune-ups, brakes)

I get decent mileage (its a big V6 after all), the ride is comfortable and the 4.0 has good grunt. The paint and body has held up very well and this truck runs smoothly.

Go for the extended cab. It love it and wouldn't have a truck without it. It can hold a lot of luggage out of the rain, I've rarely forced anyone to sit back there.

The interior fabric (grey) shows a fair amount of dirt.

I really need sandbags and dedicated winter tires to make this this a safe
vehicle in the winter. The back end really like to slide around on the stock Firestone tires (fun in summer, deadly in winter)

Get regular rad flushes. I had overheating problems when I first bought the truck and it took 2 thermostat replacements and 3 rad flushes to get the system working right. Happened in the first year of ownership and haven't had a problem since.

Should have gotten an automatic since I do so much city driving

Buy this vehicle if you want reliable, practical transportation.

I'm very pleased with mine and am looking at buying another one this year.

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more manuverable than full size chev

Good on gas, convinient small size for living downtown in a big city

It is completely gutless. the 2.3 ltr. is not tooooo bad downtown in low gears, but you get that peice of crap on the highway and its full throttle to maintain 65 mph. If even the slightest incline is encountered you have to start droppin gears. It is a five speed, but I now see why it says O/D on the gear shift rather than 5. Its because its not even really a gear worth noting, only being useful when going down a hill with a tailwind.

Great truck other than all of the bad things i said about it. I would recomend the v6 ranger. im sure this truck could be descent with some power plant and tranny mods. But id rather sell this and upgrade..

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Dakota Sport/ doesn't

it has a 2.9 which completely eliminates all other rangers from competition and all s10 except for the 4.3 vortec. its faster than the Dodge Dacoda 5.2 by a long shot and the 4.0 ranger looks slow to me 0-60 in low 9's and 1/8 mile in low 10's on motor

tries to run hot under extreme running conditions explaines head cracking problem water pumps don't last long, and goes through alternators 3 so far, you have to run good gas to prevent sensors from stoping up or you loose gas millage and preformance, sorry no abs spins like a top when you hit the brakes to hard

I would recomend this vehicle to any one that knows how to maintain one because I have founde the better I maintaine it the better it preforms and I wouldn't recomend it for new drivers it is tempermental when you play around I know from experience it can be dangerous for non experienced drivers although the revlimiter works especially well when speed shifting it holdes the engin at the right rpm while your shifting.

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it walks over all competition except for 4.3 vortec S10 and 5.9 Dacoda leaves all others in its class behind. runs with 2000 150 4.6 and 2000 GMC Searia with 327 Vortec

i have a regular cab 3L v6 manual and it has loads of power. with 150 horses under the hood and the fact that it looks better than any other mid sized truck out on the market. yes the 3L does have enough power but if you want more than get the 4L. the trailhead adds many things like i now have 4.10 gears and a factory lift and different suspension not to mention a cd player. basically my truck is a 2wd with a 4wd apperance. it also came with the same 16 inch wheels that are put on 4x4s.

there are only a couple weaknesses one being that its 2wd and the other is that i think that they could have put more torque into it.

i recommend this truck, if you like power and dont want to spend over 15000 on a new truck than go with a new ranger. they look as good on the outside as well as the inside.

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it compares to a toyota prerunner. the toyotas engine will last longer but it wont keep up with the ford but the ford engine wount last as long.
id say do what i did but if you have an extra couple grand lying around buy a prerunner.

My 1997 Ford Ranger 4x4 has really excellent reliability. I have been fortunate with the reliability. The 4.0 L engine and the five speed manual is quite fun to drive. The truck has more of an aggressive look than the S-10 and not that ridiculous look of the Dakota.

-Ride quality is poor
-Ford's cheapo plastic interior parts
-Engine is thirsty
-Rear brakes act really goofy in wet or humid weather
-Ford's front coil springs sag early on in vehicle's life (on the 4x4's)
-Uncomfortable seats with the 60/40 split bench
-Pedals are kind of small (especially if you wear a size 15 shoe.)
-Typical Ford interior rattles and plastic "popping, creaking" noises
-Second gear on the 5 speed manual is hard to get into in cold weather.
-Clutch pedal works hard for a hydralic clutch.

Personally, if you are dying for a Ranger, get a '98 model or newer. The 4 wheel drive models of the 97 or older Rangers use the ridiculous twin I beam front independent suspension with coil springs. I had to have spacers put in the front coil springs of my Ranger at 30000 miles. The springs sag and make the tops of the front tires tilt in which screws up the camber settings. I see Rangers and Explorers every day with the sagging spring and tilted tire problem. The sagging springs make your tires wear funny. The sagging springs ruined my tires because of Ford's poor job on manufactoring front coil springs. The twin I beam suspension makes it ride like a lumber truck. I get knocked around up and down the rough interstate in South Dakota most of the time. The seats are uncomfortable and sometimes hurt my back. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? I had a creak or a popping sound in the driver's door that comes and goes and it drives me nuts. I think I cured the problem but I'm not sure yet. The rear brakes act really goofy in wet weather. They really grab, and I mean grab. Gotta be careful in wet weather. I have auto locking front hubs for the four wheel drive and this system works really well. Although I find it annoying having to back up ten feet to disengage them especially in winter weather. The 4 liter engine has decent power around town. Up on the highway is a different story. The speed limit is 75 on the interstate in South Dakota and the motor is pretty breathless at that speed. I have to floor the sucker and reem the motor to get any power to pass or accelerate. Not to mention the motor is turning 2700 to 2800 RPM's at 75. At 80, the motor turns about an even 3000 RPM. I've had it up to 100 a couple times and set the cruise control and it hums right along not too badly though. There is a good side though. My Ranger has EXCELLENT reliability. No major problems other than a door switch and the wiper control switch. It starts good in cold weather (like right now it's 0 degrees F outside) and runs and idles smooth. The throttle is responsive and so is the steering. I do my own servicing and it is relatively easy to change the oil (the filter isn't located in a ridiculous place, I mean). Don't try changing a fuel filter yourself. You need a mechanic with a special tool to get it off. I like the fact the cruise control buttons light up at night so you can find them. I thought that was pretty cool. The gauges are clear to read but could be bigger and more detailed (such as numbers on the oil, voltage, and temp gauges). The cup holders on the floor are ROOMY. I like that a lot. The extended cab has decent room in the back for stuff. I love the head room in the Ranger. Head room for the driver is way better than a Dakota or a S-10. The engine is fairly hard on gas. I wish it held about 4 more gallons of fuel because I'm always filling up. Ford might as well stuff a V-8 in the Ranger because it sure guzzles gas like one.

Again, if you want a Ranger 4x4, go for a 98 or newer. The front suspension is torsion bar on the 4 wheel drives and they might ride better on the 98's and newer. The seats are better too. If you are uncertain in what type or size of truck, check out a full size truck. They ride better in general except for the Dodge Ram. Solid front axle on the four wheel drive rides crappy. If you don't mind the vehicle so much, then the Ranger's reliabilily is for you.

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1990 GMC 4x4 Sierra The Ranger sure doesn't ride nearly as good as my pop's full size GMC. The seats are way more comfortable in the GMC than in my Ranger. Build quality of the GMC is better than the Ranger.