1997 Ford Ranger XLT review from North America

Bottom of door armrests pulling from door.

Center fold-down armrest padding is split and will not latch properly anymore.

Third brake light leaks into cab.

Chrome finish on front grille surround is weathering off.

Overall, the truck is great. Coming from an S-10 Blazer from the early 90s, the fit and finish of this truck is astounding.

I bought this truck used. Most, if not all, of the faults listed above can be attributed to the previous owner, except for two. Nearly every Ranger I have seen has the armrest pulling away from the door as well as the broken console latch. Seems these are nagging problems.

The truck is functional. You can operate the radio with minimal movement from the stick shift. The cab layout gives you the impression you've driven the truck before, even if it's your first time. You reach to where you think something should be, and there it is. The rear glass is a bit tricky to open while driving, but once you get used to it it's no problem. The 12V Accessory port caps could have been a little better designed. Rather than make them removable and storable, they are on little plastic clips so they dangle whenever anythings plugged in. But these little quirks are nothing in the grand scheme of the truck.

The truck is reliable, to say the least. If you're a shade-tree mechanic, you should have no trouble with basic maintenance. Expect to buy 8 spark plugs though, as the engineers at Ford felt a 2 plug/cylinder head would help the admittedly pathetic performance of the 2.3 4 cylinder.

The rear end is light compared to the front, which is common among pickups. There is no posi-track, making the truck a "one wheeled wonder". Basically, if you get into mud/dirt/sand and make a rear wheel spin, you're stuck. But posi-traction (both rear wheels spin, also known as a limited slip differential) is a cheap and easy upgrade to solve that problem.