2003 Ford Ranger Edge review from North America

Nothing has gone wrong with my car so far mechanically. However, the door seals often make a humming noise when I am traveling at 70 mph or so into a headwind indicating an intermittent air leak on the door seal. The interior doesn't smell new anymore, I am not sure why, I have barely driven it this last year choosing to put more miles on my 92 Ranger at about 140K and my 93 Explorer at about 125K.

Compared with my 92 standard cabs Ranger and 93 Explorer this truck is about 2 feet longer and is a little awkward backing out of a parking space. The extra room behind the seat is useful however and going forward is never a problem.

I would recommend choosing the 4 door model rather than the 2 door. I can't even get a 48 quart ice chest behind the seat with the seat folded all the way forward. In order to put an ice chest behind the seat I have to move it between the bucket seats over the console.

I am not crazy about the rough fiber material that the Edge model seats are made from and seat covers are expensive for a 60/40 split bucket seat and impossible to find at a local retailer. The door panels and center console have more of this material and it is rough against my skin. I'd rather have smooth plastic there than scratchy rough cloth. The seats are also not as comfortable as my 93 Explorer bucket seats for my back, but they are much better than my 92's standard bench seat. I would have preferred a fixed console in the middle of the truck rather than one that slides with the seat.

Ride is nothing special, it's a truck.

Gas mileage is my biggest complaint. This truck with a 3.0 liter engine at 5,000 miles averages exactly the same as my 4.0 liter 93 Explorer with 125,000 miles. This is because Ford put a 4.1:1 rear axle ratio in this truck rather than the 3:1 used in my 93 Explorer. The new 4.0 Rangers come standard with a 3.55:1 so they get the same Gas mileage as the 3.0 model. I would have to say the 3.0 has neither the gas mileage of the 2.3 or the power of the 4.0 engines. Ford has totally screwed up the middle of the road performance of this truck with a poor choice of gearing. I would have been much happier if my new truck would maintain a cruising RPM of about 2,000 like my old Explorer rather than 2,700 RPM. I don't pull anything and those extra RPM are sucking my tank dry. I don't even get 350 miles per tank. I should be getting close to 400 if I actually averaged 21 mpg with a 19.5 gallon tank. My gas mileage has been in reality between about 17mpg and 20mpg. I have at most seen 20.5mpg on a long non stop trip. This again is not better than the 4.0 liter 93 explorer and 5 mpg less than my old 2.3 liter Ranger.

On the positive side, this truck is fairly quick from a stop. I always have plenty of pedal left when passing other vehicles. The 6 CD in dash stereo system is also a great feature with a relatively clear 4 speaker system. The truck is actually fun to drive, but I have to cringe every time I pull up to the pump.

If I were to purchase another truck tomorrow, I would probably go for a standard cab 2.3 liter XLT for gas mileage or a 4.0 liter XLT 4 door super cab for better performance with equal gas mileage.