1997 Ford Ranger XLT review from North America

At approximately 197,000 miles, I needed to have a power-steering hose replaced.

I replaced the exhaust and the rear shocks once.

The front brake pads needed replacement for the first and only time at about 120,000 miles, but 90% of my driving has been on the highway.

I also had trouble with the interior light staying on all the time. I replaced an $8 relay under the passenger side dashboard and this seemed to fix the problem... for about 3 weeks. I ended up unplugging the relay permanently and got used to living without the interior light. It still worked if I manually turned the light on and off.

I occasionally had a small leak in the clutch fluid reservoir, but if I checked the level at each oil change, it never turned into a big problem. I only needed to add about an ounce of DOT 3 brake fluid every few months.

So far, I haven't driven a more reliable vehicle than this. Even after 201,000 miles, I have so much faith in this truck that I wouldn't hesitate to drive this truck from coast to coast if I needed to. I wouldn't even worry if I left my Triple-A card and cell phone at home on such a long trip.

A great 2WD truck, averaging over 28 miles per gallon on the highway, that could only have used a few extra horses under the hood. It was a little under-powered, but I wasn't really disappointed since I knew what I was getting into with a 4 cylinder.