Still too new.
The size of the truck is great in town.
Easy to use controls.
Decent gas mileage.
Seriously fun to drive.
Always enough power on tap.
Just enough room in extra cab for my dog.
You're right, the Ranger is a great small truck. I'm currently on my 4th since '92, and they just don't come any better. I've never had a bit of trouble with any of my previous Rangers. The current one (a Sport with the V-6 and automatic) seems to be the best built one yet. My ONLY regret is the dorky-looking grille and the stupid column mounted gear selector. My previous Rangers were all 5-speeds and had the shift in the floor. I have not driven anything with a column mounted shift in 30 years!! Even our luxury SUV has a floor-mounted gear selector.
What's wrong with a column gear selector? It frees up space on the floor for cup-holders, more legroom, etc. Remember, the interior of the Ford Ranger isn't exactly gigantic to begin with. If you didn't like the gearshift, why didn't you buy a manual? I think the new Ranger is a great small truck, definitely better then the foreign competition.
Actually I WANTED a 5-speed DESPERATELY, but none of the local dealers had the truck I wanted, in the color I wanted, with the manual transmission. And YES, I should have waited until I found one!! I have owned so few vehicles with the old-fashioned column mounted shift that I keep finding myself fumbling in the floor for the shifter. I also HATE the floor mounted emergency brake, although my other trucks had that too. I guess I'm just spoiled by our SUV and car, both of which have both the gear selector and the emergency brake located in a center console. I'm finding the shifter so annoying that I'm actually thinking of trading the truck (for another Ranger, of course, but with a 5-speed). There is NO real competition for Ranger in the small truck category, so I'm not about to switch brands!!
The archaic column-mounted gear selectors on some modern vehicles are hard to get used to if you've driven cars with the shift in the console. I can't fathom why Ford still uses this throw-back to the 50's in many of its automatic equipped vehicles.
I found a great way to alter the dorky looking grille on my new Ranger Sport. I masked off the inner portion just inside the grille recess with super-flexible striping tape and then masked up to the edge of the tape with masking tape, sanded it good with extra fine sandpaper and applied 4 coats of high-quality automotive semi-gloss black. It looks like a totally different (and MUCH better looking) truck. The semi-gloss black perfectly compliments the lower area of the bumper and gives the truck a much sportier look. I didn't want the whole grille black, but rather a black center with the body color around it. The whole deal only cost me about $15, and was the only option, as to my knowledge there aren't any custom grills available for it, and I didn't want chrome on it anyway.
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