Once upon a time the Ford Ranger was one of the most popular mid-sized trucks you could buy in North America. But in 2012 Ford decided that it did not want to cannibalize sales of its popular F-150 so it stopped selling the Ford Ranger in the United States. However the truck lives on in many part of the world including Europe.
Recently we received this email from Greg O’Brien, a European owner of a brand new Ford Ranger Diesel.
Hope your well, regarding the new Ford Ranger thats meant to be coming to the U.S. I own a Brand new Ford Ranger with the 3.2 powerstroke diesel, it even has DEF (ad blue) for the emissions. If you would like to know anything about it, or want pics or specs let me know. It might be helpful if you hear any rumours about the U.S version and you can compare with someone that actually has one rather than reading rumours off the net. Your TFL videos give me alot of enjoyment so its kinda my way of saying thanks. Il attach a pic. Message me if you need anything.
Thanks again
Greg O’Brien
Ps .the baby is my cousin, in the big one on the left haha.
As you probably know the mid-sized truck segment in the United States is red hot and the rumors are that Ford will bring back the Ford Ranger to our shores to compete with the likes of the new and very popular Chevy Colorado and the best-selling Toyota Tacoma. That’s why we asked Greg to review his new Ford Ranger, so that you we can give you a slight taste of the forbidden fruit, while we wait for official details on (if and when) Ford brings back the Ranger. Below is Greg’s review of his new truck:
“I purchased this truck 2 weeks ago after Toyota announced that there would only be a 2.4 litre diesel engine available in the 2016 Hilux which is a big step down from the 3 litres i was used to. Up until now I’ve always had Hiluxes but the towing capacity was only 5011 lbs, they would tow more as i found out a few times, on private roads of course. So going to Ford was a big change for me, I had reliability issues in mind. But so far after 1600 miles in 2 weeks all I can say is I don’t regret it.
The new Ranger is a step up from what we are used to in the Uk. Its as comfortable as my sisters Mercedes and it does everything my old truck used to do, but better. The 3.2 diesel gets around 31 UK mpg average, that drops to about 20 when towing 7700 lbs on a run. Its a quiet, refined , smooth engine. I think its mated to the 6r80 gearbox that you have there in the F150. Smooth gearbox but it does tend to hold onto gears longer than i think it should and theres a big drop in revs between 2nd and 3rd which makes you feel like you’ve stopped accelerating due to it going quiet even though you haven’t.
The electric steering works really well, light as a feather for maneuvering then tightens up on the highway. The interior has dual zone climate control electric everything, and 2 lcd screens which show all your engine and mpg stuff on the right and entertainment stuff on the left. They show either side of the analogue speedo which sits in the middle, very nice place to sit and work all day.
The engine very rarely revs above 3000rpm even with a full load. Safety wise it has all the esc, crawl control, rear diff lock, trailer sway control, more airbags than i can count and its nearly as big as an f150 so over here its pretty safe on the roads. Theres 2 axle ratio choices a 3.55 for towing which is what i have and a 4.10 for fuel economy but thats only available with the 2.2 diesel, which makes 44 mpg. So far i love it and if it lasts as long as it feels it will last then I will have it for a long time. All it needs now is some better tires.”
I had the chance to check out the European Ranger when I was at the Geneva Auto Show a few years ago. Below is the video I produced from the European show:
If you own a current Ford Ranger please let us know your experiences with the truck in the comments below. Do you like it and should Ford bring it back to the United States?
