Considering Ranger coming from f250. Help me decide

[specialleb]

Ok this might be kinda long cause I ramble but I’ll try to condense the highlights at the end. So I currently drive a 2014 f250 diesel. However, I owned it because I owned a lawn and landscape company and needed a truck I could trust to pull trailers daily. Due to some life changes, I sold the company and am returning to my civil engineering degree. I’m going to be at a desk, and my commute will be 60 miles a day, so getting rid of the fuel guzzler is a must(plus it’s getting old and blah blah). Thing is I can’t decide what I want. I looked at tacomas but decided over priced. Then o moved onto rangers(I’ve always owned fords so makes sense, but taco is where my mind first goes on smaller trucks). Then I got to second guessing myself.

the thing is I won’t be running the company anymore and I’d say 90% of my time a ranger will be just fine, if not ideal. The issue is that 10%. We don’t pay for trash service because it’s horribly unreliable in my area, so I save up a bunch and take it myself in my dump trailer(7x14). I do all my own work. Currently building a garage, so I haul stuff fairly often. I own other trailers for long lumber, I even use them a good bit with the diesel as it’s just easier to load. The big issue is just handling it. So then I start to tell myself I better just upgrade to a 150 to cover my butt. Similar fuel mileage and for used, which is what I’d buy, price is fairly similar.

so to sum up

- want ranger after owning f250
- worried about towing capacity
- considering just going to 150 for piece of mind


Questions
- will it feel under powered?
- will the 90% commute use make up for the 10% hauling?(if hauling heavy, I can always borrow a buddies truck for a day. Yeah. Be that guy)

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[SemiCrazy]

Ok this might be kinda long cause I ramble but I’ll try to condense the highlights at the end. So I currently drive a 2014 f250 diesel. However, I owned it because I owned a lawn and landscape company and needed a truck I could trust to pull trailers daily. Due to some life changes, I sold the company and am returning to my civil engineering degree. I’m going to be at a desk, and my commute will be 60 miles a day, so getting rid of the fuel guzzler is a must(plus it’s getting old and blah blah). Thing is I can’t decide what I want. I looked at tacomas but decided over priced. Then o moved onto rangers(I’ve always owned fords so makes sense, but taco is where my mind first goes on smaller trucks). Then I got to second guessing myself.

the thing is I won’t be running the company anymore and I’d say 90% of my time a ranger will be just fine, if not ideal. The issue is that 10%. We don’t pay for trash service because it’s horribly unreliable in my area, so I save up a bunch and take it myself in my dump trailer(7x14). I do all my own work. Currently building a garage, so I haul stuff fairly often. I own other trailers for long lumber, I even use them a good bit with the diesel as it’s just easier to load. The big issue is just handling it. So then I start to tell myself I better just upgrade to a 150 to cover my butt. Similar fuel mileage and for used, which is what I’d buy, price is fairly similar.

so to sum up

- want ranger after owning f250
- worried about towing capacity
- considering just going to 150 for piece of mind


Questions
- will it feel under powered?
- will the 90% commute use make up for the 10% hauling?(if hauling heavy, I can always borrow a buddies truck for a day. Yeah. Be that guy)

I haven't taken possession of my new Ranger yet (build date 9/4) so have no real world experiences to share. However, I can share my thinking why I passed on a 150. My life's credo if you will, has always been only take what you need and keep life simple, or, function before fashion. Especially now that I'm retired and "old", I find I've accumulated so much "stuff", which begets more stuff, which begets more...

I've been doing my research this last year (man have I been doing research) including this new wonderful site, and I believe my Ranger will fit me to a T. My objective all along has been (A) to replace my high mileage SUV, (B) replace it with something that doubles my current tow cap. & looks and performs great, and very inexpensive. Ha! 1 out of 4 ain't bad.

I'm jonesing for a particular brand and size of RV trailer I want to tow, but while they would fit inside the Rangers towing capacity parameters, it may be tighter than I'm comfortable with. Current towing of my small teardrop represents only about 33% of capacity and I never know its back there. If I would have gone with the F150 there would be no reason to not go big on everything, and then the cycle starts anew. I may have to downsize the new trailer to fit my comfort zone, but that should be fine considering it will still be quite a bit of an upgrade from what I now have.

Best of luck, take your time. Trucks aren't going away anytime soon.

 

[specialleb]

I haven't taken possession of my new Ranger yet (build date 9/4) so have no real world experiences to share. However, I can share my thinking why I passed on a 150. My life's credo if you will, has always been only take what you need and keep life simple, or, function before fashion. Especially now that I'm retired and "old", I find I've accumulated so much "stuff", which begets more stuff, which begets more...

I've been doing my research this last year (man have I been doing research) including this new wonderful site, and I believe my Ranger will fit me to a T. My objective all along has been (A) to replace my high mileage SUV, (B) replace it with something that doubles my current tow cap. & looks and performs great, and very inexpensive. Ha! 1 out of 4 ain't bad.

I'm jonesing for a particular brand and size of RV trailer I want to tow, but while they would fit inside the Rangers towing capacity parameters, it may be tighter than I'm comfortable with. Current towing of my small teardrop represents only about 33% of capacity and I never know its back there. If I would have gone with the F150 there would be no reason to not go big on everything, and then the cycle starts anew. I may have to downsize the new trailer to fit my comfort zone, but that should be fine considering it will still be quite a bit of an upgrade from what I now have.

Best of luck, take your time. Trucks aren't going away anytime soon.

Thanks for the input! Sounds like you’re kinda in my same shoes. “Do I buy a big truck for the 3 times a year I might need it?” Gotta love having these first world problems I suppose!

 

[03GeeTee]

I have to say that downsizing from an f150 to the Ranger, the Ranger is much much easier to park and maneuver in the city with the smaller size and excellent turning radius. It doesn't feel underpowered at all (and I had the 3.5 ecoboost f150 before)

The main loss is the size. Even though I rarely have passengers, I did get used to being able to easily throw stuff in the backseat and go. Whereas the Ranger is way smaller inside, and doesn't have a flat foor like the f150.

Like you said, fuel economy is going to be similar between the two with a slight edge to the Ranger. I am surprised that you're finding the prices to be similar, because when I got my truck last year I was able to get a brand new Ranger for less than any used f150 that didn't have a ton of miles.

 

[specialleb]

I have to say that downsizing from an f150 to the Ranger, the Ranger is much much easier to park and maneuver in the city with the smaller size and excellent turning radius. It doesn't feel underpowered at all (and I had the 3.5 ecoboost f150 before)

The main loss is the size. Even though I rarely have passengers, I did get used to being able to easily throw stuff in the backseat and go. Whereas the Ranger is way smaller inside, and doesn't have a flat foor like the f150.

Like you said, fuel economy is going to be similar between the two with a slight edge to the Ranger. I am surprised that you're finding the prices to be similar, because when I got my truck last year I was able to get a brand new Ranger for less than any used f150 that didn't have a ton of miles.

I guess similar price is maybe a bit of a stretch. I’d say a year older 150 with 15-20k more miles is comparable price. However I feel the f150 features are a bit ahead of ranger so a year older 150 gets you similar features. Miles is the killer I suppose.

 

[Phoenix5454]

To me it sounds like an F150 would be a better option for you - if you get something with 3.55 gears it will still tow fine but not kill your MPGs on the highway. Newer 5.0s have cylinder deactivation too which will improve highway mileage (and the system seems to be better than GMs etc. no major failures...yet). You could also get a 3.5TT just stay out of the boost on the highway and the mileage will be fine. 2.7TT is a great option too but in the F150 it cant tow much more than the Ranger so at that point you just need to consider your cabin space needs.

I have a 2.7TT in my Ranger and its no slouch by any means - truck flys when unloaded - I have not hauled/towed anything of significant weight yet but I doubt it would struggle when I do. Power for days in the Ranger platform with the 2.7TT.

 

[purdyd]

I guess it would depend on how much weight you are towing and how far.

I've always been a Tacoma guy myself, but picked the ranger this time.

i have not been disappointed.

but I will be honest I’d have to look carefully now at the Tacoma limited versus ranger lariat because of some of the things they have removed From the ranger lariat.

But there is still the issue with Tacoma’s that while they have certain configurations you can specify, you can’t order one to that spec, and while there are oddles of sports and off roads, there is very limited availability of some versions.

I spent months scouring the Tacoma exel datavase and Toyota inventory search.

and one day the ford ranger just how I wanted it popped up near me.

 

[surfstar]

an F150 with the 2.7.

About same gas mileage as a Ranger and comfy for commuting.

 

[MaineGuy]

Ok this might be kinda long cause I ramble but I’ll try to condense the highlights at the end. So I currently drive a 2014 f250 diesel. However, I owned it because I owned a lawn and landscape company and needed a truck I could trust to pull trailers daily. Due to some life changes, I sold the company and am returning to my civil engineering degree. I’m going to be at a desk, and my commute will be 60 miles a day, so getting rid of the fuel guzzler is a must(plus it’s getting old and blah blah). Thing is I can’t decide what I want. I looked at tacomas but decided over priced. Then o moved onto rangers(I’ve always owned fords so makes sense, but taco is where my mind first goes on smaller trucks). Then I got to second guessing myself.

the thing is I won’t be running the company anymore and I’d say 90% of my time a ranger will be just fine, if not ideal. The issue is that 10%. We don’t pay for trash service because it’s horribly unreliable in my area, so I save up a bunch and take it myself in my dump trailer(7x14). I do all my own work. Currently building a garage, so I haul stuff fairly often. I own other trailers for long lumber, I even use them a good bit with the diesel as it’s just easier to load. The big issue is just handling it. So then I start to tell myself I better just upgrade to a 150 to cover my butt. Similar fuel mileage and for used, which is what I’d buy, price is fairly similar.

so to sum up

- want ranger after owning f250
- worried about towing capacity
- considering just going to 150 for piece of mind


Questions
- will it feel under powered?
- will the 90% commute use make up for the 10% hauling?(if hauling heavy, I can always borrow a buddies truck for a day. Yeah. Be that guy)

I'll share my very similar path.

In 2018, I bought a new 2018 F150 3.5-liter XLT. Very pleased with the truck for many reasons – great ride, handling, gas mileage and good enough for the towing I did. My only concern with the truck was the EcoBoost. Gives it great acceleration when needed but saves gas when the power is not needed obviously. But I was worried at the time about the additional wear from the EcoBoost.

So, I traded in 2020 for a new F250 XLT with the Godzilla 7.3-liter not because I was towing 10,000 lbs. but because I like the idea that the truck was built not to satisfy fuel mileage standards but is built for work. What a truck! Far more power and towing than I needed but very practical for me at that time. I felt that whatever I needed to use the truck for – either hauling stuff or going on Maine back roads, there was no question about the truck.

Drove the Super Duty for 6 years, then decided, like you, my life needs changed and I was ready for a more practical sized truck for my simple retired-life needs. But down-sizing back to a F150 didn't seem like enough of a change. I have driven Fords for years (I previously had a 2011 Ranger that I had upgraded to the F150).

So, although I believe the fully paid-off F250 Super Duty would last me the remainder of my driving days I was ready to down-size. But I did not want to down-grade. Looked seriously at new Taco’s as I have 2 relatives that swear by them and I was ready for a change anyway. But
then I found that the 6-cylinder was not available for tacos and I am not interested in hybrid or 4-cylinder.

Found a black Ranger Lariat with a 2.7-liter (ironically with the EcoBoost), equipped exactly as I like and I traded the Super Duty back in March. I can tell you it was absolutely the right move for me. I returned yesterday from a drive to Ft. Kent, Maine and enjoyed every minute of driving my Ranger. Very comfortable, with all the power I need, and more. Have also driven to upstate New York and I was pleased with the ride on the freeways.

For me the important thing is my 6x12 utility trailer that I use to haul trash, debris, a couple zero-turns, and sand and soil. Saves the truck. The Ranger hauls that 3000 lbs. with ease. In my case, at my point in life the Ranger was the right decision. I will learn to live with and gain confidence in the EcoBoost this time. I wish you the best in your decision.

 

[specialleb]

Got to test drive one earlier today and wow really impressed. Much nicer than the taco I tested out. I think my leaning is favoring the ranger at this point. Just comes down to finding one I like in a budget I like I suppose!

 

[superj]

I use my little base model ranger (with the 2.3) as a daily, hauls stuff to the dump, and picks up wood and junk at the hardware store.

It works great. I have towed cars and am about to head from the bottom of Texas to Omaha Nebraska to pull a car home for my son. He pulled it up there with his base model 2.3 ranger and said he set cruise at 75mph and had zero issues.

The only regrets I have on mine, since I bought it by the "what do I need" versus "what do I want" plan, is it should have gotten a 4x4 and the wife wants heated seats.

So I will have to change my ranger sometime in the future as the wife comments on the heated seats a bunch but, who knows? This base model 2 wheel drive ranger has been perfect. Not a single issue and I have had lots of fun doing mods to it. Other then missing 4x4, this truck is perfect to me. Its fun to drive, comfortable, quick off the line, fast on the highway, good Gas mileage, quiet, carries everything i put in it, and is everything a dependable good truck should be to me.

But my youngest son's 2022 f150 with the 2.7 is very impressive. He gets better Gas mileage then I do on the highway and his truck is super nice because his is a high trim xlt.

 

[specialleb]

That’s impres

I use my little base model ranger (with the 2.3) as a daily, hauls stuff to the dump, and picks up wood and junk at the hardware store.

It works great. I have towed cars and am about to head from the bottom of Texas to Omaha Nebraska to pull a car home for my son. He pulled it up there with his base model 2.3 ranger and said he set cruise at 75mph and had zero issues.

The only regrets I have on mine, since I bought it by the "what do I need" versus "what do I want" plan, is it should have gotten a 4x4 and the wife wants heated seats.

So I will have to change my ranger sometime in the future as the wife comments on the heated seats a bunch but, who knows? This base model 2 wheel drive ranger has been perfect. Not a single issue and I have had lots of fun doing mods to it. Other then missing 4x4, this truck is perfect to me. Its fun to drive, comfortable, quick off the line, fast on the highway, good Gas mileage, quiet, carries everything i put in it, and is everything a dependable good truck should be to me.

But my youngest son's 2022 f150 with the 2.7 is very impressive. He gets better Gas mileage then I do on the highway and his truck is super nice because his is a high trim xlt.

That’s impressive hauling! Yeah I will get 4x4 for sure as we get a fair amount of snow here. The fuel mileage out of the 150 is interesting to me I wouldn’t have guessed that with the size increase.

 

[gmpetrie]

I bought a 2025 Ranger Lariat 2.7 at about the same time my son bought a new Tacoma SR5 fully loaded. I can tell you that the Ranger is a MUCH better designed and built truck than the Toyota. The ride is much more refined, the Ranger is quieter and has much more power. The Ranger has FAR BETTER electronics and driver assistance than the Tacoma. The Toyota build quality feels “cheap” compared to the Ranger. They both have comparable towing capacity. My Ranger also gets much better gas mileage than the Toyota . . . 18/26 vs 13/20.

If I were you, I would not go for the Ranger Raptor only because they have significantly less towing capacity than the other Ranger models.

I think you would be really happy with the Ranger Lariat 2.7L.

 

[OxygenMask]

Different take:
My 2014 F150 5.0 6sp auto 2014 got 1-2 mpg less around town 3-4 more mpg on the hwy! Far more comfy, roomier, ride and handling were superb, does real truck stuff. I miss that truck.
I would not be happy if I had gone from that to the Ranger.
I bought the RR because it's a Raptor. I think of it as a car with a big trunk, and an off road toy. It's so much fun, I would buy it again. But I still have my F350...

But for a truck, the size (inside and out) of the Ranger doesn't come with a fuel economy increase, so there's not much reason to go smaller. I'd get an F150 Lariat, best features bang for the buck. More comfy and tows better too.
I don't care much for the TT v6 10speed combo in the F150 but that's just personal.

 

[SemiCrazy]

Got to test drive one earlier today and wow really impressed. Much nicer than the taco I tested out. I think my leaning is favoring the ranger at this point. Just comes down to finding one I like in a budget I like I suppose!

Yeah, doesn't matter how much research, how many opinions, how often it all gets turned inside out, in the end is the price! After months of haggling, test driving, making deals that fell apart as soon as they came together, came the Ford Employee Special Pricing that ended July 6. By this time I had seen so many numbers and quotes that for me I said screw it, this is probably gonna be my best shot. With one caveat, I would special order one even if it meant waiting months.

By this time I really had all the features and options I wanted and more importantly, didn't want dialed in. For example: I wanted leather but the XLT does't come with leather. I got the dealer to include a Katzkin custom leather at dealer cost. ($1499.) It has the 2.7L, Advanced Tow Pkg. Black Running Boards, and 3.73 lockout. I intentionally decided against the FX4, and kept the 17' wheels. Minus the Katzkin leather, $43,646.50 not including TT&L Probably someone will come along and say they could have beat that by $100. or $1000, but at some point its time to fish or cut bait.

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