How would you rate your Ranger at this point?

[LeeHo]

Lariat 2.7 is OK. All options except FX4. If my tires ever hit dirt it's for parking, camping or the asphalt ran out. Deluxe towing and the works. Last Ford truck I had was a 77' F150 with a wood tail gate - damn thing rusted out but the truck refused to die! Wanted the Lariat because my wife and I are approaching past retirement and wanted something comfortable for long trips and possibly towing a TT. We have not been disappointed. Love my Ranger!

I agree with the problems stated above. A grab handle on the drivers side would be a good assist for some seniors like me. Front sensor error messages drives me nutz too! Wish "engine off" by-pass could be perminent instead of having to install a bypass kit. Hell, you got everything under the sun in that computer system, how hard would it be to have an option to bypass the damn thing.

As for the infotainment system - Ford -if you are reading this you F-upped. Oh it operates OK for entertainment and programming your fancy options - however, more of us seniors are wearing hearing aids (blasted ear drums from Black Sabbath, Lead Zeplin, Deep Purple, Metalica - Etc) and your system sucks as it relates to connection of Bluetooth Aids to Cell Phone, to Infotainment System. The system is confused and trys to switch back and forth between the aids and the cell phone making phone recption too unreliable to count on.

With 6K miles on it I give it an 8 star rating.

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[dmac72]

I have a 24 RR. Took delivery towards the end of June in 2024. Currently sitting a tad over 15K miles on it. I did the Ford tune early on. Premium since day 1, I average ~16-17mpg highway, 80mils per day Boston traffic. My complaints are minimal as I knew what I was buying, especially with Gas. I have a 2019 GT350 and a 69 Chrysler Newport that both drink gas like maniacs.

Complaints are minimal:
Jerky shifts while in sport mode
Paint is fragile, scratches, chips easily
Pressure dent on hood by the vents
Ripples in the front seats
R button has gone out 2-3 times but always comes back.
Anything involving removal of bolts in the bed is a nightmare with the factory spray in liner. Heat the bolts, cut off the spray, then attempt to unscrew.
Not a lot of aftermarket support despite being a "Global" truck. Gotta pay to import everything.

Other than that, the truck is a riot, it's stupid silly, I laugh almost as much as when I drive the Shelby. This past weekend due to mileage and mpg, I retired the truck to be used for crappy weather and home depot runs as I want to keep the truck as long as possible, so I bought a 40mpg commuter car.

Well, the bit you mentioned about the paint helps dull the pain of how much I paid to have the whole entire vehicle PPF’d and ceramic coated the week I got it.

So far I’ve raked the sides on trail bushes, sand-blasted it a couple times a month at the dunes, and accidentally spilled like half a gallon of gas down the bedside (found out the hard way that there’s a special fuel funnel behind the back seat that has to be used when filling the truck with a portable gas can ), and yet there are zero scratches in the PPF anywhere, and water still beads up everywhere (even where I spilled the gas).

If you haven’t done it already, I highly recommend PPF and ceramic (pavement pounders excepted, I suppose. That’d likely be a waste of money for how much it costs).

 

[dmac72]

Yes, I have an XLT FX4. At the time of my purchase, dealers were charging 70k for the Ranger Raptor. No thank you. Would love to have one though, but still too much IMO.

I get it. I was in the spring 2023 pre-order group because I had an in with my local dealer and was able to get it for msrp. Had I not had that, I would have considered the Tacoma TRD Pro, depending on who was charging what markups at the time.

 

[ADDGAMER]

Well, the bit you mentioned about the paint helps dull the pain of how much I paid to have the whole entire vehicle PPF’d and ceramic coated the week I got it.

So far I’ve raked the sides on trail bushes, sand-blasted it a couple times a month at the dunes, and accidentally spilled like half a gallon of gas down the bedside (found out the hard way that there’s a special fuel funnel behind the back seat that has to be used when filling the truck with a portable gas can ), and yet there are zero scratches in the PPF anywhere, and water still beads up everywhere (even where I spilled the gas).

If you haven’t done it already, I highly recommend PPF and ceramic (pavement pounders excepted, I suppose. That’d likely be a waste of money for how much it costs).

My brother in law was in the autobody business back when I bought my first shelby. He advised me to skip the PPF and save the money for gas, brakes and tires. I've kept that mentality for the RR.

 

[garyo]

my most recent past truck (if you can call it that) was a 2008 Sport Trac XLT.

I’m still likely in the honeymoon stage as I’ve got 1000 kms on the new 2024 Ranger Lariat we purchased.

first a couple downs…

- The wrangler tires it came with are awful on anything slippery.
- the braking is a little soft for my liking as you have to give it a good press, maybe it will break in a bit over time.
- we are in a northern climate and winter boots is standard issue but the first time wearing the boots I went to hit the brake and there isn’t much room in between the brake pedal and a airbag device. Got used to it with seat raised and back farther.
- drivers grab handle would be nice.
- engine missing a nice engine cover in my opinion.
- no rear vents for passages or pets.
- leather seats kinda arm to pucker a bit

The ups…

- I love this midsize truck. Rides like a larger truck but easy to navigate.
- great looking midsize; already many compliments.
- infotainment is fantastic and for my wife and I flawless so far. Nice sound as well.
- controls easy to manage and locate.
- tastefully done interior with the infotainment console looking as it should, built in (not a tablet mounted on the dash).
- control, steering very positive and responsive.
- acceleration very good with the 2.7, no complaints there.
- build quality looks to be very good as well, time will tell but everything seems tight, lined up and solid.

My early rating is a 9.0 as I likely need to get used to it more and see if there is anything that I like that I missed or something pops up to be not so good. But all in all I’m very happy with our purchase and can’t wait to drive it more.

 

[VehicleNanny]

I have an XLT (non-FX4) with the 2.3L. I really like this truck except for a vibration that the dealer has not corrected after two attempts (they balanced the front wheels and replaced the accelerator pedal). I had the wheels road force balanced by Discount Tire, which heped a lot. I still felt something in the front end, so assumed the Wrangler Territory AT tires were the issue. I bought four new Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 tires, which improved the ride but did nothing for the vibration. I'm going back to the dealer next week.

 

[dmac72]

My brother in law was in the autobody business back when I bought my first shelby. He advised me to skip the PPF and save the money for gas, brakes and tires. I've kept that mentality for the RR.

I think the combination of you mentioning how fragile the paint is and how durable I mentioned the PPF being makes a strong case against his approach, but don’t tell him that!

 

[GeorgeRem]

A few hundred miles on a 2.7 XLT. Coming from a manual Miata.

I find it amazingly comfortable, great sound insulation, powerful and overall a competent vehicle. It has great high tech driver assistance features.

Two dislikes:

1. The AT isn't great. Haven't tried the manual mode yet.

2. It's the most boring vehicle I've ever driven. On longer drives it actually makes me drowsy. But I guess I can go back to the Miata if I want to have fun driving

 

[Kevindust]

The ranger is more comfortable then the wife's 2019 wrsmgler 4 door and gets very similar gas mileage. Her jeep is quicker though because the wrangler has that turbo 2.0 liter alfa romeo engine in it.

I was curious about your acceleration comment so I looked it up. You should be happy to know that Car and Driver has tested the following:

2.0t Wrangler
0-60 6.5 seconds
0-100 20.1 seconds
1/4 mile 15.2 @ 90 mph

2.3t Ranger
0-60 6.2 seconds
0-100 17.7 seconds
1/4 mile 14.8 @ 93 mph

This is a great thread, I appreciate reading real world reviews from actual owners...please keep the ratings and reviews coming!

 

[entoptics]

2 months and 2400 miles on a December built 2024 RR.

11/10 rating from a guy who "likes to drive", but isn't a gear head, coming from a 5G 4Runner TRD-OR Premium.

I'd give it a 12 out of 10 but for the seat belt warning on startup and the boring gray color...

I love that it sorts the people who I've let drive it or given rides into two categories...

1) Gleeful, giggling joy...

2) Abject terror...

Yesterday, I took my Gen Z nephew and niece out to an ORV park and let them drive it like hooligans, and I'm pretty certain my street cred went up several points. First time I can think of that I'll end up in their Instagrams (is that still a thing?)...

Gas mileage sucks, but it's only 5% worse than my 4Runner was, but it's got 50% more power. It's also better off road in every way.

What's mind blowing to me though, is that all that fun and capability is housed in an incredibly comfortable and manageable package that is a pleasure to live with commuting and road tripping.

 

[Bt_okst]

2024 Ranger Raptor. From factory 7 out of 10. Seat covers poor, electronic gremlins dash and screen regularly, needed more oomph/better shifting. Otherwise very good for the $$.

After several thousand spent on new katzkin leather seats and procal ford tune, 8.5 out of 10. The power and shifting is now what it should've been from factory, the seats are now the quality they should've been from factory. Biggest complaints still. 1) gremlins in dash and screen 2) glass should be sound screen/acoustic glass on windshield and side glass. Too much wind noise for almost $60k truck.

Great size, maneuverability, great power now. Overall really like truck.

 

[Pl8to]

I've had my 25 RR for about a month and absolutely love it. Traded my Bronco in due to needing a truck bed often. I absolutely loved the Bronco but it has been really nice having a quiet ride on the highway. The truck is really comfortable, drives great on road and on the couple trails I've hit so far. It's just a blast to drive basically anywhere. Overall very happy so far.

 

[superj]

I was curious about your acceleration comment so I looked it up. You should be happy to know that Car and Driver has tested the following:

2.0t Wrangler
0-60 6.5 seconds
0-100 20.1 seconds
1/4 mile 15.2 @ 90 mph

2.3t Ranger
0-60 6.2 seconds
0-100 17.7 seconds
1/4 mile 14.8 @ 93 mph

This is a great thread, I appreciate reading real world reviews from actual owners...please keep the ratings and reviews coming!

Thats funny. Her jeep is definitly faster than my ranger and she likes to point it out. We actually have embarrassed alot of v8 trucks and some various cars from a red light start because they try to hot rod in front of us to cut us off onto the highway. Her jeep is the hybrid 2.0t though so its also got that extra hp helping it out. When you pop the hood, it looks like it has a centrifugal supercharger being driven by a belt, but its actually helping drive the engine up until a certain rpm.

From google:


"The 2019 and 2020 Jeep Wrangler also featured a mild hybrid system called eTorque, which improved fuel economy and towing capacity.
eTorque used a belt-driven motor generator unit to replace the traditional alternator.
It allowed for quick engine restarting and provided additional torque"


Her jeep will smoke the tires through the intersection, which is alot of fun, ha ha ha. I tried to talk her unto a 2 door version but it probably would be more dangerous having such a short wheel base and such wheel spinning ability

 

[Blowndodge]

2024 2.3 Ranger Lariat FX4 4k miles. Love it. Everything I was hoping for.

 

[Kevindust]

Thats funny. Her jeep is definitly faster than my ranger and she likes to point it out.

Can you please explain how 0-60 in 6.5 is quicker than 6.2 seconds? I agree that the neither vehicle is slow, but I think you should be confident to line up against your wife's Jeep in a drag race. Especially since you have a 4x2 STX, your truck is light and should be a relative 2.3L rocket!

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