What Made You Choose Your Truck?

[Ranger#5?]

My understanding was that the cabin was roughly the same size and the extra width was mostly in the wheel arches to make a wider track.

there's more than just sheet metal and interior changes. The frame has been pretty extensively reworked front & rear. The rear shocks have been moved outside the frame rails like the F-150 to cut down on axle hop and reported skittishness in some situations. The engine compartment & frame in front has been widened to add 2" to the track to match the rear. I read a comment that with the extra room Ford also added a spot for a 2nd battery under the hood. I'm also hoping they made the oil filter more accessible for DIY oil changes too.

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[rwolfcastle]

there's more than just sheet metal and interior changes. The frame has been pretty extensively reworked front & rear. The rear shocks have been moved outside the frame rails like the F-150 to cut down on axle hop and reported skittishness in some situations. The engine compartment & frame in front has been widened to add 2" to the track to match the rear. I read a comment that with the extra room Ford also added a spot for a 2nd battery under the hood. I'm also hoping they made the oil filter more accessible for DIY oil changes too.

Interesting, is sounds like there may be room under the hood for a ARB twin compressor then.

 

[Scooter]

Yes, I have seen some pictures of another battery mounted under the Hood. Genuine Ford product. I hope that feature is available on the NA models.

 

[MJE]

I’m 6’2 and 220 pounds and have plenty of room. The Gen 6 is actually a shade larger than 5. A couple inches wider, couple longer, couple taller. Not something most people would notice unless they put the two side by side or read the specs. The little bit bigger isn’t enough to affect drivability, but goes directly to interior space and comfort. It allowed for better seat design front and back. More adjustments in seating position. Better dash layout… all leading to better overall experience.

Been in it for hours at a time over all terrain and no driver fatigue so far. Utility of a truck. Comfort and equipped like an SUV. Great balance.

Oh, and did I mention 925 Kms on a tank of fuel?

If your experience turns out to be what mine is when I get a chance to try a 6G that would be about perfect then. I’m a little shorter & a little fatter at 6’ 230# (gotta work on that this summer). Maybe a dumb question with seating adjustments though, is it one where the front & back of the bottom cushion raise independently? Or is it just a straight up/down height adjustment? I found the independent adjustments nice & miss having them.

 

[Equitasforall]

Interesting, is sounds like there may be room under the hood for a ARB twin compressor then.

There is, but they’ve actually engineered a place in the right rear of the bed between the inner and outer sheet metal. Hard mounts in there with only the hose coupler visible in the bed. Keeps it out of the way while allowing functionality. Just got back from ARB in town where I ordered it. I’ll post pics once it’s installed, but here’s the pic from the Ford accessory catalog:

 

[Equitasforall]

If your experience turns out to be what mine is when I get a chance to try a 6G that would be about perfect then. I’m a little shorter & a little fatter at 6’ 230# (gotta work on that this summer). Maybe a dumb question with seating adjustments though, is it one where the front & back of the bottom cushion raise independently? Or is it just a straight up/down height adjustment? I found the independent adjustments nice & miss having them.

Not a dumb question at all, but unfortunately it’s a single elevation change as opposed to the independent front/rear. I still don’t think you’ll have a problem finding a comfortable seating position. I was able to and the seat’s on the wrong side of the damn truck!

 

[MJE]

Not a dumb question at all, but unfortunately it’s a single elevation change as opposed to the independent front/rear. I still don’t think you’ll have a problem finding a comfortable seating position. I was able to and the seat’s on the wrong side of the damn truck!

Haha with it being the wrong side I’d be more worried about adjusting to the driving than thinking a bout how I felt in the car! . You’re probably right though, I mean an 8 way seat is 6 more adjustments than I’ve had in some cars! .

 

[rwolfcastle]

There is, but they’ve actually engineered a place in the right rear of the bed between the inner and outer sheet metal. Hard mounts in there with only the hose couple visible in the bed. Keeps it out of the way while allowing functionality. Just got back from ARB in town where I ordered it. I’ll post pics once it’s installed, but here’s the pic from the Ford accessory catalog:

What?! That's amazing! Definitely post pics. I assume you'll turn it on via the over-head aux switches?

 

[Equitasforall]

Haha with it being the wrong side I’d be more worried about adjusting to the driving than thinking a bout how I felt in the car! . You’re probably right though, I mean an 8 way seat is 6 more adjustments than I’ve had in some cars! .

Adjusting to the driving is pretty easy… follow the dude in front of you. Adjusting to looking the “wrong” way before crossing the street? Different story altogether… tends to be a self correcting problem though!

 

[Equitasforall]

What?! That's amazing! Definitely post pics. I assume you'll turn it on via the over-head aux switches?

Yep, if your truck has them (mine doesn’t) so they’ll likely put a switch in the bed next to the hose coupler or in a “blank” spot on the lower dash near the headlight switch. Since I’m Not running air lockers or something I’ll likely stick with the bed.

 

[carmigo]

That’s always part of the fun… not necessarily planning but just exploring. In the states we often flip a coin to decide if we go left right or straight. Harder to do that here, but still plenty of options! And we’ll post pics afterwards!

Relationship goals <3 Looking forward to the pics!

 

[carmigo]

Comfort was something I didn’t necessarily consider in my Bronco Sport and should have thought much more about. I too wish to do longer road trips but this is not the car for that. It’s more than maneuverable around the city which was my primary consideration and certainly looks cool enough doing it with some friendly charm carried over from the ‘real’ Bronco. But being cramped & uncomfortable on the worst seats I’ve experienced in a modern car, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

I’m hoping a midsize truck will give me the quality & comfort my much loved (and shouldn’t have sold) 2007 F150 had, but in a package a little better for getting around the city in than a modern F!50. Though everybody here seems to just go for the full-size truck anyways and I may yet do the same. But if the 6G offers me what that truck had I’ll be sold. Still also considering the new Colorado/Canyon & looking forward to what Toyota and Honda (easy to forget the Ridgeline exists too) might do in the near future.

You're right, it doesn't matter how sweet your ride is if you're uncomfortable on a long trip. Hope you find the right fit of comfy without having to sacrifice on any quality or tech.

 

[Alaska_Wolf]

I just bought my 2023 Ranger Lariat FX4 Jungle Splash Edition, first "new" Ranger I've ever had. I've bought Ford's almost exclusively for 50 years now, one of my two exceptions being an International orange and black 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda w/426. I've also had a black and white 68 Shelby GT 500 w/428, a red 1968 F 100 Ranger (yep, there was an F series Ranger), a red 67 Mustang Hard Top; then there was my little green 1976 Datsun B-210. I actually really liked that little car, it was comfortable, fun to drive and affordable for a brand new airman. When I was sent to the UK in 1980, I sold it rather than taking it with me and bought a red 1976 Ford Granada (UK), and talked my new bride out of ever buying Dodges again. Then we ordered a red 1985 Ford Bronco straight from Ford, and picked it up in Minneapolis to help us deal with the snows of the Michigan Upper Pennisula; and I found a 1976 bright red Maverick Stallion 302. After the snowmageddon years, I bought a red 1989 Bronco and my wife got her Lil Red 1998 Ranger. We kept both of those until we traded them in for a brand new 1995 red (does anyone see a pattern yet?) Eddie Bauer Ford Bronco and moved on with the next chapter of our lives as we moved to Alaska with kids and dogs.

Once we got to Anchorage, I bought myself a little white and blue 1986 F 250 and wifey kept the NEW red Bronco... Fast forward a few years and I past by an auto transporter with this beautiful truck on the top heading to Cal Worthington Ford of Anchorage. Needless to say, I whipped a u-turn and followed that truck. 3 hours later, I was now the proud owner of my own brand new 2004 Screaming Yellow and Dark Shadow Gray Metallic F 150! Then after we left Alaska, we got the wife a new metallic black 2013 Ford Edge Limited which she kept, right up until she saw a beautiful, and seriously impractical, ruby red metallic 2016 Ford SHO sitting unclaimed, and alone, on a lot more than a year after it was built. Well...there went Yellow Truck, and I inherited a black SUV... The Edge wasn't bad, and I kept it until I found a 10 month old ruby red metallic 2018 F 150 Lariat with 9,000 miles on it. Wife kept her little race car until 2022 when she found a ruby red metallic 2020 3.5L Ecoboost Ford Explorer Platinum, which is now her forever vehicle -- we'll see. My F 150 was nice, but it wasn't yellow truck, and besides, all of the parking lots seemed to be shrinking so this year I finally got serious about looking for a new, smaller, vehicle. Oh, and my 2.7 Ecoboost was WAY under-powered for a F 150 and only got 15 mpg combined; yellow truck with that 5.4 Triton averaged over 20 mpg, even through sub-zero temperatures.

I looked at a 2023 Toyota Taco, but was not at all impressed with how uncomfortable the cab was. Then I went on to look at many other vehicles, all of which were painted in the same crappy white, silver and grayish colors. Was there a huge paint sale on white, silver and gray automotive paints? Finally I went and tested the new Maverick...it was okay, but nothing special, I'm not sure what all the buzz was about; and it is definitely NOT a Maverick. Then it was on to look at our our beloved Broncos, only to find the unimpressive Not-a-Bronco, and the seriously even more unimpressive Not-a-Bronco Sport. (has anyone noticed how many Not-A-Bronco and Not-A-Bronco Sports are already up for resale?) Finally, a deep green green color caught my eye, and after a salesman annoying test drive, my new 2023 Ranger Lariat FX4 Jungle Splash Edition is parked in my driveway.

 

[MJE]

I just bought my 2023 Ranger Lariat FX4 Jungle Splash Edition, first "new" Ranger I've ever had. I've bought Ford's almost exclusively for 50 years now, one of my two exceptions being an International orange and black 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda w/426. I've also had a black and white 68 Shelby GT 500 w/428, a red 1968 F 100 Ranger (yep, there was an F series Ranger), a red 67 Mustang Hard Top; then there was my little green 1976 Datsun B-210. I actually really liked that little car, it was comfortable, fun to drive and affordable for a brand new airman. When I was sent to the UK in 1980, I sold it rather than taking it with me and bought a red 1976 Ford Granada (UK), and talked my new bride out of ever buying Dodges again. Then we ordered a red 1985 Ford Bronco straight from Ford, and picked it up in Minneapolis to help us deal with the snows of the Michigan Upper Pennisula; and I found a 1976 bright red Maverick Stallion 302. After the snowmageddon years, I bought a red 1989 Bronco and my wife got her Lil Red 1998 Ranger. We kept both of those until we traded them in for a brand new 1995 red (does anyone see a pattern yet?) Eddie Bauer Ford Bronco and moved on with the next chapter of our lives as we moved to Alaska with kids and dogs.

Once we got to Anchorage, I bought myself a little white and blue 1986 F 250 and wifey kept the NEW red Bronco... Fast forward a few years and I past by an auto transporter with this beautiful truck on the top heading to Cal Worthington Ford of Anchorage. Needless to say, I whipped a u-turn and followed that truck. 3 hours later, I was now the proud owner of my own brand new 2004 Screaming Yellow and Dark Shadow Gray Metallic F 150! Then after we left Alaska, we got the wife a new metallic black 2013 Ford Edge Limited which she kept, right up until she saw a beautiful, and seriously impractical, ruby red metallic 2016 Ford SHO sitting unclaimed, and alone, on a lot more than a year after it was built. Well...there went Yellow Truck, and I inherited a black SUV... The Edge wasn't bad, and I kept it until I found a 10 month old ruby red metallic 2018 F 150 Lariat with 9,000 miles on it. Wife kept her little race car until 2022 when she found a ruby red metallic 2020 3.5L Ecoboost Ford Explorer Platinum, which is now her forever vehicle -- we'll see. My F 150 was nice, but it wasn't yellow truck, and besides, all of the parking lots seemed to be shrinking so this year I finally got serious about looking for a new, smaller, vehicle. Oh, and my 2.7 Ecoboost was WAY under-powered for a F 150 and only got 15 mpg combined; yellow truck with that 5.4 Triton averaged over 20 mpg, even through sub-zero temperatures.

I looked at a 2023 Toyota Taco, but was not at all impressed with how uncomfortable the cab was. Then I went on to look at many other vehicles, all of which were painted in the same crappy white, silver and grayish colors. Was there a huge paint sale on white, silver and gray automotive paints? Finally I went and tested the new Maverick...it was okay, but nothing special, I'm not sure what all the buzz was about; and it is definitely NOT a Maverick. Then it was on to look at our our beloved Broncos, only to find the unimpressive Not-a-Bronco, and the seriously even more unimpressive Not-a-Bronco Sport. (has anyone noticed how many Not-A-Bronco and Not-A-Bronco Sports are already up for resale?) Finally, a deep green green color caught my eye, and after a salesman annoying test drive, my new 2023 Ranger Lariat FX4 Jungle Splash Edition is parked in my driveway.

I’d love to hear more about your experiences coming ‘down’ (at least in size) from an F150 to a Ranger. I loved my 2007 F150 & never should’ve sold it as that started me on a downward stretch of used cars & short term new. I’m hoping a midsize will keep the good of that old F150 in a package sized just a bit better for city parking lots. I”m hoping comfortable enough for long trips too.

 

[Ranger#5?]

I just bought my 2023 Ranger Lariat FX4 Jungle Splash Edition, first "new" Ranger I've ever had. I've bought Ford's almost exclusively for 50 years now, one of my two exceptions being an International orange and black 1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda w/426. I've also had a black and white 68 Shelby GT 500 w/428, a red 1968 F 100 Ranger (yep, there was an F series Ranger), a red 67 Mustang Hard Top; then there was my little green 1976 Datsun B-210. I actually really liked that little car, it was comfortable, fun to drive and affordable for a brand new airman. When I was sent to the UK in 1980, I sold it rather than taking it with me and bought a red 1976 Ford Granada (UK), and talked my new bride out of ever buying Dodges again. Then we ordered a red 1985 Ford Bronco straight from Ford, and picked it up in Minneapolis to help us deal with the snows of the Michigan Upper Pennisula; and I found a 1976 bright red Maverick Stallion 302. After the snowmageddon years, I bought a red 1989 Bronco and my wife got her Lil Red 1998 Ranger. We kept both of those until we traded them in for a brand new 1995 red (does anyone see a pattern yet?) Eddie Bauer Ford Bronco and moved on with the next chapter of our lives as we moved to Alaska with kids and dogs.

Once we got to Anchorage, I bought myself a little white and blue 1986 F 250 and wifey kept the NEW red Bronco... Fast forward a few years and I past by an auto transporter with this beautiful truck on the top heading to Cal Worthington Ford of Anchorage. Needless to say, I whipped a u-turn and followed that truck. 3 hours later, I was now the proud owner of my own brand new 2004 Screaming Yellow and Dark Shadow Gray Metallic F 150! Then after we left Alaska, we got the wife a new metallic black 2013 Ford Edge Limited which she kept, right up until she saw a beautiful, and seriously impractical, ruby red metallic 2016 Ford SHO sitting unclaimed, and alone, on a lot more than a year after it was built. Well...there went Yellow Truck, and I inherited a black SUV... The Edge wasn't bad, and I kept it until I found a 10 month old ruby red metallic 2018 F 150 Lariat with 9,000 miles on it. Wife kept her little race car until 2022 when she found a ruby red metallic 2020 3.5L Ecoboost Ford Explorer Platinum, which is now her forever vehicle -- we'll see. My F 150 was nice, but it wasn't yellow truck, and besides, all of the parking lots seemed to be shrinking so this year I finally got serious about looking for a new, smaller, vehicle. Oh, and my 2.7 Ecoboost was WAY under-powered for a F 150 and only got 15 mpg combined; yellow truck with that 5.4 Triton averaged over 20 mpg, even through sub-zero temperatures.

I looked at a 2023 Toyota Taco, but was not at all impressed with how uncomfortable the cab was. Then I went on to look at many other vehicles, all of which were painted in the same crappy white, silver and grayish colors. Was there a huge paint sale on white, silver and gray automotive paints? Finally I went and tested the new Maverick...it was okay, but nothing special, I'm not sure what all the buzz was about; and it is definitely NOT a Maverick. Then it was on to look at our our beloved Broncos, only to find the unimpressive Not-a-Bronco, and the seriously even more unimpressive Not-a-Bronco Sport. (has anyone noticed how many Not-A-Bronco and Not-A-Bronco Sports are already up for resale?) Finally, a deep green green color caught my eye, and after a salesman annoying test drive, my new 2023 Ranger Lariat FX4 Jungle Splash Edition is parked in my driveway.

Do you have a release date yet for this novel ? Would be an interesting read

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