So imagine my surprise when I opened my mailbox this evening. The July 2009 issue is out and they tested the Ranger for the first time in 11 years, long overdue.

The review was scathing (that's really bad). They gave it a score of 25 out of 100, by far the lowest truck in the compact segment.

They tested a 2009 Ranger Sport 4x4 and had a laundry list of complaints:

• Bad Fuel Economy
• Uncomfortable Seats
• Loud Cabin
• Rubber Floor instead of Carpet
• No Tilt Wheel (this is BS because I have a Tilt Wheel)
• Fit and Finish
• Compact interior space
• Truck-like driving experience
• The list goes on...

Anyone who knows Rangers knows that it's all about how you equip them. If you don't like the noise, get carpeted floors and some Floor Liners. If you want a tilt wheel, opt for it. If you don't like bench seats, get buckets. I agree that the truck is outdated, but this review was just about as bad as they get. At this point, I'm used to reading this stuff but I thought CR would be a little fairer, especially given the truck is proven in their own rankings to be at the very least a reliable truck. And since when did being truck like become a bad thing in the truck segment?

I'm not re-posting this article here. I'm a subscriber so I get the magazine monthly. If you're at your local store and see a copy of the July edition, you might want to read it.

 

Consumer Reports=Leg humper of ALL import car companies.

 

yep. they are a joke

 

 

Ya that sounds like a joke. First of all how can they even dog the ranger when this is the first time they even gave a chance to do a report on it? Secondly while im driving down the street I see 10x's the Rangers then s-10's and other mid size trucks (maybe just my area or the fact that when I do see s-10's they look like crap and are held together with duct tape) Thirdly truck like experience? Its a truck after all right? If I wanted a nice car like ride I would have gotten a Buick or Crown Victoria.


I think whoever did the review was extremely biased or just an idiot. After all isnt the reason a lot of people by a Ranger because its affordable, looks nice and reliable?

 

sounds like they took a base model out... kinda an unfair evaluation from what it sounds like...

 

usually they use the most expensive one that few ppl have...like Marie said, I bet they used a XL model

 

Sorry but even with the few issues i have with mine I give it a Jeweler54 reports best buy flaming turd of confidence!

 

I do have to kind of agree with CR on a few of their points.

Out of 100, I would give a Ranger a 60-70.

 

Ya but honestly you cant judge one persons bad experience with the whole fleet.

You and fddriver are the only people on this site (im sure there are more) that have had huge problems with their trucks. Out of all the rangers on this site there are a few that will have problems. Now if you look at everyone who ever owned the truck there are those that have problems and those that dont.....its kinda luck.

 

The ranger isn't a bad truck for the price, but you can't expect a platform this old to hold up.

 

You obviously don't know me very well.... I have found my problem.... A damn rotten vacuum line that cost $20 I returned most of the parts i bought. And I will own a ranger prbley for the rest of my life. I LOVE them. fddriver has had many more issues that have caused him to hate them. I have owned rangers for a combined 4 years now... three different trucks. other than the emission system on my current one. It has been absolutely amazing...

 

Oh ok sorry I thought that was negative. I was just using you to make a point thinking you made a negative comment but you didnt soooooooo pooop lol. No man you have an awesome truck and ive been on here a while so I seen what you did with it. Just thought you were having problems with it lately and got pissed?

Its all good lol

 

Yea Greg, It pissed me off. but so does my wife... they are both hot and take care of me everyday. LOL and I don't think i could ever get rid of them. LOL! no worries bro... I am a bad ranger fanboy.... ok i admitted it...

 

Me too.......I wish this site never existed.... now I met other people in my state and country who share the same passion for these trucks and im putting money into what others consider "an old truck"


but I like it

 

As mentioned above - This CR report is total bullpoop!


Its the reason I -never- listen to critics, they usually get 90% of there findings completely wrong - if they wanted to bash a vehicle, at least make sure its not the cheapest under-equipped model on the market.. gosh; I'm sure most of you pay attention to just how many rangers there really are around you - EASILY 2 or 3x's the amount of Dodge/Chevy/Toyota/Nissan trucks in the general area; and there is a good reason for it; for the price you can get our trucks at - its a steal on the purchase!

 

im bored, had to do it. those people are stupid.

 

some people are blatantly biased. either that they never drove an actual truck til then. well, i never bought my ranger just because some magazine told me that its great. i bought mine cos i needed a capable, durable truck than i can romp everysoofen

 

Actually, they had a 2009 Sport 4x4, not a base model. They had the automatic transmission. It looks awfully well-equipped in the photos but they railed against it for not having a Tilt Wheel, which is standard on FX4 but optional on other models. They didn't even mention it was optional...just complained about it not being there.

They complained about noise and rubber floors, but the XLT and the Mazda B4000 have carpet and it makes the car significantly quieter if that's what you're looking for.

I've got a 2008 B4000 SE. I've got a leather wrapped, tilt wheel, carpeted floors (with husky liners on top of the carpet), bucket seats, cruise, power everything, iPod integration, etc. One of the great things about these trucks is that you can equip them how you want them...you're not hung with stuff you don't want or need.

I was at least pleased they mentioned how reliable the truck was, one of the few compliments they had.

 

One thing I like about my ranger is the LACK of luxury. I don't want all the fancy bells and whistles... most of the time it's useless and just one more thing to go wrong IMO... I think the ranger has proven it's a long lasting truck at a good price and one of few vehicles that is used widely as fleet as well as personal.

 

S-10's and Rangers are the same size, buddy. I even took my tape out and measured my Ranger vs. my moms S-10. Her's is actually a little bigger.

 

By "hold up," I assume you mean holding up in ratings against the competition and not reliability. The Ranger and B-Series have long been regarded as reliable vehicles, even according to Consumer Reports. You can criticize the dated design, but the statistics clearly show that the trucks ace the test of time and longevity.

I would describe the Ranger/B-Series as "durable" and "reliable" but not "modern."

 

I think it's less so today than in the past. American cars have gotten better and Consumer Reports has been very vocal about the improvements in American cars. Ford has more recommended vehicles than GM or Chrysler in Consumer Reports rankings. And there are plenty of Japanese cars that aren't recommended.

The notion that CR is biased toward imports is a holdover from the 1980's when American cars actually were inferior to the Japanese.

According to CR, the European car companies are now the worst in reliability, with the exception of Chrysler who is the absolute worst. Those of us who made the mistake of owning Chrysler products (I have) know exactly why they're at the bottom.

I don't think they're as biased as the UAW would imply they are. The fact that they don't take advertising puts them a notch above the other car magazines, whose #1 cars are often conspicuously the ones with the biggest ads.

 

sh*t id say screw these reporters ive had my ranger for 10 years now 99-09 and have had minimal problems with it gets decent gas mileage even with lift and bigger tires and ive yet to get stuck in the winter(live in ohio), so who cares compact, loud interior, rubber floors?? all im hearing is wha wha wha, so its not a tight handling silent sports car its not supposed to be its a freaking truck, its supposed to be loud and outta control.....

 

i always laugh at the "truck like" complaints... its is a ****ing truck! too many pussies these days and metro-guys want cushy car like rides... they'll never use their trucks for what they are meant for.

Is the ranger out dated sure.... compact interior..yep.... but i do have the big motor (4.0L sohc), 4x4, 4.10's, LS and a 5 gear manual... its a real truck and i use it like one. And it was the cheapest truck on the market compared to anything similarily equiped