what ranger to i buy ????? 2wd vs 4wd 2008!

[motocross]

well im looking at buying a new ranger since mine is a 1988 but im only in high school and im buying it myself but my parents will probably help with payments. first of all im keeping my 88 for mudding so my new one will never see mud. and another big issue is MPG! gas is killing my wallet so my big choice here is do i go with a 2008 4cyl 2wd or a 2008 4.0L ext cab ? they will both be manuals. what MPG diffrence will there be, the sticker for the 2wd is 38mpg highway and the 4wd is 24.5mpg highway is there actually that big of a diffrence? i test drove the 4x4 and loved it because it has the ext cab option and the 4cyl is only reg cab. what are you getting for MPG in your v6 vs the I4 ? im also looking at a 2003 tibburon ( nice car but i dont want a hyundia ) i want to stick with a ford product but i dont no wich one to buy. help me out here please. if you have any advice please tell me. i will be putting on lots of miles and the reg cab might be to small. im 6foot and do any other big guys put on manny miles in these trucks? if so would you recomend buying a regular cab?

 

[Monty35]

Definatly go with the 4cyl in my opinion, you'll lose alot in terms of get up and go but the fuel milage savings are more than worth it. The extra cab space is nice, I'm 6'3" and didnt find my 89 regular cab too small, though you can forget about fitting any size of sub behind the driver seat at your height. Do you have any intentions of driving the truck hard or using it for work? If it's a cost saving you're going after, the 4cyl is the way to go.

To be completely honest, I would suggest waiting until after you finish college before buying a brand new truck, payments will come to overwhelm most people and you can easily get by driving an early 00's or late 90's truck. Dont take this as an insult, it's just something that I've seen alot of my friends regret doing.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Forget getting 38mpg with a Ranger of any sort, 28 is probably what you saw on the 4 cylinder sticker.

I would wait on getting a new truck, and don't do it on the premice of saving on gas alone, you would be spending thousands to save hundreds. If you can barely afford to fuel what you have you won't have a hope with something getting slightly better milage with payments/insurance on top of it. I got my F-150 shortly I got out of college, I sort of wish I would have either waited awhile or got an older one sometimes. It is nice to have newer stuff but you have payments, higher insurance and despite what everybody says repairs. The car my F-150 replaced had 170k miles on it and I never spent as much in one month on repairs as I do on a single truck payment.

 

[KELLY88]

Agreed, wait to buy a new truck. The car payments will be high not to mention insurance rates on students are ridiculously high, regardless of your driving record. Find yourself a good reliable used truck for the commuting. Early 2000s four cylinders are great for gas mileage and can be had at a reasonable price.

 

[Seabiscuit]

Demand for fuel will go down in two weeks and so will the price.

 

[Bent Bolt]

Demand for fuel will go down in two weeks and so will the price.

Really ?? Do tell !! I think many people here would like to know.

 

[wizkid00104]

These guys are exactly right. Insurance is ridiculous. If you have a 4wd mudder and keep it street legal, there is no reason to buy another 4wd if you want the mileage. My 94 2.3L 4x4 is getting 25 mpg with 4.10s. A nice 2wd with a manual and 3.73s should easily get 30 mpg and around here 4 cylinders are dirt cheap. Also keep in mind that newer 4x4 Rangers are torsion bar front end, which is very expensive to lift. A new 4x4 will just become another money pit. Good Luck!

Here is western PA.