Test Drive Impression(s)

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Probably it's too new for the transmission to have learned its shift patterns yet. Computer controlled transmissions are like that, if you have to disconnect or replace the battery they will shift rough for a day or two. My daughter's Fiesta is especially bad for that and there is in fact a class action lawsuit against Ford for Fiesta and Focus transmissions.

I didn't think I'd like the auto stop/start since I rented a BMW for a business trip last year that had it, but the Ranger's system is actually far better and smoother than BMW's and you don't have to jump through hoops on the dash to turn it off. If I'm in heavy traffic where I need to move quickly I turn it off but otherwise I leave it on and it doesn't bother me. I purposely got an STX without the Ford 360 lane alert bullshit because I DID hate that on the BMW.

I have a 2020 and I drive it around town in Sport mode. It holds gears longer and shifts less. Plus it cuts the auto start stop off. I love the new Ranger.

 

[Crosscut_Drifter]

That being said, if you are old enough to remember the 1980's and the turbo craze then, you are old enough to remember the failures they had then too. So, being hesitant is understandable. Today's turbo charged engines are not the '80's turbo charged engines. They learned some things and actually designed the engines to handle them now.

As far as pricing, well not much can be done there new or used. Both are certainly expensive. I don't know about Canada but the U.S. is printing money like mad. I'm sure the dollar has been extremely devalued at this point as a result.

I've owned a 1987 Buick Grand National before my Ranger. My turbo never failed, but I'm aware of potential oil leaks from the seal and having to allow the turbo to "cool down" before turning off the car. Regular oil changes, Red Line synthetic and a scan tool with knock meter, I'm sure helped. My main issue was going through alternators. Otherwise tuned well and never pushed it past capability in slightly modded stock form.

Today's turbos are more complex in terms of diagnosing as in more sensors/computers tied to it

 

[HenryMac]

They couldn't ditch the seat backs while they were at it?

They do if you get the seat delete... we didn't.

 

[Crosscut_Drifter]

Rumour has it the new Nissan Frontier is coming out this summer. I'll wait for that and see how that contends. I like the Ranger, but not in love with it. If the Nissan offers 2WD with the King Cab and the options I'd want/need. Then I'd take my chance on that. $42,000 for the Ranger optioned the way I want it seems a bit much (plus the dealer's $1074 in fees/add ons) is way too much.

 

[Robertmangrum.rm]

Rumour has it the new Nissan Frontier is coming out this summer. I'll wait for that and see how that contends. I like the Ranger, but not in love with it. If the Nissan offers 2WD with the King Cab and the options I'd want/need. Then I'd take my chance on that. $42,000 for the Ranger optioned the way I want it seems a bit much (plus the dealer's $1074 in fees/add ons) is way too much.

My buddy is a Nissan guy and he's pretty upset with the new motor. He said it the motor out of the sedans and coupes that keeps failing. I don't much about them, but he hates that they ditched the 4.0 Kinda if it ain't broke don't fixit kinda thingy. He has a 07 with over 200000 miles he drives when we offroad and a 15 pro4x as a daily. was gonna get a new one but motor turned him off

 

[Crosscut_Drifter]

The 4.0 was too heavy on gas. I thought new truck with a 3.8 was a brand new design. Not having a turbo is plus. The only thing I'm not liking is the forced 4x4 (or AWD) again for Canada, like with the Ranger. See what happens on its debut and what the dealership has.

 

[sgtsandman]

I would wait and see how the new Frontier holds up. Ever since Renault took control of the company, Nissan hasn’t been the same.

Especially if they are using components with known issues. One of the reasons I went ahead and got the 2019 was because so much of the truck has been used in other vehicles. Any issues seemed to have been worked out by they time they threw them in the new Ranger.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

It is a really sharp looking truck.

Too bad whatever happened to the Titan... happened to the Titan.

 

[Inherited Thunderbolt]

Im a dummy who responds to old stuff that's been responded to a hundred times already. I edited this post because I don't need to be part of an echo chamber.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Well ya'll do eat gravy on french fries... and kinda have the entire bacon thing confused.

Maybe it's punishment?

 

[fastpakr]

Im a dummy who responds to old stuff that's been responded to a hundred times already. I edited this post because I don't need to be part of an echo chamber.

It's all good!

 

[Inherited Thunderbolt]

My buddy is a Nissan guy and he's pretty upset with the new motor. He said it the motor out of the sedans and coupes that keeps failing. I don't much about them, but he hates that they ditched the 4.0 Kinda if it ain't broke don't fixit kinda thingy. He has a 07 with over 200000 miles he drives when we offroad and a 15 pro4x as a daily. was gonna get a new one but motor turned him off

I just bought a ranger after running the entire gamut of midsize trucks. My honest first choice was a Chevy Colorado, which I think is a better overall honest truck. But availability shortages have been persistent on those things for months because GM put too much technology in the infotainment unit. The current Ranger gave me everything I wanted in a truck except a naturally aspirated V6, rides a little rough than the Colorado, and having 10 gears means that sometimes it doesn't know what gear to be in. The old 'new' frontier is an old truck with a modern drivertrain, and is genuinely a bitch to maneuver. The new Frontier wasn't available to drive, but if it's trying to compete with a Toyota Tacoma, I struggle to reconcile how I could have liked it. The Tacoma, in my opinion, is a genuinely awful truck to drive. It feels too heavy, moves too slow even with the V6, and from the driver seat it feels like it takes up two lanes and I can't tell where the rear axle is. I cannot fathom how anyone who is shopping objectively comes to the conclusion that the Tacoma is the best mid-size truck to buy. You buy that truck because you trust Toyota's reputation for reliability, not because you care about driving dynamics, vehicle capabilities, or even price since Toyota never has a problem moving them off lots and dealers are never really incentivized to beat another manufactuer's price on a similarly equipped vehicle.

 

[Crosscut_Drifter]

For me reliability and repair simplicity. The previous Frontier was 2005 to 2019. Lots of parts and wasn't dealer dependent. The new Ranger I could see being dealer dependent. My brother's 2013 Ford Escape needed to go to the dealer after the the temp sensor was changed. On some VW model you need a dealer to pull back the brake calipers.

I'm honestly starting to think it may be best to drive my current Ranger into the ground. Last of the small trucks.

 

[Inherited Thunderbolt]

I tried to split the difference there; I didn't opt for most of the electronic safety aids. My Golf had to be totaled because it had all that shit, and it didn't help me one bit in the accident since your brakes won't stop your car when it's being pushed by 5 tons of an F250 dually carrying a ton of wood on a trailer regardless of it's my foot or the computer's. All that stuff was destroyed and was about $15,000 to repair, not including body and frame damage.

It's a modern truck, but it's not too modern. The cooling fan is still driven by the accessory drive system instead of electronically. I was pretty surprised to see that.

 

[sgtsandman]

Belt driven fans with a thermal clutch tend to move more air than electric fans from what I understand. As to the hows and whys of that, I don’t know why but that has been mentioned in the past.