Ranger fam unite! 4cyl towing is only 3500 I think. Less than a car+trailer because that’s what people always ask about in the ranger community. And that’s with the proper frame hitch. The bumper is like class 2
It does only have the bumper, I’ve never looked into it because we’ve never needed to tow anything. We have the long bed so anything we’ve ever needed to haul fit in there just fine.
I love that truck. It has yet to hit 100k miles because until the last couple years my parents had 3 vehicles and especially now that they’re retired they never really go anywhere anyway.
And for a 32 year old truck, it still gets pretty decent gas mileage, pretty damn close to 20mpg, the new rangers don’t beat that by much.
It’s not without its downsides, it’s rwd so it’s kind of shitty on anything but dry pavement unless you have some weight in the bed, and it’s 0-60 time is probably best stated as “eventually,” but it’s done everything I’ve ever needed a truck to do.
If Ford came out with basically that exact truck with a modern engine to get better gas mileage but otherwise kept the performance the same, it would probably be my next vehicle. Wouldn’t mind AWD/4wd too but I could live without.
I really like the maverick but the small bed is kind of a deal breaker. I’ve heard some rumors that they may add a midgate in a couple years to open the bed up into the back seat so if they do that I’m probably sold.
My 98 has the 2.5 Lima/Pinto, the slightly larger version of the 2.3 in your 90s Ranger, and consistently hits 21mpg on 50mph highway with traffic lights. My buddy with a 94 2.3 also gets about 20. However, I’ve read lots of good things about the 2.3 Duratech/Mazda L that started in 01. I just picked up a 2008 in much better condition but have yet to check the fuel economy. It’ll be interesting going from a clapped out long bed to a short bed with a hard tonneau and a bedrug liner. But, realistically, I’m driving empty 95% of the time so I’ll take the cover for a little extra aero.
I’ve looked at the maverick as well. The price (of any newer car) is the main reason I went with an old ranger. That’s neat about the midgate, I hadn’t heard about that. While the 4ft bed of course reduces cargo space, my main concern is about long lumber. With an adjustable tailgate angle and bed pockets for cross boards giving it 6ft of support, the community seems perfectly happy with it for 8ft goods. That’d be awesome if a midgate fit 4ft wide goods through it, almost containing 8ft from rear seats to tilted tailgate. And a 40mpg hybrid? I’m in… Except for the price right now.
Just as an FYI, aerodynamics can be a little complicated, it depends on the exact vehicle, the speeds you’re going, etc. but there’s a lot of cases where a tonneau cover will actually hurt your mpg.
Price is definitely the thing holding me back from a new vehicle as well, even though the maverick is one of the more affordable trucks out there it’s still too rich for my blood. I have a friend who just got one though, so I plan on using him as a guinea pig for the next few years until a new car is hopefully in my budget.
Ranger fam unite! 4cyl towing is only 3500 I think. Less than a car+trailer because that’s what people always ask about in the ranger community. And that’s with the proper frame hitch. The bumper is like class 2
It does only have the bumper, I’ve never looked into it because we’ve never needed to tow anything. We have the long bed so anything we’ve ever needed to haul fit in there just fine.
I love that truck. It has yet to hit 100k miles because until the last couple years my parents had 3 vehicles and especially now that they’re retired they never really go anywhere anyway.
And for a 32 year old truck, it still gets pretty decent gas mileage, pretty damn close to 20mpg, the new rangers don’t beat that by much.
It’s not without its downsides, it’s rwd so it’s kind of shitty on anything but dry pavement unless you have some weight in the bed, and it’s 0-60 time is probably best stated as “eventually,” but it’s done everything I’ve ever needed a truck to do.
If Ford came out with basically that exact truck with a modern engine to get better gas mileage but otherwise kept the performance the same, it would probably be my next vehicle. Wouldn’t mind AWD/4wd too but I could live without.
I really like the maverick but the small bed is kind of a deal breaker. I’ve heard some rumors that they may add a midgate in a couple years to open the bed up into the back seat so if they do that I’m probably sold.
My 98 has the 2.5 Lima/Pinto, the slightly larger version of the 2.3 in your 90s Ranger, and consistently hits 21mpg on 50mph highway with traffic lights. My buddy with a 94 2.3 also gets about 20. However, I’ve read lots of good things about the 2.3 Duratech/Mazda L that started in 01. I just picked up a 2008 in much better condition but have yet to check the fuel economy. It’ll be interesting going from a clapped out long bed to a short bed with a hard tonneau and a bedrug liner. But, realistically, I’m driving empty 95% of the time so I’ll take the cover for a little extra aero.
I’ve looked at the maverick as well. The price (of any newer car) is the main reason I went with an old ranger. That’s neat about the midgate, I hadn’t heard about that. While the 4ft bed of course reduces cargo space, my main concern is about long lumber. With an adjustable tailgate angle and bed pockets for cross boards giving it 6ft of support, the community seems perfectly happy with it for 8ft goods. That’d be awesome if a midgate fit 4ft wide goods through it, almost containing 8ft from rear seats to tilted tailgate. And a 40mpg hybrid? I’m in… Except for the price right now.
Just as an FYI, aerodynamics can be a little complicated, it depends on the exact vehicle, the speeds you’re going, etc. but there’s a lot of cases where a tonneau cover will actually hurt your mpg.
Price is definitely the thing holding me back from a new vehicle as well, even though the maverick is one of the more affordable trucks out there it’s still too rich for my blood. I have a friend who just got one though, so I plan on using him as a guinea pig for the next few years until a new car is hopefully in my budget.