Ford

Saturday, 4th of July 2009

Polls

Other than a large discount, which incentive would most encourage you to buy a new car?

View Results

Ford cars Ford car leasing

Categories

Search

Ford Ranger Road Test Reports and Car Reviews

Ford Ranger

3.5 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 16 driver reviews ) | Read all reviews
Have your say!

Ford Ranger lease prices External Link
Ford Ranger new cars and nearly new cars External Link
Ford Ranger new and used vans for sale External Link

Request Ford Ranger eBrochure

The sensational Ford Ranger is built to take on any challenge. Powerful, agile and tough the Ranger is available as a choice of either 4x4 or 4x2 drivelines and three distinctive cab styles: Double Cab; Super Cab and Regular Cab. Whatever the job Ford Ranger is built to take it on.

Test drive the Ford Ranger today!

Ford Ranger reviews by year of make: 2002  2003  2004  2007  2008  Read all reviews

Submit your own review

Lease Buy

* Required

Ranger Car Video

Ford Ranger car video reviews, adverts and promotional videos. These car vidoes will allow you to see the Ford Ranger in action and let you hear the opinions of all the top road test experts. Featuring car videos from MSN cars, Top Gear and other top sites.

Flash Player logo - get Flash Player If you can't see the video Download Flash Player

What Do You Say...?

Ford Ranger Car Reviews

Robert Priest, Devon

Ford Ranger Thunder 2007

3 star review

Last week it would have been a 4star! Clutch has gone!! Oh and Ford have upgraded the clutch plate now but its still our fault! I was told when towing you should start in low box and when on the move change to high! that’s fine! Have you tried that I asked ? NO! that’s good eh! coz you cant go from low to high unless you stop!! or will Ford replace the gearbox when it goes?? If you want to tow ’do not buy one!’ hell of an engine, pulls like a train! but first gear is geared like second, so you have problems pulling away! People even stall it with out a trailer!! I was told this was to do with emissions!! Talk about "bull" I bought the truck coz it said it was a work horse and industry leading pulling capacity of three tonne, which is fine but the clutch is not up to the job so that makes the Ranger not up to the job!! Am I strong enough to take on Ford ? No, but I will not buy any thing else from them!!

Submitted: 29/06/2009 09:25:20

Have your say

Graham Kitchen, Lincolnshire

Ford Ranger 2007

5 star review

Just brought an 07 plates with 25,000 on the clock. Awesome! I am a part-time game-keeper, landscaper and a mad fisherman. It performs every time.

Submitted: 05/06/2009 10:35:10

Have your say

Ann, County Tyrone

Ford Ranger 2007

1 star review

My brother has just bought a "new" 2007 Ranger with 2 miles on the clock and after driving a couple of hundred miles the clutch went and Ford refused to repair it and said it was wear and tear. I think this is utter rubbish! Ford should take responsibility for this especially in this economic climate. I shall be writing to the chief executive of Ford and also to TV’s watchdog programme.

Submitted: 03/06/2009 09:31:23

Have your say

Andrew Duncan, Moray (Elgin) and Nairn Shire

Ford Ranger 2.5 2007

4 star review

I use my 2007 ranger 2.5 as a workhorse in the water industry. Working in the Highlands and islands of Scotland on all sorts o’ sump busting, wheel spinning and bogging down stuff! I had been using a Ford Connect for 3 years previously, broke it heaps of times and persuaded the boss to get me something a bit more appropriate, ie 4x4! finally the day came that Mr Ranger appeared. Immediately I loved the look, the 2.5 is bare, not chromy and leathery like the higher level models, but that’s what makes it look so good. You can see the bash plates underneath clearly, no frills and sparkly bits, immediately one can tell it means business! Having driven Land rovers in the military, I thought also that it may be all look and no action. I got in, liked the interior. I do find the nooks and crannies are way too small though, and in a working vehicle they can get manky pretty quickly, dust, spilt coffee etc, and can be fiddly to clean. I drove off and immediately found the Ranger has the turning circle of an oil tanker!!! it is a long vehicle, parking in a busy street is another problem. City boys, do NOT buy this vehicle! long drives on main roads are a pleasure, with enough whoomph in the engine to do confident overtakes, a rarity in a hard core fourby. Good fun with nippy third acceleration. Proof of the pudding though was getting to my work locations, up steep fields, crossing moorland and rocky ground, not bogging down! Didn’t like having to stop to change into four wheel drive, not convenient when you hit a bad patch and you have to stop to change into 4x4! bloody annoying! You know when you see a spot that looks nice steep, scary and do able? Well, I’ve taken the Ranger up anything I would attempt in a Landie, had it at alarming angles where I was positive it would roll and had it as deep in water as I dare! It came through with flying colours - apart from one thing... why is it, when in full lock in 4x4, especially in reverse, that it feels like the handbrake is on? It doesn’t want to move! In all, I love it! Price is reasonable, looks good, and does what it says on the tin! Get one!

Submitted: 14/04/2009 11:13:01

Have your say

Aidan, Worcestershire

Ford Ranger 2003

4 star review

Re: Everyone with flashing glow plug lights. These motors are rebadged Mazda B2500s, and as such their engines are taken from the Bongo (a camper van). As you all probably know there isn’t a normal ODB2 diagnostics port in the car, instead a unique connector in the top right of the engine bay (looking towards the car). Instead of paying Ford for a diagnostics you can do it yourself with a paperclip. Go on this link: http://www.igmaynard.co.uk/bongo/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25081&hilit=flashing+glow+plug. Its hard to figure out first, and I found it easier to record it on the camera phone and play it back. PS, my flashing glow plug light refers to timer control valve and EGR malfunction. As EGR is active only when warm I suspect that may be the common fault resulting in glow plug flashing when warm.

Submitted: 08/04/2009 09:44:01

Have your say

John Whyman, Somerset

Ford Ranger XLT Thunder supercab 2004

4 star review

This is by way of an update and a recommendation regarding the flashing glow plug lamp and the injection system. The flashing glow plug lamp is usually an indication that the on board computer has detected a problem, although it may be due to a worn out glow plug (worth checking at about 50K miles). The flashing may be accompanied by a loss of power at around 3000 rpm in all gears and may even give up. If you stop the vehicle, let it stand for a minute and re- start the problem may go away until the next time power is required. If this is the case then the Zexel injection pump is faulty. I have just had mine rebuilt at 54000 miles , (£2000) and been given back all the faulty parts. The speed regulator and priming pump were replaced as was a ball race and other parts. The immediately noticeable thing was that some of the parts were brown gummed, and this is the fault of poor diesel or water in diesel. The recommendation from the diesel expert here in France, (and France runs on diesel) is;- that as the pump is known to be faulty by design ( I believe the new parts fitted are improved), it is worth using a good injection system cleaner additive (like Bardahl winter cleaner or Wynns) in the diesel to keep the pump clean from gumming. In winter bleed off any trapped water from the fuel filter- there is a butterfly bleeding nut on the bottom of the filter. The only other recommendation for owners with the Mazda engine configuration is to get an extended parts warranty, the extra cost is negligible compared to my own experience. Apart from this ’hiccup’ I’m not going to get rid of it, it is the most flexible and surprisingly good machine.

Submitted: 03/03/2009 08:58:51

Have your say

Robert Lloyd, England

Ford Ranger 2007

3 star review

I bought a demo Ranger with 20 miles on the clock in December 2007. It has now done 9 thousand miles and the clutch has gone. Ford told me it is wear and tear and I had to pay 700 pounds to fix it - worst still - if I took it away to get a better quote I would have to pay 300 pounds to put it together again. Has any one else had this fault as I think if this happens after this mileage something is wrong?

Submitted: 27/02/2009 09:21:43

Have your say

Justin Miles, Devon

Ford Ranger Thunder 2008

4 star review

I woke with bleary eyes and a heavy heart - it was the day for me to be test driving the new Ford Ranger Thunder, but the thought of getting behind the wheel of a car carrying the blue oval on the front grill was not filling me with enthusiasm. I swung my leaden legs out of bed, creaked upright, splashed about in the shower, showed a razor to my stubbly chin, threw on some Ralph Lauren labelled rags, fed the dogs, and made my way into the office. At eight am, as promised by Ford, the buzzer on the door "buzzed" to herald the arrival of my nemesis. Now a few weeks ago, when a sexy little BMW 125 was delivered to the office, no-one even raised an eyebrow. This morning the boys were in early - not just early for them, I mean early! Even more surprising was the way that they snaked down the stairs behind me to witness events. It could have been a genuine interest in the truck, or wanting to mock me behind the wheel despite me very vocal antipathetic view of the entire Ford range (apart from the Transits!), or it could have been just a bloody good excuse to stop work (or should that be "not to start work"?!). I nonchalantly strolled around to the rear car park where, I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the masculine aesthetics of this new Ford Ranger. In fact, at first glance, this Thunder really did look the part; the metallic Titanium Grey paint did the truck plenty of favours - drawing the truck away from the plain whites and reds of the utility truck and into the realms of the much more highly regarded, and higher priced, Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi L200. Two circles of the Ranger confirmed that everything was as it should be. It was a double cab, it had lights, alloy wheels, glass in the windows, and a well sized and accessible load space (simple latches on the drop down tail-gate that even cold and gloved hands could operate with ease). It was very tempting to put a little tape over the blue Ford oval before I headed off, but I took the mind over matter approach, swallowed the bitter little pill, and hopped into the drivers seat. Craig and Tom were already seated and buckled up, bouncing up and down like kids, opening every compartment and pushing every button (and I can confirm that the sound system is efficient enough to blare out some track by the Blackout Crew at an astonishing level of decibels). The cab was well laid out, surprisingly spacious, and had that "new car leather" smell that I adore. Everything was well finished and was very conspicuously absent of the "plasticy" interior that I have come to expect from Ford. One thing that really drives me potty in any car is engine noise. In this case the engine noise in the cab was minimal and in no way interrupted the noise emitting from the standard fit CD player (courtesy of a CD provide by Craig and Tom). The first thing to strike me about driving the Ford Ranger Thunder was how simple it was. The car didn’t feel "heavy" at all; it felt more like driving a large car and reminded me of the first time I drove a Vauxhall Vectra - but bigger and with a much better field of vision. One of the best things I like about driving Land Rovers and pickups is the visibility. You can see all four corners of the vehicle so despite them being much larger than a standard car they’re still easy to manoeuvre, and the Ford Ranger is no exception. We took off along the dual carriageway to open the engine up a little. It flew along quite comfortably in fifth gear, with a little positive acceleration still available for overtaking. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to take the Thunder off road, but I did check out the selectable four wheel drive box. It’s difficult to tell how well the four wheel drive works when you’re on a freshly tarmacked road, but all of the gears were easy to select and the instructions for use were clear and precise. I tried the Ranger Thunder, which is towards the top end of the Ford pickup range, but even in it’s most basic form the Ford Ranger is a great truck offering good "workable" functionality. The Ford Ranger could be the unsung hero of the working pickup truck - the saviour of its breed, the last of the true working vehicles. All in all, despite carrying the blue Ford oval on the front grill, this Ford Ranger Thunder is a fantastic piece of kit and offers terrific value when compared with other trucks in the category such as the Hilux and L200. Look out for deals around the £13700 (plus VAT) mark; they are few and far between, but they are out there. I really did enjoy driving the Ford Ranger Thunder, and at this price it knocks spots off of it’s competitors. Could it be that, thanks to this one truck, my nemesis is transmogrifying into my nirvana? Check out www.bestpricedvans.com for more info.

Submitted: 10/02/2009 09:13:38

Have your say

John Whyman, Somerset

Ford Ranger XLT Thunder supercab 2004

4 star review

It seems that there is a problem with the Injection system on the Rangers fitted with the Mazda engine. I have had the same problem as well with the flashing glow plug lamp. The Rexel? ( now Bosch) injection pump appears to be prone to a ’sticky valve’, and whilst it may not appear to be much initially, the pump may suddenly go wonky without notice and cause a sudden loss of power. The only solution is to change the pump, which is a ’ VERY’ expensive business. Here in France, a pump is 4000 (yes that’s four thousand) Euro’s. It’s cheaper to buy a new engine! In the U.K. they are about £2K for a rebuilt exchange unit. Luckily I have managed to get a second hand pump sent over from the U.K. for £300 and will get the other re-manufactured at the local Bosch service unit. Otherwise the Ranger is magic. I have used it everyday in very rough country to haul trailers heavily laden with logs and farm machinery. It copes beautifully with no fuss at all. I am having it repaired and wouldn’t dream of parting with it!

Submitted: 09/02/2009 09:25:33

Have your say

Jan Michalunio, Northamptonshire

Ford Ranger 2002

3 star review

I’ve have had the 02 Ford Ranger for a couple of months now and have had a flashing glow plug warning light when warm. I’m told this is common but am also told this could be fuel injection problem - can anyone help? Also, the belt for the air con was missing... Is this a cover up?

Submitted: 12/01/2009 09:16:20

Have your say

Aidan, Worcestershire

Ford Ranger 2003

4 star review

Had the Ranger since May, since done 13500 miles in it including 2000 miles in France in July, now on 130,000. No problems in it as yet apart from the flashing glow plug light when warm as quite a few people seem to have. Can’t fault it really, its not the quickest or the most economical but it seems to keep on going, its not got the ridiculously expensive to repair components that other vans of the same age have. Example, Ford TDCI injectors and programming is apparently £1000 at the dealer. I got a 2nd hand low mileage set of 4 injectors for this Ranger for £20. As far as I know it doesn’t have a dual mass flywheel, and as far as I can tell with the detailed history its on its original clutch, which feels like new. It looks dated inside but has air con, electric windows and arm rest as standard. The only rattling comes from the truckman top I fitted myself with only 2 out of the 4 bolts. It is rear drive, therefore it doesn’t have any problems pulling away in the wet (unlike my old company T5 130bhp which either wheelspins or traction control cuts all power) You aren’t sat as upright as in a T5/Vito or similar with a bulkhead, meaning its much more comfortable. I would change it but then read about Vivaros/Traffics-gearbox and turbo faults; T5s-gearbox, clutch and flywheel; Transits-rust! clutch/flywheels, injectors?; Vitos-injectors? But otherwise very nice. Caddys cost a fortune, Astras nice, but low roof height, back of load area difficult to reach with bulkhead, and on it goes. I think my next purchase will be an 06 Thunder, last of the old shape with leather.

Submitted: 02/01/2009 09:04:43

Have your say

Declan Ryan, Northern Ireland

Ford Ranger XL 2003

5 star review

Super work and pleasure truck, decent handling and good on motor way too. I purchased it new and have just sold it with 90k on it. It is really easy on tyres too, the second pair were just coming to there end of life when I sold it . Ultra reliable, a must for any one who wants a 4x4 that will last for ever and cost little to run, rear light lense only cost £20. Don’t buy this if you live in a city as its just too big and has a brutal steering lock .

Submitted: 08/07/2008 12:05:29

Have your say

David, Durham

Ford Ranger XLT 2007

5 star review

Had a Toyota Hilux and an Isuzu Rodeo 3.0tdi previously but this Ranger is in a class above. Anyone contemplating a pickup, must try one.

Submitted: 25/03/2008 10:12:18

Have your say

Mick Hume, Cheshire

Ford Ranger 2003

3 star review

Hi, I am currently experiencing this problem. What have the dealership done? I was about to change the air flow sensor?

Submitted: 17/03/2008 10:09:04

Have your say

Mark Rudd, Essex

Ford Ranger Thunder 2004

3 star review

I was wondering if anyone else has had a problem with the fuel injection system on the 04 ranger - ours went wrong at 16000 miles was repaired under warranty but has just started to go again - the warning sign is when the glow plug light comes on and flashes.

Submitted: 25/02/2008 10:27:06

Have your say

Stan Hollier, Leicestershire

Ford Ranger 2.5 TDCi Double Cab XL 4x4 2007

4 star review

This is a working van and is used to it’s full potential everyday (in construction). This is a cracker of a workhorse and has towed, lugged and hauled just about every piece of machinery on site without any problems whatsoever. The only negative is the handbrake which, in my opinion, is in a stupid place, but you do get used to it. Highly recommended.

Submitted: 22/11/2007 21:58:56

Have your say

How does it compare?

Ford Ranger

3.5 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 16 reviews )

Hyundai Terracan

4.5 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 15 reviews )


Nissan X-Trail

3 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 15 reviews )

Mitsubishi Shogun

3.5 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 14 reviews )


Honda CR-V

4 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 13 reviews )

Land Rover Range Rover Sport

4 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 12 reviews )


Nissan Pathfinder

3.5 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 12 reviews )

Vauxhall Antara

2.5 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 10 reviews )


BMW X3

3.5 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 9 reviews )

Audi Q7

4 stars - average customer rating
Average driver rating ( based on 9 reviews )


Ford Road Tests

4x4s - Comparison Road Tests

Lease prices