Alente

So Im on the fence about choosing a truck.
Ranger vs F150.
Are f150s that much worse on mileage?
My budgets 3500$. Ill probably offroad a bit and itll be a DD.
Maybe even tow a camper.
The f150 would be 97+ preferably ranger would be 95+

kozal01

iTrader: (2)

If mileage is a concern with a $3500 budget youll be able to get a ranger that nets much better mileage than an F-150. The newer F-150's are on par with the rangers for mileage but not the older ones. Ive owned both so feel free to ask anything you want to know, I currently own 2 Rangers in fact bringing my owned Ranger total up to 5. lol

BlueFX45.0LSupercab

My old truck was a 2WD 3.0L Ranger Regular Cab with a 5-Speed stick shift and it only avaraged about 20mpg in mixed city highway...And this was with a lowly 150hp V6...

I know own a 2011 F-150 FX4 5.0L Supercab...And I'm avaraging about 18mpg in town, So 2mpg difference...But considering that my F-150 makes 360hp compared to my Rangers 150hp the 2mpg's doesn't seem like all that big of a deal.

Also have to take into consideration that my F-150 is about 3500lbs heavier than my Ranger was.

kozal01

iTrader: (2)

The OP's budget is $3500, I think comparing a 2011 to what you can get for $3500 these days its a bit unrealistic. Average MPG's between my 4.0 rangers and my 5.4 powered F-150 is about the same but I have to baby the F-150 to get it, the ranger I can drive the **** out of an still pull decent mileage. Really is all comes down to what you need to do with the truck. IF its just a DD then the ranger will cost less to own and maintain than the F-150.

rbrais

With a $3500 budget, you better go with a ranger. Can't find many good F-150's for that price. My Ranger was pretty nice and I let it go to a friend for $3k. Could have got $4k or $5k, but at lest I still get to see it now and then.

rbrais

When my F-150 was stock I was lucky to get 14 mpg with conservative driving. My Ranger (4x4 w/ 4.0 5 spd) got 17-18 mpg.

Alente

Well I could use the $ and bump my budget up to 5-6kish, but thatd mean more payments and Im kinda avoiding.
**** hit the fan and now I cant get an 06-_-

superccs

My 97 4.0L ranger (the only one worth getting btw) got around 16-17 around town and 19 while towing on the highway and ~21 while cruising below 80 unloaded.

If that helps....

peterhurcos

For a utilitarian type used car you want something uncool yet reliable. That way depreciation works for you instead of against you.

Rangers fill the bill perfectly. There's no particular reason for their uncoolness, except maybe for the fact that the Ford Explorers and Bronco IIs were built on the platform. As one of the posters pointed out, the older Rangers got good gas mileage. In my opinion they are rather handsome cars--its not like you are buying an AMC Pacer or a Pontiac Aztec.

BlueFX45.0LSupercab

Ooops My bad...I didn't read his budget.

In that case...For better MPGs the Rangers probably the safer bet on a 3500$ budget.