Ford Ranger vs. other double cabs

[V8MoneyPit]

Anyone got any experience of these? SWMBO has taken a fancy to a double cab  :roll:

[jollyroger]

Mate of mine had one, only every got to use it in the snow we had as it was primary a work truck for his tools. Handled pretty well he tells me, although fuel mpg were pretty poor, even when just set to 2wd. hence he sold it.

[andycwb]

Well I towed one home on Sunday.  Broke down less than a mile from my house and wouldn't restart, and it turned out they lived on my way home!

Nice chunky recovery hook -  Sorry I can't offer a more constructive opinion.

[V8MoneyPit]

I think I can persuade her to keep the Freelander and run it into the ground now it's not worth much as a part exchange. The problem is getting little 'un in and out of the back because it's a 3 door. So I can understand her theory. Double cab, rear seats and rear doors, plus huge 'boot' to lug all her junk around!

If she decides to look into it further, I think I'll look at the alternatives though. We wouldn't want anything too big and the Ranger seems a little smaller than many of the others like it (Navarra, L200, etc).

[aaron]

Hi Steve, I had a 52 plate ranger double cab and it was a brilliant truck. I used mine for work, green laneing and the odd bit of towing and couldn't fault it in all honesty! It has a much better rear door and pillar arrangement than the navara, not sure about the l200. Only thing i would say is that it was a bit heavy on juice, but no worse than the l200 i had from work for a short while, or the hi lux i owned previously. In two years of building site, green lane and muddy field driving ownership, other than servicing, all i had to do was replace an exhaust bracket! Aaron.

[Range Rover Blues]

My mate has one, he's had it a few years now and used to tow RRC to meet their maker quite regularly.

He gets mid 30 MPG, it';s tweekeed with an intercooler but was one of the last built with mechanical pump so can't be chipped.

All in a nice truck, I'd be tempted.

[Whatmot]

Steve, Jim brought on back in the summer to pull all of his toys around (rather than the Toe-rag), he brought his because Tony said they were good lol, might be worth asking him next time you see him; at least you will get an honest opinion!!

[thediscodude]

my friend has one, i spend enough time in it, i would say yes good truck as he's had no problems :)

[V8MoneyPit]

Well, we looked at and drove a few double cabs yesterday.

A 56 Ranger, 07 L200 and a couple of Navaras. Then looked around a few others at other dealers. The Ranger is no longer an option! Sarah just instantly didn't like driving it. So, it's down to the L200, Navara or, possibly, a HiLux which we haven't tried yet. 90% sure she wants an auto.

We'd be looking at a latish model (2007 or 2008) based on budget. We are currently leaning towards an L200, preferably high spec (leather, air con, etc). Oh, and she'd prefer black or silver  :roll:

Any thoughts/comments would be gratefully received.

[300TDi Disco]

Just a piece of info on the nissan navara, between VSKCVND40U0218002 to VSKCVND40U0276585 they were rated 1/2 a star on the ncap safety rating be aware.
The ford ranger 2008 was classed as a 2 star. A 2007 freelander was rated 5 stars.
The L200 was rated 4 stars. Don't drive anything less than 3 stars or expect to get hurt in an accident.

Hope this helps.

http://www.euroncap.com

[V8MoneyPit]

Just a piece of info on the nissan navara, between VSKCVND40U0218002 to VSKCVND40U0276585 they were rated 1/2 a star on the ncap safety rating be aware.
The ford ranger 2008 was classed as a 2 star. A 2007 freelander was rated 5 stars.
The L200 was rated 4 stars. Don't drive anything less than 3 stars or expect to get hurt in an accident.

Hope this helps.

http://www.euroncap.com

Thanks. We've been using an old Freelander for years which was rubbish on the Ncap tests. Not out of choice based on 'safety' grounds. Just because we like them!
I've always maintained that the more vulnerable you feel in a vehicle, the better you will drive. And the more defensively you will drive to avoid all those who sit in their 'crash proof' boxes thinking they are safe. The whole Ncap system horrifies me in some respects, simply because it assumes we are all going to crash. I wish they would put more emphasis on crash avoidance, rather that crash survival.

Please don't take this the wrong way. I genuinely appreciate your input. It's just my little bug that I've carried around since my days at Lotus when I started looking into vehicle safety.

[V8MoneyPit]

Well, had a call from Sarah... she's bought an L200. Picks it up on Friday after it's had a full service and fresh MOT. It's a 2007 '56' plate auto in black. Leather, A/C, sat nav, alloys, 29,000 miles.