Hello there,

I am in the market for a new truck and am having a tough time deciding between the Ford F-150 and the Ford Ranger. I have done quite a bit of research; but I am still torn and would love to hear some firsthand experiences and insights from this knowledgeable community.

I use my vehicle for both daily commuting and weekend adventures. I occasionally haul equipment for my small business; and I also enjoy off-roading and camping trips. I’m looking for a truck that is reliable; versatile; and has good fuel efficiency.

How do the F-150 and Ranger compare in real-world fuel efficiency? I have seen the official numbers, but personal experiences can tell a different story.

Which truck performs better when it comes to towing and hauling? I don’t tow super heavy loads; but I do need a truck that can handle occasional heavy-duty tasks without straining.

How do these trucks perform off-road? I know the F-150 has the Raptor model, but I am curious about the standard versions and the Rangers off-road trims.

Which truck offers a better experience in terms of comfort and technology? I spend a lot of time driving; so these features are important to me.

Also, I have gone through this post: https://www.fordforum.com/forum/ford-econoline-e-series-18/iso-advice-help-me-make-purchase-mlops-47392/ which definitely helped me out a lot.

Any insights on the long term reliability and maintenance costs of these models?

Thanks in advance for your help and assistance.

 

My husband has an F150 (19) and I, a Ranger (21), i love my Ranger and am getting ready to trade to a 2025. We trade vehicles on occasion. I take his on my work trips, I love the super comfortable ride of the F150. We both have XLTs, both have some great features, highway mileage is great 24.8 in the Ranger, 23.1 in the F150. Since I work on the road, I would pick the f150 just for the ease of the ride itself. (But I won't because I really do love Rangers for the play time, and the sleek sexiness of the cute little truck) Darn, I didn't help, buy them both.

 

[QUOTE=deyihan;142475]
I am in the market for a new truck am having a tough time deciding between the Ford F-150 and the Ford Ranger.
(1) I use my vehicle for both daily commuting and weekend adventures. I occasionally haul equipment for my small business; and I also enjoy off-roading and camping trips. I’m looking for a truck that is reliable; versatile; and has good fuel efficiency.
(2) How do the F-150 and Ranger compare in real-world fuel efficiency? I have seen the official numbers, but personal experiences can tell a different story.
(3) Which truck performs better when it comes to towing and hauling? I don’t tow super heavy loads; but I do need a truck that can handle occasional heavy-duty tasks without straining.
(4) How do these trucks perform off-road? I know the F-150 has the Raptor model, but I am curious about the standard versions and the Rangers off-road trims.
(5) Which truck offers a better experience in terms of comfort and technology? I spend a lot of time driving; so these features are important to me.
(6) Any insights on the long term reliability and maintenance costs of these models? [QUOTE=deyihan;142475]

Hi first off, about me. I am a Ford dealer tech, and I don't own either of these models. However, I do need to drive and diagnose them, so I've seen the issues. I also do not go off-roading or weekending, but I'll try to provide my technical experience. I'll go through each point as listed; I edited the quote to make it easier on me.
1. Depending on your size the F150 obviously is much bigger, interior and bed space. I'm 6ft and the Ranger is quite tight. So, for this you might just need to sit in them first. Depending on what you haul for off-roading and business the Ranger bed is very small. How are you currently doing this? Is the vehicle too small for the equipment or do you have plenty of room? How in size does it compared to the F150 and Ranger?
2. Both are fairly reliable. I see more F150s because they've probably sold better. The 10-speed transmission (10R80 - F150, 10R60 - Ranger) has issues but Ford has made upgrades. Since the Ranger is more light duty, and weighing less the issues with the internals are not as common, but not zero. They fail under warranty so that's not an issue other than the downtime. Another F150 common issue is the water pump, however they may have fixed it. I just remember nearly once a week one came in for leaking coolant. For the Ranger I've seen issues with EGR system. Thats off the top of my head, I'm probably forgetting other common issues. Such as F150 had cam phaser rattle in previous years but, things have been redesigned and I'm mainly going on recent work I've performed. Also, climate would factor into issues I've seen versus other techs. Fuel efficiency goes to the Ranger, its close only a few MPGs difference. Maybe not even noticeable.
3. F150 much better towing capability. If you're hauling, I don't think you could load up normally and severely affect power. If you stay under the specs, you won't notice anything. This is subjective, just depends on what it is. Like towing a Jon boat or ATV, you wouldn't have an issue with either, but towing a vehicle obviously the F150 would do better. If the trailer is bigger than the tow vehicle, you'll have issues.
4. There is a Raptor version of the Ranger. The F150 has the Raptor and Tremor, both are offroad packages. Again, I don't know much about off-roading, but I would assume lighter is better. I do feel like the Ranger has a high center of gravity, but I could be wrong. When driving it just feels like that to me, at least. So both models offer the off-roading capability with various mode selections for the terrain.
5. They use the same technology options, just dressed up differently. Comfort wise IMO the F150 is better, again because the Ranger is smaller. Concerns I've had more issues with A/C concerns in the Ranger though. Usually the blend doors/actuators fail. I haven't seen that issue as often in the F150. The interior is obviously more spacious and just feels better in the F150. This would be a personal preference type thing. Go to Ford.com and you can compare how each look to you.
6. In the long term I would consider the Ranger more reliable, but the F150 is still solid. Maintenance cost. Tires would be cheaper for the Ranger they are smaller. Brake service, tune-up, coolant service etc. is usually a menu price so the difference is slight. Oil changes will be less on the Ranger, depending on the engine. We don't get Raptors in often, the Ranger is 3.0 turbocharged, the F150 Raptor has the 5.2L supercharged, the F150 Tremor has the 5.0L naturally aspirated. The 5.0L is solid it much easier to work on if you are into DIY. I'd say if it's easy for the DIYer, the cost of repairs overall would be cheaper.
In conclusion it's a toss-up. Both have their pros and cons, hopefully I've helped. Let me know if you need any more specific info.