Three Years with the Ranger

Pickup trucks are often judged by their power, payload, technology and off-road capability. But after nearly three years of ownership, different things start to matter. How well has the body held up? Does the interior still feel solid? Have mechanical or electrical issues started appearing? And perhaps most importantly for a diesel pickup used regularly how much does it actually cost to keep driving? After almost three years with our Ford Ranger Wildtrak 4x2, we have had enough time to experience the truck beyond the initial excitement of owning it. Overall, the Ranger has impressed us with its build quality, materials, steering, technology and durability. But there are also things we have learned through ownership particularly its fuel consumption and an occasional thud when selecting a gear. This is our real-world experience.

1. Build Quality One of the Ranger's Strongest Points

One of the things that continues to impress us about the Ranger Wildtrak is its build quality. After almost three years, the truck still feels sturdy. The exterior paint has also held up surprisingly well. We wash the vehicle ourselves, and despite repeated washing, the paint has not easily accumulated the swirl marks that can become noticeable on frequently cleaned vehicles. Of course, proper washing technique still matters, but from our experience, the paint finish has proven reasonably durable. The same impression continues when you look at the materials Ford used throughout the vehicle. The Ranger feels like something designed to withstand actual pickup-truck use rather than simply look rugged. We experienced this durability firsthand in an unfortunate minor accident. We accidentally backed the Ranger into the front of a sedan. The Ranger's rear bumper sustained only a small dent that was barely noticeable. That incident certainly isn't something we would want to repeat, and it shouldn't be treated as a controlled measure of crashworthiness. But from our own experience, it reinforced our impression of how substantial some of the Ranger's exterior components feel. After almost three years, build quality remains one of the things we appreciate most about the Wildtrak.

2. The Transmission Thud We've Experienced

There is one behavior that has caught our attention during ownership. Occasionally, we hear and feel a noticeable thud when shifting from Park into Drive. Interestingly, we discovered that pressing the brake pedal more firmly while selecting the gear can make the thud disappear. We particularly noticed the behavior after using the Ranger to haul approximately 20 sacks of debris. We have also observed that the thud can occur when the Auto Hold function is activated. Once the Ranger is moving, however, we do not experience the same thudding behavior during normal driving. At this point, we do not want to diagnose the cause. There are several components and operating conditions that can influence what happens when a transmission engages, and proper inspection would be required before drawing any conclusions. What we can document is what we actually experience: The thud can occur when selecting Drive, pressing the brake pedal firmly appears to prevent it in our vehicle, and Auto Hold seems to influence when we notice it. It is something we continue to observe.

3. Side-Mirror Motor Noise

Another minor issue we encountered involved the power-folding side mirror. At one point, the mirror mechanism began producing a noticeable “grr” sound when operating. The mirror continued functioning, but the noise suggested that the mechanism was not moving as smoothly as before. We applied WD-40 to the appropriate moving area of the mirror mechanism, and the noise eventually disappeared. At present, the mirror is operating without the noise. This has therefore been a relatively minor ownership issue rather than an ongoing problem. The Ranger's steering remains one of its positive characteristics. Despite being a relatively large pickup, it does not feel unnecessarily difficult to control. More importantly, after almost three years of ownership, we have not experienced noticeable steering-alignment problems. The truck continues to track properly, and we have not noticed unusual behavior from the steering. For a vehicle that has experienced everyday roads, hauling and regular use, this has been encouraging.

4. Infotainment Good Hardware, But Your Phone Makes It Better

The Ranger Wildtrak's infotainment system continues to work well. The large display gives the interior a modern appearance and makes several vehicle functions easy to access. We have generally been satisfied with its operation. However, after living with it for years, we have also realized that the system itself does not offer a huge amount of entertainment functionality when used on its own. Connect a smartphone through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and the experience becomes considerably better. Navigation, music, calls, messaging and compatible smartphone applications make the screen far more useful. So while we like the infotainment hardware, much of its everyday usefulness comes from smartphone integration.

5. Materials and Durability Built for Actual Use

The materials are another area where the Wildtrak continues to impress us. After almost three years, the truck still gives us the impression that many of its components were designed with durability in mind. That matters because our Ranger hasn't simply been used as a lifestyle vehicle. We have used it to haul materials including the approximately 20 sacks of debris mentioned earlier and it has performed the jobs we expected a pickup truck to perform. This is where owning a pickup differs from simply reviewing one. A pickup can have impressive specifications on paper, but eventually an owner is going to load something into it, drive it over imperfect roads, wash it repeatedly and use it for jobs that would be inconvenient in an ordinary passenger car. Our Ranger has handled that side of ownership well.

6. The Biggest Drawback Fuel Consumption

If there is one area where our Ranger Wildtrak ownership experience has been less impressive, it is fuel consumption. Our Ranger has an approximately 79-liter fuel tank, yet in our current usage we typically see only a little over 400 km from a full tank. The exact figure naturally varies depending on traffic, driving conditions, idling, load and driving style, so we don't consider this a controlled fuel-economy test. But it represents what we are actually experiencing as owners. For perspective, 400 km from 79 liters would correspond to roughly 5.1 km/L if the entire 79-liter capacity were actually consumed. Because a normal fill-up usually does not use every liter of the tank's nominal capacity, our true consumption cannot be calculated accurately from tank capacity and range alone. Nevertheless, one thing is clear from our experience: The Ranger can be expensive to use as an everyday vehicle.

7. Is the Wildtrak a Good Daily Driver?

This is where almost three years of ownership has changed our perspective. The Ranger Wildtrak is comfortable. It has good steering. The cabin is modern. It has plenty of technology. And having a pickup bed available whenever you need to carry something is extremely useful. But would we choose it purely as a daily commuter? For us, probably not. And the main reason isn't comfort or size. It's fuel cost. Using a large diesel pickup for short everyday trips, particularly in heavy traffic, can consume considerably more fuel than a smaller vehicle. The Ranger makes much more sense to us when we actually need what a pickup provides carrying materials, transporting larger items, taking longer journeys or doing jobs where the cargo bed becomes genuinely useful. When you need those capabilities, having the Ranger is extremely convenient. When you're simply going somewhere that could easily be handled by a smaller and more efficient vehicle, its fuel consumption becomes harder to ignore.

8. What We Like Most After Almost Three Years

Our strongest impression after almost three years isn't about one particular feature. It's durability. The paint has held up well. The body feels sturdy. The materials still feel substantial. The steering and alignment remain good. The infotainment continues to work properly. And when we've needed the Ranger to perform the role of an actual pickup, it has done the job. These are qualities that become more meaningful after years of ownership than they are during a short test drive. There are three areas we would continue watching or like to see improved. The first is the occasional transmission thud when shifting from Park into Drive. It has not prevented us from using the vehicle normally, but it is something we notice and continue to monitor. The second is smaller the side-mirror mechanism noise we previously experienced. That issue has disappeared after lubrication.  But the biggest everyday drawback is fuel consumption. For owners who intend to use the Wildtrak primarily as a daily commuter, fuel expense deserves serious consideration. The Ranger gives you the capability of a large pickup even when you're not using that capability and you're still moving a large pickup every time you drive.

Owner Scorecard

Verdict, Nearly Three Years Later

Nearly three years of ownership has given us a much better understanding of what the Ford Ranger Wildtrak does well and where its compromises become apparent. Its biggest strength is its sense of durability. The body feels solid, the materials have held up well, the paint remains in good condition, the steering and alignment have given us no significant concerns, and the truck has been genuinely useful when we have needed to haul something. There have been minor issues. We experienced noise from the power-folding mirror, although that has since disappeared. More importantly, we continue to observe the occasional thud when shifting from Park into Drive. But neither has defined our ownership experience. Instead, the biggest compromise has been much simpler: fuel consumption. If we need to haul materials or require the versatility of a pickup, the Ranger makes sense. That's exactly what it was designed to do. As a vehicle for everyday commuting, however, our experience is different. Moving a large diesel pickup through daily traffic comes with a fuel penalty, and after almost three years, that is something we have become increasingly conscious of. The Ranger Wildtrak has shown us why pickups remain so popular: they're tough, versatile, comfortable and capable of doing jobs that an ordinary passenger vehicle simply cannot. But ownership has also taught us that capability has a cost. For us, the Wildtrak is at its best when we're actually using it as a pickup not simply treating it as an everyday commuter.