Oh, BTW, last night I traded my Ranger Edge for a Ford Edge. The Ranger was getting old and starting to fall apart (tho I’m sure it can be kept running well for years and years…tho I suspect Ford will chop my unit to cobble together some minty Certified Pre-Owned Rangers for the people who can’t be talked into an Ecoboost F-150) and Ford was offering some crazy incentives to trade in post ’96 Rangers for vastly more than my truck is worth.
As for the Edge, its 100% a utilitarian decision, it gets better mileage, its a more comfortable, and offers additional seating in something OTHER than a Supercab that comes with the obligatory “Sorry you had to ride back there”, and with fold-flat rear seats it still has most of the raw cago-hauling ability of my truck.
That being said for a car-frame SUV with a FWD/AWD layout its a very responsive ride, and I’m surprised at how happy I am with it.
Also I was lamenting that the truck was probably my last stick-shift I’d ever own, given that by the time I’m an old-fart who could reasonably justify a pure-bread sports car, everything will probably be paddle-shifters. That being said this unit has the “manumatic” transmission option with a little toggle-switch on the gear selector that lets you talk directly to the transmission, and its amazingly responsive, it actually shifts when I ask it to, and you can even do some stick-shift tricks like powered stops by downshifting with your foot off the gas.
Should make for some more enjoyable rides.
Just remember to take your hormone therapy or your voice will change and you’ll get all puffy.
Vector described it as “Imagine a Mini-van and an SUV had a baby”.
Its not as emasculating as all that, and frankly I’m stoked at how COMFORTABLE it is, but yeah it isn’t as exciting as a 4×4 truck.
It’s hard to say which one sounds cooler, though, a Ranger or an Edge…
I probably should have traded in my Ranger on a new Ranger, but I’m still happy with the Outback I got. 220,000 miles on the Ford with almost nothing needed other than spark plug wires and a clutch. Then almost everything decided to fail at once, so I had to part with it…
I am still annoyed that they are getting rid of the Ranger. Awesome vehicle.