bt-50 or ford ranger

Gidday

I have had a Ranger XLT extra cab for 18 months and 30,000k. Nothing has broken or fallen off. It has similar power outputs to its rivals and is as comfortable as leaf sprung 4wd ute can be. The interior is a bit dated (almost spartan) but i think it is the oldest of the utes around and a new one with a new interior is due later this year or early next. Economy is abt 8.5l/100 give or take a few decimal points ... a bit worse around town a bit better when gentle touring. At this stage I would buy another one, probably should as there are good drive away deals (here in WA at least). No doubt some people will tell you to look elsewhere and some of the Ford/Mazda rivals are better equipped but from a value for money perspective I think the Ranger is hard to beat.

Cheers

rocco

Hi Leon
I was in the same boat this week and finished up with a Isuzu D-Max, same price, I talk to two people who needed a vehicle for the same reason as me and I was sold on what they told me about the fuel economy. Have a read of thread 80176.
Regards
Paintar

Hi, I know its not either of the 2, but have you had a look at the D22 with the new motor, i've had mine on the beach, out getting wood etc etc etc and have had no problems performance wise with it, also a couple of grand cheaper (STR) i think than the other models, just as with any other 4wd there is always something you can do to them to mske them better
Nigel

There was talk that on sustained corrrugations the fuel tank mountings broke on these vehicles.

Hi Leon,

Just returned from a 3 week trip with a mate in a Ranger Dual cab T/D.

Handled the Gibb, Kalumburu and Bungles Road OK.
However it did not like towing the fuel economy was 16l/100 towing an Outback Camper Trailer. And appeared the most sluggish on overtaking. In fact all 4 vehicles returned the same figures!!
The only glitches were the engine light came on at El Questro after it was jump started from the Aux battery. After checking the sensors etc Ford in Katherine were rung and we were told by the mechanic that the light will come on sometimes after jump starting and to just drive it until the next Dealership. Also one of the sidesteps fell off due to being held on with light screws. More for looks than usage. Ended up loosing 2 for the trip!
The light went out 2 days later without any ill effects.

My Uncle has one for a work ute and the one he has is on its 3rd clutch in 10000ks.
It's fine when driving around with out a load, but load it up to it's Gross combination weight (with a trailer) and it starts slipping.
He's opinion is that they have specced the vehicle a little outside of it capabilties.

Shane

Leon
I am looking at these too
$37990 driveaway this month for the top line XLT d/cap 4x4, INCLUDES factory t/bar, trayliner, 4 airbags (not 2), as well as better 'real' clearance than hilux/navara.

Nothing comes close in terms of value at the moment ($16k less than hilux).
Even the LS-U D-max is $8k more and that's without t/bar, trayliner & side aribags...

You will get the Hilux/Navara puirists here who will bang on about resale.
That depends how long u want to keep it, eg after 10 years, even if you only get $8k for it, that's $3k per year depreciation - NO WORSE THAN HILUX, or most used cars! Even after 3 or 4 years, with that $16k up front saving, the resale argument is dead in the water....

All looks good on paper although I havn't driven one yet, that will happen shortly.

cheers
Mark