Why don’t you want an F-150?
But you can buy a Ranger elsewhere, for some reason:
http://gearheads.org/discovering-the-2015-ford-ranger/
Have you looked at the Ridgeline?
I was going to say Ranger immediately. Never understood why Ford got rid of it. Did it really sell that badly? Sure seems to have a lot of fans. One thing we do know, is that they will no longer be manufactured in St. Paul, MN, as that factory has been leveled.
Compact pickups are tin cans. Cheap would be a small car and a trailer. Otherwise get the real thing.
You might look at the Nissan Frontier. 4wd. Just picked up a 2014 with 10 miles on it. Saved a bucket. it’s a V-6 crew cab. Box is just 5 ft.
Explorer sport trac but it’s bed is really short
Given the longevity of my buddy’s truck, how about a Toyota Tacoma? His has something like a quarter-million miles and it still looks pretty much new.
I have a Mazda CX-5 it isn’t a truck but works like one with a camper over the bed.
Buy one with doors, a roof, and actually runs.
Thats my advice ;-)
I always liked Tonka...
From a conversation I had with a Ford Exec on an airplane a while back, the Ranger’s biggest problem is that people who buy them, expect to use them the same way as they do the big pickup, meaning hauling, towing, plowing, etc., often beyond what they are capable of.
That leads to a higher consumer complaint rate.
Ford also felt the Ranger, for the very same reasons listed above, was cutting into F-150 sales. Well, the increase in Colorado sales pretty much killed that idea. It now sells more than the Frontier, and is catching up to the Tacoma, as of Feb. 2015.
There has been talk of Fiat offering it’s new Mid-Size pickup, based on the next-generation Mitsubishi L200 model and built in Latin America, as the 2017 JEEP Pickup.
Tacoma
Everything else distant second
Stay away from Nissan.Their vehicles are poorly enginered and as a result you’ll be paying through the nose as they don’t honor their warrenties.
I had issues with the fuel level sensor and the only way to replace it is to change the entire gas tank.I looked on line at NITSA to see if the thing was covered in a recall.It was.I brought the info to the dealer and they still refused to honor the warranty.
That issue occurred twice and they still never changed the design of the fuel tank to prevent water from corroding the fuel tank sensor.
Nissan designs its vehicles to fail.So they can keep them.
There is anything out there that I see. I was looking for a Ford Ranger too after trading in my Chevy S10 and discovered that they aren’t making it anymore. I ended up going bigger and getting a Silverado. However, there is good news on the horizon. I hear that Jeep is coming out with a pickup in about a year.
For 25 years I had a service business and ALWAYS bought Ford Rangers.
Good mileage, little repairs needed, and fair price.
I would drive them for 225,000 miles then trade em in and get a new one.
I ALWAYS paid extra and got their V-6 motor as it gave much better pick up when entering freeways.
Good luck.
