Explorer Sport Trac Successor more than Ranger

[lastwgn]

It has been a while since I have seen one, but in looking at an Explorer Sport Trac in a parking lot last night, it seems to me the Maverick is clearly more a successor to that line of vehicle than it is to the old Ford Ranger. the old Ford Ranger attempted to be nothing more than a shrunken pickup truck. The Maverick is very successfully attempting to be way more than simply a compact pickup truck. It is now Ford's entry level compact and fuel efficient vehicle, it can be an excellent family sedan, a comfortable and easy to live with commuter vehicle, a "lifestyle vehicle" for the outdoors set, and along with that has extremely capable truck characteristics. To be honest, it is quite an amazing achievement at the price point. All in all, it is nothing like the old Ranger, and it is so good at all of the elements Ford is attempting to achieve that it exceeds the potential of the old Sport Trac, which I believe is the proper vehicle lineage. Either that or the Ranchero, but not the old Ranger. The Ranger only tried to do one thing. Be a small pickup truck. That was it.

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[Dun4791]

sport trac was too expensive

 

[PNWMaverick]

sport trac was too expensive

I remember looking at a new Adrenaline Edition Sport Trac back when it was on the Ranger platform. It was something like $35,000 back in 2004!! Great cars, but you were well into much better vehicle territory for that money.

Adjusted to today that is almost $52,000.

 

[brnpttmn]

sport trac was too expensive

And crap gas mileage.

 

[Thrillhouse]

I had a 2003 Chevy Avalanche that still had the original factory sticker which was $38,000. You got a lot more truck for the price than the Sport Trac.

That Avalanche, with it's big V8, made 285 HP. The 4 cylinder Ecoboost Maverick makes 250 HP and weighs about 1,700 pounds less.

 

[JanTheSexyVektan]

That Avalanche, with it's big V8, made 285 HP. The 4 cylinder Ecoboost Maverick makes 250 HP and weighs about 1,700 pounds less.

I remember thinking at the time, wow, it's named after a disaster.

 

[PNWMaverick]

And crap gas mileage.

Get off that 4.0L V6! We had 3 of them in our trucks. They did an amazing.........13 MPG when loaded with gear.

Jokes aside, they are solid as all Hell. Terribly inefficient but they just keep going. No major issues or repairs. Just lots of fuel.

 

[brnpttmn]

Get off that 4.0L V6! We had 3 of them in our trucks. They did an amazing.........13 MPG when loaded with gear.

Jokes aside, they are solid as all Hell. Terribly inefficient but they just keep going. No major issues or repairs. Just lots of fuel.

I always wanted one, but I definitely couldn't justify that much money, truck, and gas when I was in my 20s (really, I still couldn't). But I thought they were cool.

 

[lastwgn]

I too remember looking at the Sport trac and it was simply too expensive. Same with the Honda Ridgeline. I would still assert it is the same concept, it is just that with the Maverick Ford has taken that concept and applied it to a better platform for the new mission of being the entry level Ford vehicle.

I am still amazed at how badly Ford marketing appears to have misread the potential for this particular product. But for the supply chain/chip issues, Ford could be cranking out and selling these in a similar fashion to the Ford Fairmont in 1978. Ford moved over 460,000 in that first year versus just under 100,000 units of its immediate predecessor, the 1977 Ford Maverick.

 

[LelandJ]

I've owned 2 Sport-Trac's and I loved them both, but yeah the mpg was abysmal. It's actually the reason I ordered a Maverick, it's essentially the same truck but more efficient.

 

[Maverickman74]

But the SportTracs lineage is the Ranger sooo.... But yeah its just like it and someone should do a comparison video. Also the 4.0 is a hell of an engine for being designed as a V4 in the 60s.

 

[Aza]

I had a 2004 Sport Trac and I loved everything about it, except the gas mileage.

 

[GrandpaBill]

I traded in my 2008 V8 sport trac for my Maverick. If it wasn't for the price and styling, I'd still be in the Sport Trac. It was a V8 too and my EB Maverick is pretty peppy, gets decent mpg and nice for driving around town.

 

[999]

The old Ranger wasn't a downsized full size truck, it was actually an upsized Japanese mini truck. Once upon a time mini pickup trucks like the Ford Courier(a Mazda), Chevy Luv (an Isuzu), Toyota and Datun roamed the earth. They were small, tinny, bare bones and cheap as hell.

This was the era when every vehicle grew and grew and grew and grew. The bigger, heavier and more expensive Ranger, Chevy S-10, Toyota and Nissan pickups evolved upmarket from the original mini trucks.

the old Ford Ranger attempted to be nothing more than a shrunken pickup truck.

 

[pjlawton]

It has been a while since I have seen one, but in looking at an Explorer Sport Trac in a parking lot last night, it seems to me the Maverick is clearly more a successor to that line of vehicle than it is to the old Ford Ranger. the old Ford Ranger attempted to be nothing more than a shrunken pickup truck. The Maverick is very successfully attempting to be way more than simply a compact pickup truck. It is now Ford's entry level compact and fuel efficient vehicle, it can be an excellent family sedan, a comfortable and easy to live with commuter vehicle, a "lifestyle vehicle" for the outdoors set, and along with that has extremely capable truck characteristics. To be honest, it is quite an amazing achievement at the price point. All in all, it is nothing like the old Ranger, and it is so good at all of the elements Ford is attempting to achieve that it exceeds the potential of the old Sport Trac, which I believe is the proper vehicle lineage. Either that or the Ranchero, but not the old Ranger. The Ranger only tried to do one thing. Be a small pickup truck. That was it.

I always loved the Sport Trac but it was very expensive even for a used one. Always liked the Ranger too but they needed a 4 door version. I owned a couple of extended cab Rangers and they were good small trucks. But,, you are right, the Mav is more like the Sport Trac.

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