The Ranger spent a good portion of August in the hands of our managing editor. As a family man with rare truck needs, the little Ford doesn't really suit his needs...or so he thought.

It just so happens that during his loan period with the truck he decided to finally replace the bed sheet over his 8-foot patio door with some attractive vertical blinds. Said blinds were purchased at Home Depot and came in a 9-foot-long box. There was no way the Ranger's bed could carry this box without at least a foot of it sticking out past the tailgate, which, by law, means he would have to affix a red flag or marker to the end of the box. However, by opening the truck's rear window, he could slide enough of the box into the cab to get the rest into the bed. This creative packaging worked, as long as his wife kept the cargo from sliding around during turns. With a regular cab, short bed Ranger, there wouldn't have been enough room for this loading trick to work.

Our managing editor, along with two other staffers, commented on the Ranger's good looks. At 1 year old, the truck still wins rave reviews for its stylish appearance. One staffer, who is both a Ducati owner and Ferrari lover, claims that Ford chose a perfect shade for this truck. "There are so many different versions of the color red and they can range from orangish-red to maroonish-red. But Ford got it exactly right with the Ranger." Another staffer remarked that the flareside bed looks good, but sacrifices cargo capacity. According to him, "I'd rather have more room in the truck bed than the stylish wheel wells."

Ergonomically, the Ranger has few faults; but those that it has are quite annoying. The overdrive switch continues to be a major pain. Our managing editor claims that for every two times he had to move the shifter, he hit the overdrive button inadvertently at least once. Even worse is the fact that this is not a particularly convenient place to hit the button when you really want to. A console or dash mounting would make more sense.

Our vice president tested out the Ranger's side-facing rear seats personally this month. Recently he let his 8-year-old niece ride back there with no complaints. It was a different story after his extended ride through L.A. traffic. "I felt like I was thrown into a sardine can. I had nowhere to put my arms and very little room for my legs." Our managing editor's wife, who is substantially smaller than our VP, had less difficulty fitting in the rear seat, but worried about getting into an accident. Seated sideways between the back of the passenger seat and the back wall of the truck's cab, with her head at the same level at the rear glass, she figured a hard impact from behind could get quite ugly.

The worst aspect about driving the Ranger, aside from sitting in the back seats or accidentally hitting the overdrive switch, is the amount of noise it makes from various locations. The rear springs squeak, the drivetrain clunks, and a noticeable whistle emanates from the roof area above the driver's side doors. Our guess is that the quad-cab design has sacrificed a bit of body rigidity, which has created the poor seal in the door area. None of these problems are extremely troubling when viewed separately, but when you add them up it doesn't bode well for long-term durability.

While some drivers consider the Ranger a useless toy truck, others feel it is the perfect compromise for a city dweller with valid truck needs. Driving and parking it in tight quarters isn't any more difficult than in large car, yet it can hold four people and a fair amount of cargo, at least for a limited time and distance.

Plus it's that really cool shade of red.

Total Odometer Reading: 15,977
Best Fuel Economy: 15.5 mpg
Worst Fuel Economy: 10.6 mpg
Body Repair Costs: $0
Maintenance Costs: $0
Problems: Continued noises from the drivetrain and suspension, and a new air leak around the driver's side doors.