In defense of the Ranger P/U I must ring in a bit. I have a 1991 XLT which I got from a relitive. It looks, runs and drives very well and my in law swears it has 214,000 miles on the 2.3 L 4 cyl. I have read some posts where there are problems with the Rangers and I had some too. Most of which can be traced to lack of knowledge and a burned out check engine light.
Got the truck in June 2003 and now it is Sep 20th. On the way home from Alabama I got 19 MPG and so-so performance. Since that full brake job for under $100.00 (I love the cheap parts on these trucks) Change the fluids, a book on the EEC-4 injection system and subsequint replacement of the EGR valve and it sensor $100.00, and now the check engine light is gone, the truck stops great and I have more power and a, getting 26 MPG. So far so good I have plans to keep this truck for a while.