The 1997 Ranger is an important vehicle to Ford for the standard cab pickup market segment. The XLT is a member of a series of five trim levels for the Ranger which include Sport, XL, XLT, STX, and Splash. The two-door truck with its four-wheel drive is positioned to aggressively fill this niche for Ford. There is strong competition from vehicles from Lexus.

1997 Ford Ranger XLT Specs

The restyled Ranger XLT is equipped with a 4.0-liter six-cylinder engine that utilizes 12 valves. The engine is mated to a Ford four-speed transmission. This has resulted in an increase in horsepower and torque over the 1996 version.

The fuel system for the 1997 Ranger is a EFI system, running on gasoline . The fuel is controlled by an electronic system and is a fuel-injected MFI design.

The Ranger uses power-assisted brakes, with 2-Wheel ABS support. The front brakes are disc while the rear brakes are drum. Steering is handled through a power-steering gear-style configuration. The truck uses coil and leaf springs front and rear respectively.

Statistics

The dimensions of the Ranger XLT are 69.40 inches wide by 184.30 inches long. It sits 67.50 inches off the ground. It seats a standard three passengers, with 2 doors. The wheelbase of 108.20 allows for extra leg room for the rear passengers.

The original manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) was $19,375 when new, with a dealer invoice cost of $17,385. This price was in line with the industry average price for a 2-door Standard Cab Pickup.

There is a 50,000* mile, 60* month warranty with this vehicle, including a powertrain warranty of 50,000*/36* miles/months. This is normal for this price range.

Fuel Efficiency

The Ranger XLT received a miles-per-gallon rating of 16 - 17 in-city driving and 20 - 22 when it came to highway driving. Being a gas-powered non-hybrid truck, this was within normal parameters.

What We Think of the Ford Ranger

The 1996 model began the promise of the Ford Ranger. The 1997 expanded on this success and has proven to be a strong seller in most markets. Even with strong competition from other manufacturers Ford hopes that the Ranger XLT will continue to be a profitable vehicle.

Tags: 2-Door, Ford Ranger, Standard Cab Pickup, United States market, XLT

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 8:36 am and is filed under 1997, Ford, Ranger. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.