Although my son probably doesn't know what the Olympics are, he seems to have come up with a motto similar to theirs after riding in the new Ford Ranger this week.
Citius, altius, fortius, which apparently is Latin for faster, higher, stronger is used by the Olympics to boost, if you will, the athletes to strive to do their best.
But while driving in the new Ranger, my son pipes up and says, "I like the Ranger dad. Know why?"
"I haven't a clue," I said, and waited for him to tell me why.
"Well, aren't you going to ask me why dad," he said.
"OK, why do you like the Ranger."
"Because it's like me," he said.
"You mean, it's short, thinks it knows everything and pees behind the toilet seat," I replied.
"No, because its light, fast and strong.
"It's light because it's not as big as the other trucks like the F-150 or the F-250, it can carry us and lots of stuff in the back, you know, what's that called, oh yeah, the bed, and we're going pretty fast right now, right dad."
"I guess so," I replied.
But he is not wrong, and often as adults we see things from a totally different perspective than kids. With the ever-increasing sizes of trucks and SUVs over the years we often expect a truck to be a big, brawny, piece of machinery that can haul a house and its contents to the top of Mount Everest (sometimes it seems the ads even claim things like this). If it is not big and doesn't have a thousand horsepower and a million foot pounds of torque it is not a truck and not worth considering.
But from a kids eyes there isn't any idea of hauling a trailer or carrying five beefy, forestry workers miles into the bush over sometimes hazardous roads, or taking every possession in the house to the new house on moving day.
A truck is a truck, and as long as it is bigger than the kid is, it is a truck and can do just about anything.
The Ranger, which is mainly a two-seater, does have two small, fold-away seats in the back in case someone is in a bind and needs a ride for a short distance.
But the space will almost always be used for storage and carrying items you don't want to leave in the bed of the truck.
My son thought they were "kind of cool" and maybe his friends could use them.
The Ranger I drove was a little higher in the price range with 4x4, power windows and mirrors, AC, MP3 CD player, fog lights, satellite radio, tow hooks, ABS, trailer towing package, tire pressure monitoring system, roll stability and several other items.
However, if you either feel like you don't need all of these items, or maybe can't afford them right now, you can get into a base-mode Ranger for just under $14,000.
That seems like a scream of a deal. A new truck for $14,000.
Although it may be twice what my parents paid for their house in 1970, it is far, far less than what you would expect to pay for a new truck.
There is plenty of room in the Ranger for the driver and front passenger and both the ride and the seats were quite comfortable.
The Ranger is also much easier to park than some of its larger siblings due to its size, and if on a trip to the Lower Mainland this would come in very handy.
When it comes to sports cars the ideas of lighter, faster, stronger are often kept in mind. And as my son is a bit of a sports car fanatic I can understand why he used these words to describe himself (he probably sees himself as a Bugatti Veyron or something like that) and then to make this connection to the Ranger.
The Ranger may be a "small" truck where trucks are concerned, but it is no light weight. For the vast majority of people who only need a truck for taking kids and their hockey equipment to the game, hauling waste to the dump, or bringing the new fridge home from the store, the Ranger is the perfect machine. It will suit most of the people most of the time.
And when you consider the price, especially for the entry
model, it is a bit of a no brainer.
