The 3.0's don't do so well. About 16 mpg's. Used to be around 20 mpg's before they started putting ethanol in the gas.

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Current Rangers:
2000 XLT 3.0 extended cab / 1995 XLT 3.0
Former Rangers:
1993 XLT 3.0 / 1991 XLT 3.0 / 1985 XL 2.3
1974 Ford Courier if that counts

As 2001RangerXLT-4X4 said and I agree) about the best I ever got maybe 17 mpg if I was lucky and that was going cross country all freeway. I have (2002 ranger XLT 4.0 L 4x4 off road package,) bought the truck with 4,000 miles in 2003. As far as going 55 mph that never happens more like 75 or 80. I have around 250,000 now and still gets about the same mpg.

I have a 1998 Mazda B2500 (4 cylinder, 2.5 liter) with manual transmission. Same vehicle as a Ford Ranger. At 289,461 miles I stopped using the truck, which was still running well, because the frame had rusted badly. I have kept the truck in hopes that I can locate a good replacement frame, in which case I'll do an engine overhaul and expect to go another 200,000 miles or more. I averaged about 24 miles per gallon with this until I built and installed a Hydrogen booster, after which my average increased to 32 mpg. Here's a link to view the booster I made, which is basically a "Smack Booster" which I built according to plans but then added modifications. The plans and modifications are also included at the link, in case anyone is interested in building one. https://1drv.ms/u/s!AuOnF7vk1qGkgTEd...AvFNY?e=76xrEr

Here we go again...

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1999 5.0/4R70W/4406 Ext. Cab

3.0Ls don't do so well?
For more than 3 years, I've had a 2007 3.0L Supercab Sport 4x2, 5-speed manual. When I got it, I installed a K&N high-flow intake system.
I was regularly getting right around 20 MPG.
I tried changing my shift pattern, (up to 2nd at 10 MPH, up to 3rd at 20, so on). I don't drive slow, I just skip up thru the gears quickly.
That kept my revs below 2K, and my MPG improved more than 10%, up to 22.5 MPG.
I recently put a bottle of Lucas High-Mileage treatment through the system and at last fill-up I was getting over 24 MPG.
I was used to filling up every 300 miles. I was getting nervous with 350 on the trip odometer and the fuel gauge still at 1/4 full. The gauge was right. It took a little over 14 gallons to top off the tank.
When I bought the truck, it had just under 90K on the clock. It is approaching 120K now.

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2007 Dark Shadow Grey (CX) Super Cab 4x2 Ranger Sport (Canada) 3.0L, Manual Transmission, 4.10 open

I prefer to run my nuclear powered Ranger and I'm also thinking about a coal fired Ranger too.

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I think getting 2 mpg less is way better than lugging the crap out of your engine by short shifting.

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Fuel economy threads are fun to read! Where else can someone get 25 mpg out of a 4.0 4x4.

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I was just stuck on the hydrogen system. The rest doesn't bother me as much.

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1999 5.0/4R70W/4406 Ext. Cab

So who lugs their engine? Not me.
The engine idles ~800 RPM. Acceleration goes from ~1,200 up to ~2K, then back down to ~1,200 again for the next gear.
Do I get more power at 4K and up? Sure, and I'm not afraid to use it when I need it.
Could I get even better fuel economy with slower starts and even shorter shifts?
Probably. But then I would be on the verge of lugging, and that is never good.

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2007 Dark Shadow Grey (CX) Super Cab 4x2 Ranger Sport (Canada) 3.0L, Manual Transmission, 4.10 open

Trying to accelerate at 1200 RPM is lugging the engine and doing absolutely -nothing- good for its longevity.

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1999 5.0/4R70W/4406 Ext. Cab

I know lugging.
I taught my 20 Y.O. cousin to drive a stick just yesterday.
I know lugging.
She did well, but showed the same, expected, beginner mistakes everyone has when they first learn to drive a stick.
Over the course of an hour, there was only 1 grinding and 2 stalls, but I lost count of "give it more gas, now".
[It wasn't pretty when she flubbed a 2 -> 3 shift, accidentally making it a 2 -> 5 shift. Lots of lugging there. But she only did it once.]
When I drive, there isn't any hesitation, no chugging from the engine, no lurching.
I pull away from a stop smoothly at ~1,200 / ~1,500 (I'm not going to pull away from a light starting at ~3K+ on the tach). I just don't run it up to ~3K / ~4K in 1st anymore.
If the engine lugged at all going into 2nd at ~10 MPH, I'd accelerate more before I shifted. With a load in the bed, or going uphill, I do accelerate more before shifting.
That's why the new Ranger comes with a 10-speed auto. So it can get better fuel economy by shifting up gears lower in the engine's power band.
I just do it manually.
And without lugging. If the engine told me it didn't like what I was doing, I wouldn't keep doing it.

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2007 Dark Shadow Grey (CX) Super Cab 4x2 Ranger Sport (Canada) 3.0L, Manual Transmission, 4.10 open

I'm not sure what to say here, other than you are genuinely confused. That is an abusive way to drive a vehicle, and it's sad that you're teaching this to others.

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1999 5.0/4R70W/4406 Ext. Cab

I've been driving sticks for 35 years.
I drive by feel, not by the gages. And I know I don't lug the engine.
On my way home, I watched the gages more carefully.
The truck idles under 750.
I take off at ~1,700 RPM and I shift just shy of ~2,250.
That puts me back at 1,500+ in the new gear.
The truck will happily cruise at 40 MPH in 5th at 1,500 RPM (speed limit 35, not accelerating, and still getting passed).
So I mis-remembered exactly where on the tach I was when I shifted.
That's on me - mia culpa.

But to declare with authority - without having ridden with me - that the way I drive is "abusive" and its "sad" that I'm teaching anybody else to drive a stick at all.
Where does that come from?

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2007 Dark Shadow Grey (CX) Super Cab 4x2 Ranger Sport (Canada) 3.0L, Manual Transmission, 4.10 open

Shifting at an rpm under 2000 is way more detrimental to a 3.0 or 4.0 than allowing it to 3000-3500 rpms.
I have been driving 45 years.
If fuel economy is that important then buy a tiny Asian car since Ford, GM, or Dodge manufacture horrible small cars.

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With a stock 4.0 sohc and a 5 speed I average between 19-21 mpg on the highway, if I keep it under 70 mph. After I get above 70 it likes to dip around 17.

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11' Ford Ranger Sport 4wd 5 Speed Manual

- Flowmaster 44, Cobra 25 LTD mounted in ceiling, Mustang Dome light mod, Led Bulbs all around, Cargo light connected, Under Hood light mod, Amber Raptor lights installed in the grill, updated headlights with black background, and a few small things here and there. In search of more ideas.

Go solar or go home

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Uh yeah, I am not going to click a link for some crackpot thing like that. End up giving my computer herpes or something...