Ford Ranger years to avoid: 2018, 2019, 2020

Last updated · OBDCode UK editorial

Inspect most carefully: 2018, 2019, 2020. Strongest in the data: 2005 or 2008. The ranking uses 325,150 MOT test records across 22 qualifying registration-year cohorts in the 2023–2025 DVSA test extracts and compares each cohort with all UK cars of the same age. Counts are test records, not unique vehicles. Same-vehicle follow-up for common certificate lines on this model is further down: how often the same item failed the next year, and how often the car was not tested again.

Every Ranger year, ranked

The age-adjusted MOT index sets 100 as the pass rate of all UK cars registered in the same year and tested in the same calendar year. Higher is better. This prevents an old car being labelled a “bad year” simply because it is old.

RankYearIndexVs same-agePass rateTests
1 2008 Strong 100.8 +0.8 pts 65.9% 6,261
2 2005 Strong 99.8 -0.2 pts 64.3% 6,031
3 2007 99.3 -0.7 pts 64.4% 8,613
4 2001 99.1 -0.9 pts 65.7% 1,664
5 2003 99.0 -1.0 pts 64.0% 3,077
6 2013 98.7 -1.3 pts 72.1% 8,690
7 2009 98.7 -1.3 pts 65.1% 6,945
8 2011 98.5 -1.5 pts 67.7% 4,627
9 2002 98.4 -1.6 pts 64.1% 2,214
10 2004 97.7 -2.3 pts 62.0% 5,284
11 2010 96.7 -3.3 pts 64.1% 4,279
12 2006 96.5 -3.5 pts 60.9% 7,229
13 2014 96.3 -3.7 pts 72.1% 11,868
14 2016 96.1 -3.9 pts 77.4% 30,529
15 2012 96.1 -3.9 pts 67.4% 5,625
16 2022 95.1 -4.9 pts 86.3% 15,028
17 2021 94.6 -5.4 pts 85.0% 31,099
18 2017 94.4 -5.6 pts 78.5% 31,321
19 2015 94.3 -5.7 pts 73.0% 18,283
20 2019 Inspect 93.7 -6.3 pts 82.1% 42,083
21 2018 Inspect 93.6 -6.4 pts 80.0% 41,038
22 2020 Inspect 93.5 -6.5 pts 83.4% 33,362

Why 2018 and 2019 and 2020 rank lower

The 2019 cohort passes 82.1% of tests (-6.3 points versus same-age cars) at a median 55,595 miles, with suspension the leading failure system. The 2018 cohort passes 80.0% of tests (-6.4 points versus same-age cars) at a median 65,100 miles, with suspension the leading failure system. The 2020 cohort passes 83.4% of tests (-6.5 points versus same-age cars) at a median 45,864 miles, with suspension the leading failure system. This is population-level evidence, not a known-fault list: service history, engine version and the individual MOT record can outweigh the registration-year average.

What happened next on this model

Year rankings are age-adjusted pass rates. The figures below are a same-vehicle follow-up for certificate lines that appear often enough on this model (at least 200 cars). They are not a repair quote and they do not isolate a turbo, DSG, or clutch part.

National rankings for the not-retested gap: cars not tested again. Repair-hold rates: repairs that did not hold.

How to use this before buying

  • Rankings describe the cohort, not the car. A cherished 2018 example beats a neglected 2005 one — always run the specific reg through the free MOT history check.
  • Read the advisories. Repeated notes for the same component across years mean the owner has been ignoring it. Decode them in our advisory library.
  • Scan before you pay. A 2-minute OBD scan reveals stored faults the dashboard hides — see our scanner guide.

FAQs

Which Ranger years should I avoid?

Based on 325,150 MOT tests adjusted against cars of the same age, 2018, 2019, 2020 are the lower-scoring outliers. That is a prompt for closer inspection, not proof that every car from those years is bad.

What is the best Ranger year to buy used?

2005 and 2008 lead the age-adjusted MOT ranking. The score compares each registration year with all UK cars of the same age; the specific car's history and condition still take priority.

Is the Ranger reliable overall?

Across 325,150 tests, the median age-adjusted index is 96.6 (100 equals the pass rate of all cars registered in the same year). Use the spread between years as one signal, then check the individual registration.

What data is required before a years-to-avoid guide is published?

We publish a guide only when a model has at least five registration-year cohorts old enough for a routine first MOT, each based on at least 1,500 Class 4 initial MOT tests pooled across the stated DVSA extract years, and at least 60,000 tests across those cohorts. From the models that pass those gates, this release includes the 220 models with the largest pooled samples. Retests are excluded.

How are the Strong and Inspect labels assigned?

Strong considers only the two highest-ranked registration-year cohorts and labels either one that is within 1.5 index points of the best. Inspect considers only the three lowest-ranked cohorts and labels a year only when its index is no higher than 100 and at least 2 points below the model median. Counts are MOT test records, not unique vehicles.

Methodology: index = 100 + the model-year cohort’s MOT pass-rate difference versus all UK vehicles registered in the same year and tested in the same calendar year. Pass rate uses DVSA result codes (P + PRS) ÷ (P + PRS + F): passes and passes after rectification at the test divided by those outcomes plus failures. Class 4 initial-test records only; retests excluded; at least 1,500 records per registration-year cohort. “Strong” considers the top two cohorts within 1.5 index points of the best. “Inspect” considers only the bottom three cohorts, then requires an index no higher than 100 and at least 2 points below the model median. Counts are test records, not unique vehicles. Association is not proof of a model-year defect. Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023–2025 extracts. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.