I'm 6'4" and own a '97 Ranger XL Regular cab pickup. I give the truck a rating of 5 stars because it is perfect for someone who wants what my particular truck has to offer. That being said I would buy a truck with different options/features and configuration if I had it to do over again. Keep the following things in mind when you go to buy a Ford Ranger, or any other small pick-up.

Color
My truck is gorgeous black with metallic gray trim and a gray interior. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER BLACK TRUCK AGAIN. Ok I say that now, and when I see another black beauty in the showroom I'll probably buy one again. The problem is that there isn't a hotter looking color for a truck than black. It looks tough, it looks sophisticated, it looks like Marty McFly's 1986 Toyota pickup that he dreams will be in his garage when he comes Back to the Future. Heaven forbid that you use your truck like a truck though. Any little scratch shows. I had a heart attack the first day I took my truck to the car wash only to see it come out with swirls where the dryer's terry cloth towel had been. You can imagine my dismay every time I haul mulch around, or put bags of cement in the bed. When clear coat gets scratched on a black paint job it shows up white. Black also looks terrible when it gets salt on it from a the Northeastern roads. I would say your best bet for truck colors is 1. silver, 2. tan, 3. white, 4. red

Cab Size
Regular cab trucks have no benefit in riding convenience over a Mazda Miata. As a matter of fact, you might be able to get more stuff out of the weather in a Miata, than in my regular cab Ranger. I bought a truck box just to solve the problem of no interior space. At least the box gives me a place to put 1 or 2 bags of groceries. Really though, if you plan on hauling kids, or even going on long trips, either buy an extended cab, or buy another vehicle. A regular cab Ranger is only useful for around the town hauling, and possibly longer trips with only 2 people. Don't even think that you can fit a 3rd person in the middle seat especially with a stick shift.

Bed style
I've got a fleet side, long bed, and I love it! Fleet side trucks are the only ones that will fit 4x8 sheets of anything. The only advantage I can see to a step side is that it may have more stylish lines. Even that is debatable. Oh yeah, and it might be easier to climb up into the bed (if you tend to need to get in there often).

4x4 or 4x2
If you live in any location that has snow please do not buy a 4x2 pickup truck. I can't tell you how many people in the Northeast I see with their 4x2's loaded to the hilt with sandbags only to still have no traction. I load up my 4x4 with sandbags just so that I don't have to have the 4 wheel on as much. The extra ground clearance of a 4x4, while making the truck a little top heavy, is a great when you want to clear the 3 foot snowdrift that the plow left for you at the end of your driveway.

My truck has locking hubs and a shifter on the floor to engage the four wheel drive. This is a really nice system as I only lock the hubs between November and April (snow season). The truck gets better gas mileage when the hubs are unlocked. When I need the four wheel I just shift the extra shifter, and it's on - even at full highway speed. Now the alternative is the push button four wheel drive which is the equivalent of having the hubs locked at all times. This means a little worse gas mileage, but a little easier operation, only having to push a single button whenever you want 4 wheel.

So, what's so great about your Ranger?
Well, the stick shift V6 is smooth as silk. There's plenty of power there for all road conditions. I can't vouch for the towing power until I get a nice toy to test it with. I have a rubberized floor which means a whisk broom and a hose cleans out the interior quickly. The seats are the most comfortable of any of the trucks I tested (Dodge, Chevy, Toyota). While the regular cab is small, I have no problem taking the truck on long trips. The aluminum alloy wheel are stylin' and non-corrosive so they should stay shiny forever. The price was right - with new college grad discounts and rebate I only paid $15,000 for a brand new 4x4 set of wheels.

What sucks about your Ranger?
The thing didn't come with a cup holder. Now, this is not indicative of all Rangers because I've seen other Rangers with cup holders. I guess it was just my combination of stick shift with 4 wheel drive shifter on the floor that made the designers think that they couldn't fit a cup holder. I managed to install one of my own no problem. The Regular cab - my next truck will have an extended cab, or be one of those SUP's (Sport Utility merged with a pickup) so that I've got ample interior space, and still have a bed for hauling dirty stuff. The Black paint - for the reasons mentioned above.

All I can say is know what you're getting into before buying a small truck. They're not for everybody. If they're for you, I would definitely recommend buying a truck in the Ford Ranger series.