2002 Ranger 4x4 X-cab 4.0 SOHC 5R55E transmission, 4.10 LS, 82,000 miles
Getting 21.5 mpg combined, but mostly hwy driving, pleasantly surprised since I was hearing horror stories of 16mpg with the 4.0 SOHC.

 

Not to shabby, your averaging about what I'm getting with my 2000 single cab, 2.5L, 5 speed 2wd with 185,000 miles on it.

 

Almost forgot...........I have another Ranger too.
93 Splash 2wd reg cab. 2.3L 5spd, 3.73 gears
24/25mpg combined, cracked 30mpg, on one all freeway trip.

Truck is un-molested, electric blue, has all the Splash graphics, in almost mint shape, gets a lot of thumbs up, seems to be getting almost "collectible" now.
I think someday in the distant future it might be a real good candidate for a T-bird turbo-coupe or Mustang SVO 2.3 turbo swap.

 

My 3.0 with 4:10 gears bet as 16 mpg.

 

I have the "WTF was Ford thinking" 2.0L-wonder engine w/ 5-Spd in in my 85, or is that an 86...
I added a header, a 3" Cat aftermarket (to replace the missing unit) and a big pipe out the back and completely re-machined the Carter 1BBL, + an electric fan.
It has been averaging 29 to 30-MPG for the last decade + and yes the Spedo is correct.
Not bad with 4.11-gears & 30" tall tires.
Thing is a gutless wonder on the street but really fun to drift down gravel roads.with 94 4x4 springs and sway bars absolutely tossable in the corners!

Muel

 

My old 84 2.8 4x4 5spd ranger when new and stock got 24-25mpg with "normal" size tires when it was lightly loaded....................fast forward 25 yrs and 315,000 miles to the first rebuild, a "performance rebuild" with .040 over, hi-po cam, offenhauser 4v manifold, headers, and 390 holley 4bbl carb, now on 31" tires................lucky to break 19.5 mpg going downhill.

 

My '93 2.3 with 3.40 gears got about 22 in 4th gear. It would not maintain speed in 5th. Swapped in a 3.73 rear end after the 3.40 started howling. That allowed me to run the A/C and 5th gear on flat ground. Still about 22mpg.

Why would Ford sell a truck that would not even pull high gear on flat ground? It really needed 4.10's to be viable.

 

Something amiss with your truck mechanically?
My 93 2.3 Splash with 3.73s will not only hold speed in 5th it will knock the speedo needle into the no-mans range past 85 mph in 5th.

 

I haven't been able to measure the mileage on my Ranger since I moved here from Idaho, but at one time, I was getting around 25-28 mpg (depending on the quality of the fuel), and this is with 4:10 gearing and 4WD... This is also the same Ranger that towed a 3,000 lb camp trailer 850+ miles from SE Idaho to the southern Oregon coast with a Mazda 5-speed manual transmission and an engine that already had around 160,000 miles on it (which wasn't easy and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone)... Details are in my sig...

And, still going strong...

I would love to be able to replace the 4.0 with a 5.0...