So, the first sentence of the article references the old Ranger:
Resurrection can be a tricky business. Although nearly a decade dormant in North America after years of slow sales truncated its time on this continent
Gee, ya think those years of slow sales could have been because Ford hadn't updated the Ranger in something like 20 years, and it was still stuck in the early 90's?
That's a common misconception but the reality is that the newer Rangers had almost nothing in common with the earlier ones. Over the years they had new interiors, the regular cab grew in length by a few inches, the motors were replaced, and even the frame was redesigned at some point.
I had a 2006 Ranger, and while it was a nice enough truck for the price (the things were dirt cheap), it really was stuck in the 90's, especially the interior and exterior styling. The 4.0 V6 had been updated in the early '00s when they changed it from an OHV engine to a SOHC configuration, bumping horsepower from something like 160 to 207. That being said, it was still underpowered compared to something like a Tacoma or a Frontier.
That generation of Ranger wasn't available with a crew cab, and the extended cab (like mine) had those little sideways-facing jump seats, making it completely unsuitable for family duties. This was at a time when ALL the competition (Tacoma, Frontier, Colorado/Canyon) had real crew cabs available. Refinement was terrible. Forget about heated seats, or powered/heated mirrors, or anything, really. The radio didn't even have an AUX jack. Ford put literally zero effort into updating the old Ranger, and it definitely showed. Driving experience kinda sucked, too. It really didn't like going over 120kph, and the windnoise at any speed was horrible. Around town it wasn't too bad. The motor was torquey, and if you liked the way a 90's midsize pickup drove, then it was great.
This was my truck:
Compare it to a 1998 Ranger, and other than the front end refresh, the engine, and some bits of plastic trim, it is identical.