6 Underrated Ford Models That Deserve A Spot In Your Garage

One of the true juggernauts of the automotive world is the Ford Motor Company. Especially in the United States, the Ford name has firmly staked itself as the figurehead of many different eras of the automobile. This goes all the way back to the Model T with the Henry Ford Company name over 100 years ago. You have the Ford Mustang, which has become a true symbol of the muscle car revolution of the 1960s and '70s, and then you have the Ford F-150, which is the best-selling vehicle in the company's history. Mixed into these are a litany of vehicles that have sold millions upon millions of units that remain immeasurably popular to this day.

Due to the company's extensive history, there are naturally going to be Ford vehicles that just simply do not receive the kind of notoriety as its best-selling automobiles. This could be due to cars arriving at the wrong time, had stiff competition (either from an outside company or from within Ford itself), or just didn't sell for some unexplainable reason. There are a many hidden gems scattered throughout that time that anyone looking for something vintage of fresh from the factory could be satisfied with. We are going to go comb through over a century's worth of automobiles and select seven that time may have forgotten, but they do not deserve to be. 

As the list of best-selling vehicles in the United States tells us, people are currently obsessed with crossover SUVs. Ford cracks the top 15 of that list with the Ford Explorer, which the company first introduced for the 1991 model year. This is not the only mid-size crossover SUV the company makes, and while the Explorer may be more popular, there is a perfectly suitable alternative with the slightly less expensive Ford Edge, which hit the market for the 2007 model year and sadly just ended its run with the 2024 model.

What is quite surprising is how much the Edge actually outpaces the Explorer in a lot of ways. In the 2020s, every year so far for the Edge has received a four out of five reliability rating from Consumer Reports, with the exception of one year that earned a three out of five. During that same period of time, every year of the Explorer earned a two out of five reliability score from the same publication, but one year that actually earned a dreaded one out of five.

When comparing the 2024 Edge to the even newer 2025 Explorer, the Edge takes the edge on fuel economy, averaging 21 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. Not only that, but it has a starting price of $38,465, over $1,000 cheaper than its rival. The Explorer may have outlasted the Edge, but the Ford Edge may actually be the more sensible option all along.

Nowadays, Ford has become synonymous with the pickup truck, due in no small part to the true American phenomenon that is the Ford F-150. Even beyond what is the best-selling vehicle in the United States — and has been for years — the company has the entire F-series of Super Duty trucks that people love. Plus, there is the newly introduced compact pickup, the popular Ford Maverick, which has increased its sales every single year of its life. With just those trucks in its lineup, Ford would be thrilled with what it has to offer. However, there is another Ford pickup truck buried in there that gets overshadowed by these powerhouses, and that is the highly rated Ford Ranger, which has plummeted in sales after peaking at the start of the 2020s.

Not unlike the aforementioned Ford Edge, the Ranger could arguably be considered the best option the company has for a pickup truck. The most recent model year reviewed by J.D. Power has received a tremendous 87 out of 100 quality and reliability score from the institution, and it ranks higher than the Ford Maverick among the best mid-size pickup trucks for that year. Meanwhile, the F-150 earned a 78 out of 100 quality and reliability score, a significant step-down. The 2024 Ranger's starting price of $32,720 is also over $4,000 cheaper than the starting price for the 2024 F-150. The Ranger does not have a hybrid or electric option like its sister vehicles, but along with the truck's three choices of quality engines, this particular truck has a great deal to offer.

If the Ford F-150 is not the first vehicle you think of when someone mentions the name of the company, then there is a good chance that the one that does is the Mustang. One of the true icons of the heyday of the American muscle car, the Mustang has become something of a symbol for what the automobile industry of the United States aspires to be. Whether the Mustang you are driving is over 50 years old or brand new, it is a sign of power and grit that almost no other car can match. 

Did you know that there is actually a compact crossover SUV version of the Mustang? Not only that, but did you know that it was also an all-electric vehicle? Based on the vehicle's lackluster sales, it would not be surprising if you didn't. However, the Ford Mustang Mach-E very much exists and is actually a pretty stellar vehicle.

First introduced for the 2021 model year, the Mustang Mach-E has received very strong reviews here at SlashGear, whether that be for the original model from 2021 or the most recent 2024 model. However, it hasn't exactly caught on in a major way yet. Reliability-wise, the first two years have left a lot to be desired, according to Consumer Reports, but Ford has severely turned that around in the last two years, averaging an 82 out of 100 reliability score from the publication. With a starting price of $39,995 for the 2024 model, it is a little expensive compared to other compact crossover SUVs. Still, for a quality all-electric vehicle with the legendary Mustang name, it's an incredibly strong option that deserves a little more notoriety.

The muscle car era produced a lot of underrated Ford classics, but we are just going to focus on one: the Mustang. What made it such an icon of the muscle car era was its hulking size, with a massive V8 engine. The tendency for a company is to lean into that, but in the early 1970s, the United States was subject to an oil embargo and increased restrictions on automobile emissions from the newly created Environmental Protection Agency. Whether by coincidence or by perfect planning, Ford introduced the Mustang II for the 1974 model year, just in time for all of this to come into effect. This was a Mustang that was much smaller in size and 900 pounds lighter than its predecessor, and while the car was successful in its five-year run in terms of sales, it was not successful when it came to its reputation.

Yes, it isn't as powerful or fast as the original iconic Mustang, but that doesn't mean this pony car was worth passing over. The guiding principle of the Mustang II was sensibility. This was a vehicle that could get 20 mpg at a time where fuel economy was crucial, and even today, that is pretty decent for an older sporty vehicle like this. Nowadays, the Ford Mustang II can serve as a stylish vintage ride for those who don't need to have a high performance power vehicle as some sort of status symbol. Also, if the idea of a Mustang restomod project appeals to you, the Mustang II could be a really fun challenge.

[Featured image by Bull-Doser via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | Public Domain]

The robust crossover SUV market shows us that compact and mid-size crossover SUVs are the more popular options on the market. That is not to say that full-size crossover SUVs are not popular. Models like the Chevrolet Tahoe can still regularly cross 100,000 units sold per year in the United States. As of right now, Ford only sells one full-size SUV with the Expedition, but that only became true after the 2019 model year saw the end of the Ford Flex, which only had a decade of sales before being shuttered away.

The Ford Flex first hit the scene for the 2009 model year, and right from the outset, it has a look that does not really resemble much else in the Ford lineup. Its boxy exterior resembles more of a modern Jeep design than a Ford, which is maybe part of the reason it didn't exactly connect with the public. Granted, once people were driving it, they seemed to enjoy it, as evidenced by the consistent four out of five owner satisfaction rating scores from Consumer Reports. 

The 2015 Ford Flex even received a perfect five out of five. Even in its final year, it was getting a great quality and reliability score from J.D. Power of 82 out of 100. The sales just never took off. Its early years never surpassed 40,000 units, and most of the time it couldn't even get over 25,000, always falling behind the Ford Expedition that had a 12-year head start on the full-size SUV market.

[Featured image by Rutger van der Maar via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]

The terms overrated and underrated are informed a lot by your own experience and surroundings. For a vehicle to be considered underrated, it just means that you greatly appreciate it, but those around you do not. However, if you were to change your setting, you may find yourself amongst a like-minded community to where that thing you once found underrated was now either properly rated or even overrated. 

The next entry on this list fits this description based on what country you are in. In the United States, the Ford Cortina would strongly qualify as an underrated Ford model, as its seven-year-long run in the 1960s was nothing to write home about. However, in the United Kingdom, it was a smashing success, becoming the best-selling vehicle in the country of the 1970s.

On the whole, production on the Cortina lasted well over two decades, but you wouldn't know that in the United States. This family car was actually a product of Ford's U.K. division and was exported to the United States for sale. It was not a particularly large or powerful vehicle, which is perhaps why it didn't have as much of an appeal in America. The Mk II model of the Cortina could only generate up to 88 hp. However, this was a vehicle built for standard usage that, in some way, was meant to be somewhat unremarkable. The Ford Cortina succeeded in being a reliable family vehicle, and while the British could appreciate that design, Americans simply couldn't, effectively ending exports from Ford U.K.

[Featured image by Riley via Wikimedia Commons | Cropped and scaled | CC BY 2.0]