Basic Specs

• The first generation measured about 205 inches long, 71 inches wide and 70 inches high and came with a fairly long 125-inch wheelbase. As is typical for modern American cars, the second generation was bigger in every way: 210 inches long, 73 inches wide, 71 to 72 inches high with a 130-inch wheelbase. Weight rose from 4,349 pounds to 4,570 pounds for 4-wheel-drive models.
  
  

First Generation Drivetrain

• The first generation Sport Trac was available only with an overhead-cam version of Ford's old standby 4.0-liter Cologne V-6, which made 205 horsepower and 242 ft-lbs of torque with the help of a variable-length intake manifold. This is the very same engine used in the same vintage Ford Ranger, Mazda B-Series, Mustang and Land Rover LR3. The 5-speed manual overdrive transmission offered was the M5OD from Mazda. The Sport Trac also had, as an option, the first 5-speed automatic ever used in an American automobile, the Ford Bordeaux 5R55E.
  
  

First Generation Performance

• With a 5-speed automatic and standard V-6, Cars.com squeezed an 8.7-second 0 to 60 mph time from their Sport Trac Test mule, but the truck was all out of steam as it breezed through the quarter mile at a leisurely 16.7 seconds. Motor Trend battled the Sport Trac's 2-ton heft through its slalom test to the tune of 55.7 mph. MT's average fuel economy for their long-term Sport Trac tester was 16.6 miles per gallon.
  
  

Second Generation Drivetrain

• The Cologne V-6 and the 5-speed auto stayed on for the Sport Trac's next generation in 2007, but the manual transmission was no longer an option. Good news came in the form of an optional powerful 24-valve, 4.6-liter modular V-8 engine that made 292 horsepower and 300 ft-lbs. of torque. The V-8 was and (as of 2010) still is only available with a 6-speed automatic. The 6-speed helps to keep the high-revving modular V-8 in its powerband for best performance.
  
  

Second Generation Performance

• Even in spite of the truck's increased mass, its V-6 quarter-mile time was actually 0.1 second better for the second generation (owing largely to five more horsepower and 10 ft-lbs. more torque), and its 0 to 60 time improved to just over 8 seconds for V-8 equipped models, which (oddly enough) averaged one mile per gallon more than V-6 models. Cars.com recorded a slalom speed of 56.3 mph for the 2-wheel-drive V-6 model; expect a little slower speed for 4WD or V-8 models.