A good basic truck for beginners

I just purchased a 2005 Ford Ranger. It’s a basic truck. Its body type is XL and it has a 4 cylinder engine, automatic with air. It has a black nostril bar grille and 15” argent steel wheels. It’s my first truck.
I was surprise by a few things. It gets pretty close to what the sticker says is the highway gas mileage. I got 25 miles per gallon on my last highway trip. The sticker says 26 on the highway. It runs very smooth on the highway at 80 miles an hour and seems very solid. No rattles or squeaks. I got the Ford Ranger for about 4 thousand dollars less than an equally equipped Toyota Tacoma. I think the Ford Ranger is a pretty good truck over all. I really can’t compare them very well since I have never owned a Toyota Tacoma but I was very impressed by the Ford dealer and his willingness to deal. On the other hand the Toyota dealership acted like they were doing me a favor to talk with me. I paid 12,500 for the Ford before taxes and got a bedliner and pin stripe free. It runs great and is just the truck I wanted. I think when everything is considered people should by a Ford Ranger if they are looking for a small truck that has good quality and is cheap in price.