AVAILABILITY is the key word. If any body wants to donate a v8Expo or 460 or whatever I'm cool with that. I got 4.6 v8's coming out my ass. I don't mind being different. in fact I like it. So if everybody has a 5.0 ranger, the 4.6 would be less common.
side note... I heard the 302 and 289 were the same block just different heads and intake. is this true?
if the 302 is 5.0 is the 289 a 4.6?
A 302 is not actually 5.0L, it is 4.95 (Yes, I know, rounding. I like to be pedantic on this one point because of the 4.9 I-6).
A 289 is 4.7L. The 4.6 Triton is (I think) 283 CID.
The 289 and the 302 used the same block for a year or two. The heads, intakes, oil pans are 100% interchangeable.
The only difference in the two engines that makes one of them that one and not the other is the stroke. In fact the pistons and crank are the same as well, just the rods changed.
Some time around 1970 (68 was the first year of the 302) the block was changed. The cylinder skirts were extended down farther into the crank case to help keep the pistons more stable at the bottom of their travel. This was purely an NVH thing and has no other functional effect on the engine.
The reason for going from a 289 to a 302 displacement was to make up for the power lost to newly required AIR pumps and other emissions devices.
So an emissions controlled 302 with intact AIR pump and detuning would have, on paper, the same power to the wheels as a non-emissions controlled 289.
Stock for stock a 4.6 has better power to weight ratio than a 5.0, but a worse aftermarket following for power. It is wide though. In a 2001 you should be able to fit a 4.6 with a minor body lift though.