One of many major advantages of a midsize truck is its dimension. Whether or not it’s essential to match it in your storage, or wend your method alongside a slim path, the smaller truck has quite a lot of benefits over a full-size pickup–assuming you don’t must tow heavy stuff.
The 2024 Ford Ranger is the final of the current-generation midsize vehicles to get a whole overhaul, and it’s a doozy. From garability to trailability, this next-gen midsize Ford will get a critical replace for ’24, and gives trim ranges, gear packages, and value factors to suite most truck customers’ wants.
Let’s begin with the powertrains. The 2024 Ford Ranger carries over Ford’s “EcoBoost” 2.3-liter, 4-cylinder powerplant, which is rated at 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque. This engine is clean and robust, and does properly in stop-and-go driving. There may be some lag in energy supply in freeway driving—for passing and merging–nevertheless, but it surely’s not pronounced.
In case you’re in search of a bit extra muscle, there’s now an up-level 2.7-liter V6 EcoBoost engine that delivers 315 horsepower and a wholesome 400 pound-feet of torque. This engine can be out there beginning on the XLT trim stage, however on the time of this writing Ford hadn’t introduced when it will come to market, or what the price add can be.
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Now, if you’d like the ult in Ranger powertrains, you’ll must go all in with the Ranger Raptor.
The off-road prepared Raptor boats a 3.0-liter EcoBoost V6 that delivers 405 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque. Based mostly on my restricted publicity to the Raptor, I can say it’s a blast to drive in off-road conditions, and can deliver a smile to your face when executing on-road passing maneuvers. Plus, that exhaust observe once you toggle over into Sport mode will get a chef’s kiss.
One of many largest areas of enchancment (in my ebook) is to the inside. The earlier era Ranger felt previous, low cost, and dated when it was model spanking new within the U.S. in 2019. However although this new-generation Ranger has been out for a yr in different components of the world, it’s nonetheless a breath of contemporary air within the section.
Scraping my nails over the dashboard now not provides me an icky chalkboard feeling, and despite the fact that you get material seats on the bottom XL mannequin, they feel and look sturdy fairly than low cost.
The up to date cabin contains intelligent options like a touch tray in your cellphone, two glove bins, in addition to under-seat storage within the 2nd row, and fold-flat seatbacks for big bins.
One other good function is the out there 12-inch vertical display with massive high-def digital camera screens, an out there around-view digital camera, and full-screen navigation functionality.
No matter seating supplies or sprint accents–and no matter trim stage–the very last thing I’d name this 2024 Ford Ranger is affordable. There are additionally a few actually cool options that set this midsize truck other than the remainder of the section.
First, let’s speak in regards to the out there Zone Lighting. We’ve seen this on each the F-150 and the F-250, however that is the primary time we see it on Ranger. Activated by the in-vehicle touchscreen or the out there FordPass App, this function permits you to mild up completely different areas across the car–which is superior if it’s essential to work at nighttime or arrive at your campsite after the solar has set.
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Nonetheless, one among my new favourite options must be the normal Professional Trailer Backup Help and Trailer Reverse Steering. I don’t tow, and I’m positively not backing a ship into water on the common. So, when Ford arrange an train backing up a trailer with its new system and a aggressive midsize truck, I believed: How exhausting might it’s? Seems, actually flipping exhausting.
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I began attempting to again up the trailer in a 2024 Toyota Tacoma, and if cones have been individuals, let’s simply say we’d have a mass casualty state of affairs. It’s a must to flip your wheel to the left to go proper and vice versa. Plus, the littlest twist of the wheel creates an enormous route change for the trailer–typically in the other way you supposed. Granted, I’m a neophyte tower. However nonetheless.
After I swapped over into the 2024 Ford Ranger, I ended up trying like a professional. As an alternative of steering with the wheel, there’s a dial you employ on the console. And, get this, once you flip it to the correct, the trailer (gasp) goes to the correct. It was so intuitive. I nonetheless needed to transfer slowly, however I might see how this could make backing up with a trailer a lot simpler.
With the replace, Ranger is promoted to the Raptor membership, which already contains Ford’s Bronco SUV and F-150 full dimension pickup. The off-road-ready Ranger competes immediately with such midsize-truck fashions because the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, and GMC Canyon AT4X. And although the Ranger Raptor prices greater than these vehicles, it’s nonetheless competitively priced, beginning at $57,065—this given the Raptor’s practically 100-horsepower benefit over the Chevy and GMC.
This new Ranger Raptor has quite a lot of cool tech and is a blast to drive off highway. Throughout our half-day expertise on the Raptor Assault college in Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, we pushed the rugged off-roader by its paces on a rocky mountain go, by high-plains desert terrain at excessive speeds, and, sure, over a leap. Whilst you positively really feel the jostle served up by the rugged terrain, a lot of the roughest bumps are smoothed out. And, after I went by the leap train, I didn’t really feel like I left the bottom as a result of the touchdown was, properly, uneventful.
The Ranger Raptor contains drive modes that vary from Rock Crawl to Baja to Slippery, with best-case use situations for every. We used Rock Crawl and Baja probably the most throughout our drive expertise. And once you hit the off-road button, the front-facing digital camera pops up on the infotainment display, displaying the monitor your entrance tires will hit. That is tremendous useful on rocky terrain to make sure you don’t slice a tire on a sharp bit.
What is really particular about this truck, nevertheless, is the on-road drivability. You may assume the highway noise from the beefy 33-inch tires can be overwhelming–but it surely isn’t. The Raptor is definitely remarkably quiet. Plus, with the 405-horsepower, 3.0-liter engine, the Ranger Raptor can transfer. Acceleration is peppy, and the game exhaust–once you toggle over to Sport mode–is aggressively throaty.
Whereas the common Ranger is a pleasant midsize truck that may do truck issues whereas nonetheless becoming in your storage, the Ranger Raptor is pure delight. And it’ll nonetheless slot in your storage.
One of many solely misses I discovered in my temporary time with the 2024 Ford Ranger was the gear selector. Ford equips the entry-level XL and XLT fashions with a unique shifter, and I’m cool with it. Within the Lariat and Raptor nevertheless, the selector is extra of a nudge/slide mechanism, and the button to have interaction shifting is on the high of the deal with fairly than on the facet—the place it’s generally discovered.
This drove me nuts, as I used to be always toggling into manual-shift mode, after I actually simply needed to place the car into drive. One other journalist on the drive stated he stored hitting the shift button considering it was “park.” Granted, it is a muscle reminiscence challenge that homeowners would (finally) get used to. However it was so unintuitive. I don’t assume I hit that button appropriately as soon as within the 24 hours I used to be driving it.
Lots of people will let you know the 2024 Ford Ranger is overpriced, however once you evaluate apples to apples, the Ford truck gives extra energy and extra normal facilities that its goal competitors for roughly $3000 more cash. The worth appears to be there.
The trim-level/value breakdown for 4X2 fashions, together with vacation spot, is as follows per the buyer web site configurator:
- XL: $34,265 (+$3,645 for the 4X4)
- XLT: $37,205 (+$3,485 for the 4X4)
- Lariat: $45,225 (+$3,485 for the 4X4)
- Raptor: $57,065 (4X4 solely)
Be aware that for 2024, all Rangers, no matter trim stage, comes solely in 4-door crew cab configuration with a 5-foot mattress.
The 2024 midsize truck section is the most well liked it’s ever been, and admittedly, there are not any unhealthy selections proper now. Total, the 2024 Ford Ranger is a stable win for Ford Motor Co. Whereas I feel the design of the brand new Toyota Tacoma is healthier, the drivability and vary of performance provided by the Ranger is healthier. Plus, there’s the Raptor.
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2024 Ford Ranger Gallery
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