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Payne: Behind the wheel of the handsome, remade Ford Ranger

Posted by Talbot Payne on March 19, 2024

Salt Lake City, Utah — The midsize pickup wars are back with a vengeance. Chevy Colorado, GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma have all raised the bar by recently introducing all-new models.

But no pickup war is complete without Ford. Big Blue. The King of Trucks.

The 2024 Ford Ranger has answered the bell and it is the most stylish, high-tech, smooth-riding and expensive mid-size Ford pickup yet. It brings more powertrains, more models (including — drool — a Raptor beast), more clever tricks like corner-bumper steps and all-digital displays. Ford left the segment in 2011, committing resources to build aluminum-bodied, full-sized F-150s. When it returned eight loooong years later, its entry was rushed, plastic, not fully baked.

The 2024 Ford Ranger comes standard with rear-wheel-drive and a 4×4 option for better grip off-road. Henry Payne, The Detroit News

The 2024 Ranger feels like the mid-sizer Ford wanted to build for the last decade. It’s a proper bridge between the popular, starter-kit Maverick and the F-150 patriarch.

Full-size pickups like F-150 are the Swiss Army knives of the automotive world, and Ranger’s big brother has dominated the class for over 40 years. Full-sizers tow your boat up north, transport the basketball team, haul mulch, chew trails and carry hunting dogs.

But I prefer midsize pickup trucks. Call them micro-Swiss Army knives.

Maybe it’s because they fit in my garage. Or because they only take up one space in the parking lot. Or can get through tight spaces at Holly Oaks ORV park.

I tore up a winding road through the Wasatch Mountains here, the Ranger ensuring confidence as I navigated roads with guardrail-less vertical drops. “The Ranger is the best-driving pickup I’ve ever had,” says my friend Jim of his 2019 model.

The ’24 adds 2 inches of wheelbase and 2 inches of track width to make the pickup even more sure-footed. But that length isn’t all about handling. While competitors have shrunk their engine choices to 4-bangers to satisfy government emissions nannies, Ranger (via shrewd product management that collects emissions credits with Lightning EVs and Maverick hybrids) is giving customers want they want: more engines.

The 2024 Ford Ranger is quiet and easy to drive on-road. Henry Payne, The Detroit News

With two more inches of wheelbase to play with, the Ranger can now stuff in a longitudinal, 2.7-liter V-6 right out of big brother F-150, a major upgrade for the ‘24 model year. And that’s even before you get to the 3.0-liter turbo-V-6 that the top-drawer, $57K Ranger Raptor shares with the $91K Bronco Raptor. The rowdy Ranger Raptor is a whole ‘nother chapter, so I’ll review that separately in Thursday’s Drive section.

The 2.7-liter V-6 will come later this year, but, in the meantime, the base 2.3-liter 4-cylinder mill (shared with the entry-level Mustang) provides plenty of punch. I nailed it up Wasatch’s steep slopes, its twin rear pipes letting out a growl.

While engine options expand, others narrow. In contrast to segment sales leader Toyota Tacoma, Ford has opted to offer Ranger in one, four-door cab size (SuperCrew), one box size (five-foot), one transmission (10-speed automatic, no manual). Want more choices? Check out the Maverick and F-150.

Designers have translated Ranger’s larger dimensions into more sophisticated styling. Like F-150, Ranger gets a bold, horizontal face graphic that bisects the grille and headlights, forming a C-clamp headlight. We are family. Combined with a sculpted, rear tailgate, the design conveys a more planted Ranger — versus the last-gen model that always looked like it was on tippy-toe.

Ranger learns from little brother, too. Wee Maverick is generous at managing interior space, and Ranger adds clever touches like better forward console storage, cubby space below the glovebox, and fold-flat rear seats so you can more easily store, say, suitcases or shopping boxes.

Unfortunately, rear seat room didn’t benefit from the wheelbase extension: interior measurements remain the same. That means a tight fit for six-footers, but — thanks to useful scalloping in the back of the front seats — my knees breathe easier.

Ford even took ergonomic lessons from — gasp! — General Motors and now options corner steps so you can more easily access the bed.

The 2024 Ford Ranger options a corner bed step.

Ford has always been a leader on tech, and the 2024 Ranger gets to share in the big-screen fun had by Mustang Mach-E and F-150. The base XL model comes with digital screens while XLT, Lariat and Raptor models option a 12-inch center screen.

Options, options, options. Jeez, pickup trucks are becoming like Porsche sports cars.

My XLT had separate option packages for its black Sport trim, adaptive cruise control, four-wheel-drive system, 17-inch wheels, tow hook, screen and sliding rear window. Well, at least the steering wheel comes standard.

All that nickel ‘n’ diming added up to $825-a-month lease or $49,265 in cash — a whopping 15 grand over the base price, which itself is six grand higher than the outgoing, $28,895, 2023 model. And my XLT still had a standard turn-key ignition starter.

Sure, the old, two-door base model is gone and electronics have been significantly upgraded – but a $27k Honda Civic Sport will deliver a suite of standard push-button start, adaptive cruise control and wireless smartphone app connectivity.

Like performance sports cars, like performance pickups. Watch your wallet.

The interior of the 2024 Ford Ranger is upgraded with digital screens - and an optional, 12-inch center tablet.

In a Utah field softened up by months of heavy snow, my tester sank into the soil. As I grunted around in rear-wheel drive, the Ranger sank further into the soil. 4×4 to the rescue.

I punched 4H on the console-mounted mode dial, and the Ranger hooked up all four wheels, delivering 400 pound-feet of torque to the grippy all-terrain tires. Suddenly, Ranger was as sure-footed as if on asphalt and I explored more deeply into the soggy terrain. I could have dialed up the grip further by engaging 4-low and a rear locker (you guessed it, another option package).

A FX4 package will add further underbody armor and Lariat, of course, options goodies like leather seats and an exterior chrome package. But my XLT Sport tester is the sweet spot once loaded with essential safety features and 12-inch screen.