2024 Ford Ranger Reviews, Pricing & Specs

The new Ranger looks like a baby F-150, adopting C-shaped daytime running lights and double chrome bars intersecting the headlights and the grille. On our XLT with the Chrome Appearance Package, even the fog lights get C surrounds to match the headlight shapes. It's a handsome truck — basic without venturing into mediocrity — though it's not as burly as the Colorado or Canyon. Even the Ranger Raptor, with 33-inch all-terrain tires poking out of the fender flares, doesn't look menacing, at least not in the sense of the extreme wide-body stance of the Bronco Raptor and F-150 Raptor. If you want your midsize truck to be subtle, then the Ranger is a sure bet.

Every 2024 Ford Ranger comes as a crew cab (SuperCrew in Ford speak) with a five-foot bed. The extended cab (SuperCab) with the six-foot bed is gone. Whatever happened to long-bed single cabs? More truck buyers use their pickups like cars, so Ford has obliged them (and cut its production costs) with only the big four-door cab. But it is bothersome that the only way to get a long bed Ford is to buy a base F-150. (Even the compact Maverick comes exclusively as a SuperCrew.) Two small details are also missing from the Ranger but found on the F-150: An aerial antenna for the radio, which may be a plus for many shoppers, and Ford's new darkened Blue Oval logo.

Our XLT wore Azure Grey Metallic paint that looked like a sky blue, which was extra pretty with all the chrome decoration on the door handles, 18-inch wheels, and the silver skid plate under the lower front bumper. What's odd is that the FX4 Off-Road Package adds fixed side steps that can easily become damaged by off-road obstacles. It's also a slightly closer to the ground than a regular 4x4 Ranger. Ford should raise the ride height and allow customers a factory option to remove the side steps for a true off-road package.

The cab is a nicer place than it was on earlier Rangers, but that's not exactly praise. Brittle plastic dominates the space, and the lower dash assembly is very poor. The sides of the console curve upward into the centre stack and show wide and uneven gaps. The drive-mode selector on the console is flimsy when twisting the dial. Sealing a jar of tomato sauce feels a lot better. The dash is a strange confluence of painted silver and a textured grey plastic, as if it's meant to evoke metal or carbon fibre. It's telling that the most satisfying part is a metal ignition key. Many of these issues can be forgiven in the Maverick, which starts at less than 35 grand. But our Ranger test truck costs over $50,000. When even General Motors makes a quality truck interior, why can't Ford?

Unlike the last Ranger, which Ford sold overseas for eight years before converting it to a North American model very late in its lifecycle, the new Ranger is more amenable to local tastes. Put simply: Power.

Instead of a single engine, there are three choices. The standard 2.3-litre turbo inline-four and 10-speed automatic transmission are carryover, and they're more than sufficient at providing swift and smooth acceleration at any speed. The engine makes 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet on regular-grade fuel. A 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6 engine is optional for $2,250. This is the engine for constant towing: 315 hp and 400 lb-ft, also on regular octane. The Ranger can tow 3,400 kilograms (7,500 pounds), but if you're maxing out the weight, you never want to overtax a small engine. Payload is 775 kilograms (1,711 pounds) on four-wheel drive (4WD), which is standard in Canada.

The Raptor, owing to its race-ready suspension setup and larger engine, tows up to 2,500 kilograms (5,510 pounds) and carries up to 625 kilograms (1,375 pounds). This twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 is very serious and delightfully overkill with 405 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. We have yet to test the Ranger Raptor, but rest assured its 2.5-inch Fox shocks, 27-centimetre ground clearance, and front and rear locking differentials will be a hoot. This is the Ranger for true off-road shenanigans.

The FX4 package on XLT and Lariat trims adds a locking rear differential and smaller all-terrain tires, without affording extra clearance or major suspension upgrades. On pavement, the Ranger is quiet and comfortable with nicely weighted steering that tracks well — not as well as the car-based Maverick, but secure and nimble enough for the Ranger's added weight and capability. Fuel economy is decent at a Natural Resources Canada-estimated 11.9 litres per 100 kilometres in the city, 9.8 on the highway, and 11.0 combined with the base four-cylinder and 12.6 L/100 km city, 10.2 highway, and 11.5 combined with the V6. The Raptor is a hog and likely won't return the 14.9/12.8/14.0 ratings if you drive hard, which is the only way to drive it.

The new Ranger has a longer wheelbase and a 5.5-centimetre wider body. The base ground clearance, at 23.6 centimetres, is a centimetre higher than the previous generation and the approach angle improves by two degrees.

With the wheelbase stretched a little longer, there's considerably more room in the Ranger's rear seat (and the seatbacks now fold flat, in case you need a higher loading floor). The Ranger’s back seat feels roomier than any other truck in the class.

Up front, visibility is excellent. Physical climate controls and a volume knob are welcome, but many of the climate features are duplicated directly above in the touchscreen (and some, like the air direction and rear defroster, are only in the screen). That doesn't make sense and the screen controls can't be changed. But we do appreciate the PRNDL gear selector instead of the Maverick's rotary dial. Door pockets, a centre cubby, and the wireless charging pad are all amply sized.

Outside, two side bumper cutouts make for handy stepping points into the bed, which now has a damped tailgate that no longer slams down when opened. The bed, which can be ordered with a spray-in or drop-in liner, can hold up to 1,231 litres. It also comes with an optional 400-watt AC outlet. Ford's Zone Lighting, which illuminates the headlights, reverse lights, and cargo light by the centre stop light, is handy for keeping the lights on for long periods with the ignition off.

One way to tell you're in the Ranger's more expensive Lariat trim is a short, widened gear selector and a push-button engine start. Those electronics integrate with automatic parallel and perpendicular parking, plus Ford's automated trailer reversing (Pro Trailer Backup Assist) that controls the steering. This trim also brings the F-150's wider 12.4-inch instrument panel with its crisp animations when switching drive modes and unique gauges to monitor the truck's body angles and transmission temperature. The 8-inch panel on our XLT-trim tester was sufficient and easy to use, though.

A 10-inch portrait touchscreen is standard on the XL and XLT in Canada, and a 12-inch comes on all other trims. It mimics the layout in the Mustang Mach-E, but we prefer the 12-inch landscape layout in the F-150 for its classier infotainment graphics. However, viewing the map on a tall infotainment screen is helpful as it shows more of the road ahead, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are thoughtfully resized to take up the majority of the display instead of a small square. The menus are slow to load and BlueCruise handsfree driving assist is not available. A 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo and 360-degree cameras are standard on the Lariat and Raptor.

The 2024 Ranger has not been crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and previous model years tested by NHTSA and IIHS are not comparable.

The base XL trim does not come with any driver assists, but the XLT and above trims have standard forward and reverse emergency braking, auto high beams, blind-spot monitoring with trailer coverage, front cross-traffic braking, and evasive steering assist. Adaptive cruise control is optional on the XLT and standard on Lariat and Raptor.

In Canada, the 2024 Ford Ranger starts at $44,165 for the XL with standard 4WD, including the $2,195 destination charge. There are four trim levels. Our 4WD XLT with the XLT High Equipment Group, Chrome Appearance and FX4 Off-Road packages has a Canadian as-tested price of $52,510 with destination.

Despite competitive towing, payload, power, and tech, the Ranger's lackluster interior quality dims our opinion. The Honda Ridgeline can’t match the Ranger’s capability, and the four-cylinder powertrains in the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon are unmatched. Otherwise, the Ranger is a good midsize truck that's much better than any previous generation.

Note: Images show a US model.