2019 Ford Ranger Midsize Pickup Review: What’s New Again Is Old
The Ford Ranger nameplate returns to the US after an eight-year absence. Once again Ford has a credible entry in the booming midsize pickup truck market with a powerful turbocharged engine and extensive safety technology. The ability to tow 7,500 pounds or carry 1,800 pounds of cargo means you don’t always need a Ford F-150.
While the 2019 Ranger is new to the US and Canada, it has been out in the world markets since 2011. The Ranger cockpit has not aged well and some of the technology is past its sell-by date.
The cabin in the Ranger Lariat is nicely trimmed in black leather. Even the upscale fittings don't mask that this interior feels dated compared with the much newer Ford F-150.
The Ranger comes as the default SuperCab (6-foot cargo bed, snug rear seats) or the SuperCrew (5-foot-cargo bed, comfortable rear seats, $2,400 upcharge). The bed is 3 inches shy of letting 4x8 plywood lie flat. Both are 211 inches long.
Ford's instrument panel design of the early teens was slick: two 4-inch LCDs flanking a mechanical speedometer. The LCDs could be switched among audio, phone, navigation, economy, and driver assist features.
It's hard at a glance to see what's up with driver assist functions. Here, three vertical bands without separators show lane keeping and adaptive cruise functions, fuel level, and engine rpm. For many drivers, the steering wheel cuts off the upper-left corner of this LCD.
The HVAC controls are located low on the center console and may be hard to read. (This photo was shot from just above waist level.) You would not be the first person to twirl the dual 12-volt sockets thinking they are driver-and-passenger temperature controls. Lariat seats are heated but not cooled.
Up front, two USB jacks, both softly illuminated at night to help ease insertion of the plugs.
Two more USB jacks are offered in the back seat of the Ford Ranger, along with a 150-watt AC outlet. (If you need 400 watts, the F-150 is your ride.)
Who doesn't need a storage tray atop the dash for coins or sunglasses? It's deep enough that a Quarter Pounder wouldn't slide into the windshield even under heavy braking.
The 8-inch color center stack display on the Lariat (optional on XL and XLT, else you get a 4-incher) shows a nice rear backing view with turning lines (as the wheel is now cocked), straight-back lines with danger/warning/okay distance lines, and sonar locators (upper right corner).
The same goes for the center stack display when you turn the driver or passenger temperature setting as with the audio volume: A big-type temperature indicator pops up, surrounded by a progress bar (circle) showing how much you've turned it up.
The 2019 Ford Ranger midsize pickup with front, rear sensing shows and tells you if you're backing up too close.
It's "midsize" only for a pickup truck. The Ranger measures 211 inches with a 127-inch wheelbase, which smooths out bumps.
Want to tow a big trailer or boat? The towing package lets you haul 7,500 pounds, roughly on par with the best competing midsize pickups. Or carry 1,560-1,860 pounds of cargo, the max being in the rear-drive Ranger.
The premium (upgrade) B&O audio is first-rate.
The Ranger is a North American truck again, which means it has plenty of cupholders. It's built in the US to avoid the 25 percent tariff on non-US-built pickup trucks that predates the current presidency by decades.
The FX4 Off-Road package for 4WD Rangers brings a recalibrated suspension with specially tuned shocks, 17-inch wheels with 265/65R17 (31-inch) tires, an electronic-locking rear differential and extra skid plates, and a Terrain Management System.
Only in the world of pickup trucks can a vehicle be 211 inches long and described as a midsize. The 2020 Ford Explorer at 199 inches is at the top end of what’s considered a midsize SUV. The Ranger is a two-row pickup. The SuperCab version trades snug rear seat legroom for a six-foot cargo bed while the costlier SuperCrew variant (you have to pick one or the other) gets a passable back seat but the bed is only five feet long (both 44.8 inches wide inside, meaning 4×8 plywood or drywall won’t lie flat). Which is too bad, because the Ranger carries 1,560-1,860 pounds of cargo.
The Ranger I tested was a premium Ranger Lariat 4×4 with the SuperCrew configuration (bigger cabin, smaller cargo bed) and off-roading configuration, coming in just under $45,000. But the cheapest Ranger XL at $25,395 has the same powerful turbo-four engine mated to a 10-speed automatic delivering 270 hp and 310 pound-feet of torque, which is a lot for something with just 2.3 liters of displacement. That’s why Ranger has a higher base price than the competition: Every Ranger built gets the good motor.
Technology of the Present and Past
That cheaper Rangers come with the Ford Sync version that dates to when Ke$ha was breaking in. It has a 4.3-inch screen. Move up to Lariat and you get Sync 3, which is one of the best infotainment interfaces available, thanks to a simpler interface and bigger fonts. One of the Sync 3 signature tricks is the big ring and number inside showing the volume or temperature you’re adjusting. The darker portion of the ring shows what fraction of max volume or temp you’re at.
As standard equipment, Ford provides telematics, Sync Connect, and a Wi-Fi hotspot serving the cabin and about 50 feet outside the truck. On a jobsite, until the accessory power times out (about 20 minutes, then run back and press the ACC button again), you can get internet access for a tablet and the car’s antenna pulls in a better signal than your phone does.
Driver Assists: Helpful Above 10 mph
The Ranger offers Ford Co-Pilot360 technology: blind spot detection (Ford term: blind spot information system) with cross-traffic alert for truck and trailer, lane keeping system, pre-collision alert, and automatic emergency braking. It’s a $735 option on the entry XL that also includes front and rear sensing and a 150-watt AC outlet.
It’s been months since I’ve tested a 2019 or 2020 vehicle whose adaptive cruise control wasn’t full-range, meaning it didn’t take you down to a full stop and then back up to speed. The Ranger’s ACC cuts out at 10 mph, making the feature unhelpful in stop-and-go traffic.
The older instrument panel design of a mechanical speedometer with a 4-inch LCD on each side tried to jam too much information into too little space. Having the fuel gauge next to the ACC following-distance info, both as vertical strips, was hard on the eyes.
Also missing is Ford’s Pro Trailer Backup Assist, a slick knob that figures out how to make the truck back up, in the direction you want, without jackknifing.
Should You Buy?
The 2019 Ford Ranger is new to the US market, but otherwise, it’s an eight-year-old vehicle. The ride is generally soft, perhaps too soft for some. The opposite may be the case if you order the $1,295 FX4 off-road package: everyday driving will be too stiff for others, and it doesn’t have the off-roading cred of the F-150’s Raptor version.
The entry Ranger XL is short on features such as cruise control (not adaptive cruise control) or power door locks, although you can add them in an options package. You’ll want that and the Co-Pilot360 package.
The mid-range Ranger XLT is $32,290 including$1,195 freight. The Ranger Lariat is $33,585 and includes Sync 3 standard. On all three trim lines, the SuperCrew adds $2,400 to the price. Four-wheel-drive adds $4,000, more than twice what you pay in an SUV to go from two- to all-wheel-drive. The SuperCab is too snug for adults, so SuperCrew is probably the Ranger you want.
The 2019 Ranger makes the most sense if you’re buying a work truck and not a family car, and if you don’t need adaptive cruise control. If you think you’ll be towing, you need the $495 tow package to get the 7,500-pound tow rating. When you’re not towing, you’ll get decent mileage: 21 mpg city/26 mpg highway with rear drive, 20/24 with four-wheel-drive. For a pickup, those are exceptional. That’s topped only by the Chevrolet Colorado with the optional turbodiesel engine: 20 city/30 highway.
As for the competition, the Honda Ridgeline, Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon, Toyota Tacoma, and the new Jeep Gladiator are all solid competitors with more contemporary interiors. The full-size F-150 is more well-rounded than the Ranger, and it’s also the best-selling vehicle in the US (more than 800,000 in 2018). The Ranger may be a suitable midsize pickup, including against the F-150, if you’re towing heavy loads or carrying a bed of heavy material; just not extraordinarily heavy loads / materials. It fits the sweet spot for pickup owners and there’s no wimp engine in the base trim to keep the price down. Just buy knowing you’re getting a capable pickup with some throwback technology. Ford will need a new Ranger in the next two years to be competitive going forward.
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