Not the Ranger you remember
Canadians, especially Atlantic Canadians, were very fond of the Ford Ranger. Consumers and dealers were upset when Ford decided to discontinue the popular small truck in 2012 due to sagging demand in the American market. Good news. e Ranger is back. During that six-year absence, the segment has more than doubled. Ford watched as GM introduced a pair of mid- size pickups — Canyon and Colorado — to join the Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma. Not one to be left behind when it comes to pickups, Ford reached out to its Australian subsidiary, which developed and has been marketing a mid-size Ranger pickup for several years.
at Australian Ranger got a unique frame, suspension, drivetrain and a host of segment exclusive technologies while being updated to meet North American standards. e 2019 Ford Ranger, now rolling o a Michigan assembly line, will arrive in Ford stores in the new year.
Let’s address the elephant in the room right now — the only relationship between the 2019 Ford Ranger and its immensely popular predecessor is the name. e 2019 Ranger is not a compact truck like the version that graced our roads from 1983 until 2012. It is a much larger “mid-size” pickup like the competitors from GM, Nissan and Toyota.
The 2019 Ranger is 200 mm longer than the old model, actually within a couple of mm of the full-size F150 of a decade ago. Ford marketing executives here admitted there might be a market for a smaller pickup like the old Ranger. But they told me that the tremendous growth in the mid-size segment demanded they have a player in that game. e new Ran- ger is 393 mm wider and 50 mm taller than the previous version.
e new Ranger has a turbocharged, 2.3- litre, four-cylinder engine that produces 63 more horsepower and 84 lb.- ft. more torque than the 4.0-litre V6 that was optional in the last of the old Rangers. at one had a ve-speed automatic transmission. e new one uses the same 10-speed unit found in the current Mustang and F150. e 2019 Ranger can carry 1,860 lbs. of payload and tow up to 7,500 lbs. It is also considerably more expensive than the old one, starting at $32,769, including freight. Climb the trim and option ladder and you can bump that price past $44,000, before options.
In this respect, perhaps it was not a good idea to revive the Ranger name. is new pickup is a whole di erent animal. No longer, one of the least expensive vehicles on the market, it is a highly-refined and sophisticated modern vehicle.
Ford has set its sights set on the Toyota Tacoma, which currently dominates the mid-size segment in the United States, with a 60 per cent share. e Tacoma is also the biggest seller here, but the Canyon/ Colorado combined, take rst place. For the global unveiling of the new Ranger here, Ford had several Tacomas on hand. ey encouraged us to drive the Tacoma and Ranger back-to-back in everything from on-, and o -road performance, to towing and hauling capabilities.
Obviously, Ford would not do this if it wasn’t con dent in the results. ey were right. e new Ranger is impressive, on or off road. As the owner of an older Ranger, I was anxious to try the new one and disappointed in its size. But then I got inside and saw how vastly superior the new one is. e standard equipment on the lowest trim level includes: rear view camera, voice-recogni- tion infotainment system, cargo lamp, locking tailgate, trailer sway control, air conditioning, power windows, power locks, keyless entry, automatic headlights, precollision assist with automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, forward collision warning, 4G LTE wi- hot spot, and a smart-charging USB port.
Move up the line and you add things unheard of when the last of the old Rangers rolled o the line: adaptive cruise control, 10-speaker B&O audio system, leather seats, navigation, blind spot information, 110-volt outlet, forward and reverse sensing, LED headlights, and a package that takes the strain out of towing a trailer.
en I drove the new Ranger — the di erence is astounding. is is a smooth, quiet and re ned set of wheels. The noise level, ride quality, handling, and performance are of a new dimension for a truck wearing the Ranger name.
e 2019 Ford Ranger is available in three trim levels, XL, XLT and Lariat. The XL comes in Supercab form with a six-foot box and small, rear-hinged doors at $30,969. e XLT comes in SuperCab at $35,539, or Supercrew at $37,339, with a ve-foot box, conventional rear doors and much more rear-seat space. The line-topping Lariat is available only as a Supercrew at $42,289. Delivery adds $1,800 to those prices. As high as those prices seem at rst glance, the new Ranger is less expensive here than in the U.S., and cheaper than similarly-equipped competitors
e Americans have access to a lesser trim level, with two-wheel drive. All Canadian Rangers have an electronically-controlled, fourwheel drive system with low range.
Ford went to great lengths here to show o the $1,400 FX4 O -road Package available on all models. It includes unique shock absorbers, wheels and tires, heavyduty front skid plate, and a Terrain Management system with ve drive modes: normal, grass, gravel and snow; mud and ruts, and sand. e FX4 package also brings Ford’s Trail Control technology. ink of it as o -road cruise control. It controls power and braking for each individual wheel through Dana Trac-lok differentials and an electronic-locking rear differ-ential.
The Ranger name may have resurfaced, but the truck it is attached to is a whole new vehicle.