[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAN EDMUNDS: This is the new Ford Ranger--
something we haven't seen for quite some time.
Most recent examples were dated back to the 90s
and they were a compact truck that you might only
see the cable guy drive around.
But now it's been enlarged and improved to take
on the midsize segment leaders.
With strong competition from the Tacoma and Colorado,
is the new Ranger really going to be able to pull this off?
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Ford is really proud of the fact that this is a steel front
bumper.
So if you're pushing brush out of the way,
you're not scratching up any plastic.
But what I really like is it's a really straight cut here.
So if you've got your eye on a winch bumper
that you want to install, this comes right off--
no cutting of any plastic.
That's pretty cool.
This truck has the optional towing package,
which gives it a 7,500-pound tow rating,
a two-inch receiver hitch, a seven-pin trailer connector
that's pre-wired for electric trailer brakes--
but you'll have to add your own trailer brake controller
because that's not an option.
As for the bed, it's not damp-- the tailgate,
as you can see that.
The sides of the bed are really tall,
which may or may not be a good thing.
I'm 6 foot 2.
I can reach in, but if you're of average height,
you may not be able to.
It's also a plain steel bed.
This one has the optional spray and bed liner.
It does have six tie-down hooks, which is good.
But there's no 110-volt outlet like you might
see in the back of a Tacoma.
So if you're in overlander or a contractor,
you can't plug in back here.
It's really obvious that you're sitting in a Ford truck
in the Ranger.
It looks like a scaled down F-150 in many ways.
The screen area looks the same.
A lot of these controls are familiar-- steering wheel
buttons, that sort of thing.
I'm not really crazy about the HVAC controls here though.
All of these buttons are really small, they look alike,
and they're hard to distinguish in low light.
But it's really nice-- there's a couple of power outlets--
two USBs here, two more on the back of the center console.
So there's plenty of those.
And the controls for the offroad system
are right here nicely grouped.
The rotary dial here switches between two-wheel drive,
four-wheel drive and low range.
And the button in the middle changes the offroad mode.
Ahead of that, there's a diff-lock button, a trail
control button, and a tow-haul mode,
along with a couple of other things
to shut off the start-stop system and the like.
Pretty obvious what everything does.
But, again, these controls here are pretty small
and pretty finicky.
I really like the basic layout of the cockpit.
The driving position is good.
The steering wheel has a lot of telescopic range for me.
And center pull parking brake, couple of cup holders here.
The shift lever controls the 10-speed transmission.
And there are plus-minus buttons here
that allow you to limit the number of gears
that you use on a grade, either ascending or descending.
It's not really a manual mode, though.
If you want a nicer interior, you can step up to a Lariat.
You can still get the FX4 offroad package.
You'll get leather seats and a little bit nicer inserts
and trim pieces and a different gauge package that
has a center speedometer and more information
screens on either side of it.
The new Ranger comes in extended cab and crew cab versions--
they call them Super Crew and Super Cab.
And it's a little tight back here in the crew cab.
I'm 6'2", I've pushed the seat forward a little bit to make
room for myself.
I could still drive there, but I really can't ride here.
There's plenty of headroom.
Seat back angle is OK-- a little vertical, but not too bad.
This isn't the place for somebody my height
to spend much time.
But it's got a full-down center armrest.
There's a couple of USBs, a 110 outlet here.
But the biggest problem is this is not a split-folding seat,
it's just one piece.
So there's no way to put cargo on one side and a person
on another.
You're either going to have the seat completely in use
or completely unavailable.
Also if you fold the seatback down,
you really don't create a load platform.
The only way to really put any cargo
back here except on the seats themselves.
You can fold this up and you get a pretty decent cargo
space underneath, but some of the other trucks have seats
that fold down as well--
nice platform-- not here.
The truck I'm driving is a crew cab 4x4 XLT.
And the base price for one of those is about $34,000.
This one has the FX4 package, the tow package, spray-in bed
liner, and other bits.
And that brings the price up to about $40,000
including destination.
The new Ranger only has one engine
and transmission combination.
And that's OK because it's a good one.
It's a 2.3 liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine
that makes 270 horsepower, which lags
behind the Tacoma and the Colorado a little bit.
But what's really good about it is it's
got 310 pound-feet of torque, which is better than either
of the other trucks.
And it's really what a truck needs, right?
Torque is more important.
And, besides, it's connected to a 10-speed automatic
transmission.
There's always the right gear at the right time.
I've never been in a situation where
I thought the transmission made the wrong call
or didn't have the right gear for the job.
And it's got best in class fuel economy.
Ford just released fuel economy data on this truck
and it's really good.
The 4x2 is rated at 23 combined and 26 on the highway.
And the 4x4, which is what we're in now,
is 22 combined and 24 on the highway.
Those are pretty strong numbers.
The Ranger's suspension is pretty traditional-- leaf
springs in the back, double wishbones up front.
The shocks, though, are mono-tube dampers all around
in every version.
And the FX4 gets a special tune for offroad performance.
But I'm not entirely happy with the result,
especially when it comes to large waves in the highway.
It tends to bounce a little bit more than I like.
But as far as cracks and seams and little bumps,
it filters those out really well.
So it's a mixed bag.
I think the small stuff, it does great--
the big stuff, maybe not so much.
There's one thing the Ranger doesn't do quite as
well as I'd like it to and that's give me
a good sense of what the steering is up to.
I don't really feel a lot right around center--
just don't get a great sense of straight ahead.
And when I'm turning, the effort doesn't really
build up as the tires experience more load.
It does corner well and it does go down
the road nice and straight.
I just don't get a sense of that through the steering wheel.
Automatic emergency braking is standard on the new Ranger.
And you can also get blind spot monitoring.
And if you do that, it has trailer tow coverage.
So that will incorporate the length of your trailer
into the warranting, which is a great feature if you're towing.
The infotainment system in the new Ranger--
this is a SYNC 3 system, touchscreen based.
You've got to basically touch the screen to do anything.
You do have volume in two knobs, but any selections
you want to make are going to be through the touch screen, which
I'm not a big fan of.
I like to see a couple of buttons
to get to some shortcuts.
But not here-- they're all virtual.
But at least there's Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
And those are really nice and there
are two data USBs up front here so you can connect two
phones at once, which is great.
The mid-sized truck segment is really interesting
and it's getting more interesting all the time.
I mean, we just saw the Jeep Gladiator come in
and that's at one end of the spectrum.
And at the other end is the comfy truck--
the Honda Ridgeline.
And in the middle, we have the Ranger, the Tacoma,
and the Colorado.
Those are the lifestyle trucks that
are more traditional, but kind of a Swiss army
knife of trucks.
It'll be interesting to see how it all
shakes out once we've driven all of them back-to-back.
I'm torn on this truck.
I mean, it's great looking on the outside.
Interior, not so much.
The 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine, 10-speed transmission,
an amazing power train, and the 7,500-pound tow rating,
unmatched.
This should be the one to get if towing is what you want to do.
As for the offroad performance, it's got some great equipment,
but I'm skeptical that the Ranger has
the underbody clearance necessary to really take
on the Tacoma when the going gets really rough.
The new Ranger is a strong competitor
in the midsize segment, but what's really needed
is a comparison test.
And that's coming soon.
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