2024 Ford Ranger Review: Great Truck, Mediocre Navigation
Rugged, yet refined, the 2024 Ford Ranger is the Goldilocks in the Ford truck lineup — not too small, not too large. Just right for families and workers on the go. But make sure to use Apple or Google Maps.
Pulling onto the highway, turbo spooling and engine growling, my hands reach for the controls as a drizzle becomes a torrent. Automatic rain-sensing wipers engage, clearing my view of the twisting mountain road tucked into the red-rock canyons. Wireless Apple CarPlay clicks over to my favorite Pandora stations. And Adaptive Cruise Control activates, setting the speed at the limit and following the highway’s gently sweeping lanes. This 2024 Ford Ranger XLT is, effectively, driving itself while I babysit and monitor and relax. Thinking back to the generations and decades of Rangers that preceded this one.
The Ranger has traveled a long way since its small and simple work truck days.
2024 Ford Ranger Images: Michael S. Palmer
In 2024, the fifth-gen Ranger takes the mantle of “mid-size,” although it’s taller than most half-ton pickups from 20 years ago. This restyled “Global Ranger” debuts with a new frame, all-new body panels and interior, two new engine options, and the first-ever North American Ranger Raptor model (more on this soon). It is refined and comfortable and brimming with technology.
But it also makes me wonder if the Ranger has strayed too far from its original recipe.
To help us understand and learn more about the new Ranger, FoMoCo flew Ford Truck Enthusiasts to Salt Lake City, Utah, where we spent the better part of two days driving, towing, testing, and even jumping the new Ranger lineup. Here’s what we learned.
What do YOU think about the all-new Ranger?
Let us know HERE in our forums!
2024 Ranger Grades
The all-new 2024 Ranger debuts in North America with four grades, or trims, with the following base prices and features —
XL – $34,265
- 2.3L EcoBoost only
- Standard STX Appearance package
- LED reflector headlights
- 10″ vertical SYNC 4A infotainment screen with Wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto
- 8″ digital gauge cluster
- Remote keyless entry and remote tailgate lock
- Optional 4WD & Trailer Tow Package
XLT – $37,205
- Standard 2.3L EcoBoost, Optional 2.7L EcoBoost (available Summer 2024)
- Standard Sport Appearance package, Optional Chrome Appearance package
- Standard 17″ gray wheels, optional 17″ chrome wheels
- Ford CoPilot 360
- 400W in-bed power & LED lighting
- Power-folding side mirrors
- Available integrated side box step
- Available Advanced Tow Package
- Available Tech Package
- Available FX4 Off-Road Package
- Available High Package with heated front seats & 12-inch infotainment display
Lariat – $45,225
- Standard 2.3L EcoBoost, Optional 2.7L EcoBoost (available Summer 2024)
- Standard Sport Appearance package, Optional Chrome Appearance package
- Standard 18″ machined aluminum wheels, optional 18″ chrome wheels
- 12″ digital gauge cluster
- 12″ vertical SYNC 4A infotainment with 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system
- LED projector headlights
- Power sliding rear window
- Zone lighting
- Power, heated, leather-trimmed front seats with driver memory
- Available Advance Tow Package
- Available FX4 Off-Road Package
Raptor – $57,065
- 3.0L EcoBoost V6
- 2.5″ FOX Shocks with Live Valve Technology
- Active valve exhaust
- Ford Performance racing front bucket seats
- 12″ digital gauge cluster
- 12″ vertical SYNC 4A infotainment with 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system
- LED projector headlights
- 33″ B.F. Goodrich A/T K03 Tires on 17″ wheels
- Advanced Towing & Technology Package
- Baja, Off-Road, Rock/Crawl driving models
- Full-time 4WD with 4Auto
Powertrains
While the rest of the 2024 Ranger may be all-new, Ford’s base 2.3L turbocharged 4-cylinder EcoBoost remains the same, producing 270 horsepower and 310 ft.-lbs of peak torque. New for 2024, Ford also offers an optional 2.7L twin-turbocharged V6 EcoBoost on the XLT and Lariat grades. Available later this year, and found in the Bronco and F-150, the 2.7L makes 315 horsepower and 400 ft.-lbs of peak torque. Lastly, the twin-turbo 3.0L EcoBoost Vt Ranger Raptor boasts 405 horsepower and 430 ft.-lbs. of peak torque.
All 2024 Rangers feature a 10-speed automatic transmission. Two-wheel-drive is standard on XL, XLT, and Lariat, but part-time four-wheel-drive (2H, 4H, 4L) is optional. The Raptor comes standard with full-time 4WD, which includes 4A as well as 2H, 4H, and 4L. Towing is rated up to 7,500 on the standard Rangers, and up to 5,510 on the Raptor.
Exterior Design & Features
The 2024 Ranger fleet might be globally aimed, but when Ford designers sculpted this new generation, they had Americans in mind. Which is why the new Ranger looks very much like a bulked-up Maverick or a smaller cousin to the F-150 and Expedition. C-clamp daytime running light frame headlights and a rectangular grille make the whole truck feel boxier and more truck-ish.
Looking at the side and bed, XLT and Lariat models offer an optional integrated box step for easier access into the 5-foot bed where 400W of in-bed power comes standard. Alas, two-door cabs and longer beds have been retired in this market. Even the XL features four doors and a small bed, but at least a remote tailgate lock is standard.
Interior Amenities & Ergonomics
Designers elevated the 2024 Ford Ranger interior with SYNC 4A infotainment, updated seating materials and bolstering, more charging ports, and additional storage space.
SYNC 4A, on new 10″ and 12″ vertical infotainment screens, features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which integrate features like navigation into the Ranger’s digital gauge clusters. Entertainment/Cameras take up the top of the screens, while HVAC controls sit below. Ford smartly left a few tactical knobs and buttons, but the mostly-digital layout is easy to learn and navigate (better than SYNC 4, we’d argue).
The revised seats are more comfortable and supportive than the outgoing generation, and the interior overall offers more legroom than other mid-sized trucks, including the new 2024 Toyota Tacoma. The new cloth seating in the XLT is nice, but the Lariat leather is mediocre compared to what one might find in an F-150. The Ranger Raptor’s performance bucket seats are excellent, but not quite as supportive as 2011+ Mustang Recaros.
In the radio department, the standard XL and XLT stereo sounds pretty darn good for a base system. The Lariat and Raptor’s B&0 Sound System improves matters with a wider sound stage and louder, more pronounced bass capabilities. When pushed to reference volumes, however, the B&O system tips toward muddy. Still, generally speaking, it’s pretty good for a truck in this price range.
The only real downside to the Ranger is the SYNC 4A navigation system, which was thoroughly confused by the highways running in and around Salt Lake City. While it worked well about half the time, Ford’s navigation repeatedly provided contradictory directions. And, when following a dedicated loop through the mountains, it missed a way-point and spent the next 30 minutes telling me to turn around… at every… single… mind-numbing… intersection. Making it my new mortal enemy. Stick with Google or Apple Maps.
Driving Dynamics
NOTE: 2.7L Rangers were NOT available to test and drive. And our first-drive review of the Raptor posts on Thursday, March 21.
As for the base 2.3L Ranger, we drove both two-wheel and four-wheel-drive XLT and Lariat variants in a variety of conditions. Up winding mountain roads in light snow and rain. On the highway in a downpour. Through rush hour traffic. Around the streets of Salt Lake City. And even a few miles of towing roughly 3,000 lbs.
Ford engineers revised both the front and rear suspensions. Leaf springs remain out back on the XL, XLT, and Lariat models, but if I hadn’t looked under the truck, I might have suspected a more modern 4-link setup. Ride quality in previous generation Rangers could feel harsh and bouncy. The 2024 model, by comparison, with its longer wheelbase and revised dampers, is smoother, more comfortable, and noticeably more refined. Steering feeling is relatively numb — common with electric power steering — but the wider track width makes the truck feel planted and agile in corners.
From a power perspective, the new Ranger feels almost identical to the previous generation. Which, of course, makes sense, because it’s the same motor in a slightly heavier application. In 2WD applications, the Ranger feels peppy-adjacent, taking off from stoplights with upgraded 3.73 rear gears. Stepping into 4WD variants, the truck accelerates to highway speeds and passes with ease. It’s not as quick as the F-150 and Super Duty feel with their more powerful engines, but the Ranger’s torque curve is broad and plentiful.
Adding 3,000 lbs worth of trailer — less than half of the 7,500 max rating — to a 4WD Ranger XLT FX4 changes the ride quality noticeably. The added weight over the rear axle stiffens up the experience, adding more bounce. I can’t say I’d want to tour the country with a trailer, but it’s not horrible. Acceleration, fuel, economy, and braking also suffered when towing, naturally. But the 2.3L EcoBoost delivered its broad torque curve without complaining. Tow/Haul mode holds shifts longer and keeps the engine in the power band, but could use a touch more engine braking for descents.
One fun feature to note: In Tow/Haul mode, with a trailer set up in the system, click on the turn signals activates a digital side-view mirror that reduces truck and trailer blindspots.
Fuel Economy
Per EPA estimates, the 2024 Ford Ranger should achieve the following miles-per-gallon figures —
- 2.3L I4 – 21 city, 25 highway, 22 combined (XL, XLT, Lariat)
- 2.7L V6 – 19 city, 23 highway, 20 combined (XLT, Lariat)
- 3.0L V6 – 16 city, 18 highway, 17 combined (Raptor)
We didn’t have time to do a real-world economy test, but the Rangers’ computers displayed the following figures:
- 2.3 L XLT/Lariat – 21.8 MPG mixed driving
- 2.3L XLT Towing 3,000 lbs – 14.2 MPG
- 3.0L Raptor – 14.2 MPG while trail crawling, racing around dirt courses, and jumping
Enhanced Driving Features
Option a 2024 Ranger with the technology or advanced towing packages — XLT, Lariat, and Raptor — and you’ll experience Ford’s Adaptive Cruise Control and Pro Trailer Backup Assist features.
Adaptive cruise control is an enhanced cruise control that allows drivers to set truck speed and follow distance (one through four truck lengths). If another vehicle pulls in front of you and slows, adaptive cruise control follows suit. At highway speeds, it also uses the truck’s cameras to maintain lane center even during gradual cornering. It did so well following the lanes in the highways around Salt Lake City, it almost felt like the Ranger had a version of Ford Blue Cruise (which it does not).
That said, the lane-centering feature appears to dislike merging lanes or when obstacles, such as cyclists or parked vehicles, need extra clearance, so drivers must maintain a vigilant hold on the steering wheel.
Pro Trailer Backup Assist is similarly impressive. Ford engineers again utilize the trucks’ camera system, electronic power steering, and some very smart programming to allow drivers to back up a trailer while twisting a dial in the center console. As those with experience know, guiding a trailer in reverse is a complicated mixture of knowing when to steer and counter-steer in any given direction. Ford’s system makes the experience more intuitive for novices.
Fun Factor
The Ranger might be a capable daily driver, but is it any fun? Is it cool?
Naturally, the Ranger Raptor delivers these qualities in spades, for reasons we’ll discuss on Thursday. XL, XLT, and Lariat Rangers — with the base 2.3L engine — are less thrilling overall. As previously described, the power-to-weight ratio and torque curves are adequate. But these Rangers lack engine options as exciting as the F-150’s 3.5L EcoBoost V6 and 5.0L Coyote V8. That said, by standardizing the STX package on the XL, and the Sport package on the XLT and Lariat, the Ranger looks pretty good right out of the box, but not cool enough to make them special in the eyes of average folks or enthusiasts. For that, we’ll probably need to see what the aftermarket does at SEMA 2024 for Overlanding accessories and such.
Overall, Ford created a handsome truck, but the Ranger gets all of the fun and cool factor bonafides.
Final Thoughts
In the United States, the Ford F-Series reigns. Globally, however, Ranger is the truck most synonymous with the Ford brand. And it’s easy to see why when driving its latest iteration. The 2024 Ford Ranger delivers a lot of practicality and capability with all of the latest bells and whistles. Sure, the base motor isn’t any faster than the outgoing model, and some specs like towing and payload are slightly down because the Regular Cab is no more. But, the fifth-gen Ranger also delivers a more refined driving experience along with a better radio, seats, technology, and so on. In our honest opinion, the new model is superior to all that have come before.
But all of these new features and improvements come at a cost, both literal and figurative. The work truck, long bed days appear gone, unless one steps up to a full-sized truck. And the days of sub $30,000 Rangers are also over.
In its place, the new truck is more like an SUV with a truck bed. Made for splitting time between personal and professional. Rugged, yet refined. It’s the goldilocks of the Ford truck lineup, offering more space for those who find a Maverick too small and a smaller frame for those who don’t need a full-sized or heavy-duty F-Series.
Just don’t let it try to navigate you through a busy city with lots of highway interchanges.
What do YOU think about the all-new Ranger?
Let us know HERE in our forums!
