The Ranger is Ford’s compact pickup truck, and it’s been that way for over 10 years. However, for much of that time, the company didn’t sell the Ranger in the United States and focused on the F-Series full-size pickups instead. Now that’s changed again: the Ranger is back in North American markets for 2019 and a lot has changed about its design in the years since Ford discontinued sales.
A Ford-Tough Design
Some companies switch their compact pickup trucks to a unibody design, but the Ranger uses the same body-on-frame design as a full-size truck. That decision gives the Ranger extra towing strength, up to 7,500 pounds, plus it comes with frame-mounted steel bumpers, bash plates, and tow hooks. The payload limit is also high — up to 1,860 pounds. The Ranger might be smaller than the F-150 or the rest of the F-Series, but it still manages to do its big brothers proud by offering some impressive numbers for the class.
Off-Road Prowess
The 2019 Ford Ranger offers several features that make it easier to take on off-road adventures. The FX4 and FX2 are off-road packages for 4×4 and 2×4 Ranger models, and they offer important features like all-terrain tires, skid plates on the undercarriage, and an electronic system that tracks the truck’s pitch and roll. You also get Trail Control (an off-road version of cruise control), a terrain management system, and an electronic locking rear differential. Since the Ranger is smaller than an F-150, it’s better able to handle rough terrain like this.
Driver Assistance Features
The Ford Ranger might not have had any driver assistance when it left America, but now that it’s back, it has plenty to offer. Available features include an adaptive cruise control that changes speed based on the speed of traffic ahead, the Lane-Keeping System that gently nudges your vehicle to the center of the lane if you start wandering, and the Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Technology — a feature that warns you if you’re about to run into another vehicle or a pedestrian and can start braking before you have time to react.
The Trims
Like the F-Series, the new 2019 Ford Ranger comes with a number of trim levels and configurations that can meet different customers’ needs. The XL trim with a Double Cab doesn’t have much in the way of features, but that’s because it’s a work truck made for people who need a low-cost pickup without any extras. At the other end of the trim list is the Lariat, and with this, you get things like the Crew Cab size, leather seats, LED headlights, and an 8-inch touchscreen that runs Sync 3.
A lot has happened to cars and trucks since the last time Ford sold a Ranger in the United States, and the new Ranger’s power and features reflect all of these changes. So have a look for yourself at the differences between the new Ranger and the F-150 and decide whether you’d prefer one pickup truck or the other.
Image via Ford.com
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