We Bought a 2024 Ford Ranger for Our Long-Term Test Fleet

written by Ryan Greger^{Social Media Content Strategist
Ryan Greger entered the automotive industry straight out of college in 2020. Since then, he's managed social media and created content for several companies, most recently at Edmunds, where he is a social media content strategist. In addition to his social media prowess, Ryan is an avid writer, authoring reviews and other articles at Edmunds. Ryan also enjoys high-end automotive photography and has developed a sizable following on social media, where he shares photos of some of the world's finest vehicles.}
edited by Steven Ewing^{Director, Editorial Content
Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and drive his 2000 BMW M Roadster.}
5/10/2024
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The 2024 Ford Ranger is the latest addition to the Edmunds long-term test fleet.
We'll be living with this Ranger for the next year and 20,000 miles as we discover what we like and what we don't.
We bought our Ranger Lariat FX4 for just under $51,000.

Let's face it: The previous-generation Ford Ranger was very long in the tooth. While it was only on sale in the U.S. for the 2019 through 2023 model years, the last Ranger was sold in other countries starting in 2013 — and it wasn't even designed with the American market in mind.

For 2024, though, the Ranger has finally received the redesign it so desperately needed, bringing updated tech, a nicer cabin, and modern styling to Ford's midsize truck. So, naturally, we've added a top-trim Lariat to our long-term test fleet. Over the next year and 20,000 miles, we'll be putting the Ranger through its paces.

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What did we get?

Aside from the hotted-up Raptor, our 2024 Lariat is the highest trim Ranger you can buy. The Lariat — which starts at $45,225, including destination charges, in standard rear-wheel drive — is loaded up with just about every feature you could want: We've got heated leather seats, Ford's latest driver assist systems (though BlueCruise hands-free driving is unavailable), a bangin' Bang & Olufsen sound system, and a 12-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

In addition to the Lariat's standard kit, we ponied up $3,485 for four-wheel drive and topped it off with the $1,295 FX4 off-road package, which adds features like a dedicated off-road screen, upgraded suspension, all-terrain tires, and an electronic-locking rear differential. All in, we paid $50,580 for our truck.

The one thing we didn't opt for? The Ranger's upgraded 2.7L EcoBoost V6, which wasn't yet available at the time of our purchase. Instead, our Ranger has the base 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that's carried over from the previous truck but still makes a healthy 270 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque.

Why did we get it?

The midsize truck segment is hotter than ever, with its three biggest players — the Chevy Colorado, Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma — all receiving major redesigns within the last year. That made it only natural to add a new Ranger to our fleet.

On top of that, we opted for the top-trim Lariat with the FX4 package for comparison's sake, as our long-term 2023 Chevy Colorado is a loaded Z71 model. We wanted to ensure the two trucks were as closely matched as possible ... ya know, for research purposes. Who knows, another similarly specced truck might be joining the long-term fleet soon, too.

Edmunds says

It's not an easy battle for the Ranger in the hypercompetitive midsize truck segment, as the latest models from Chevy, GMC and Toyota have seriously stepped up their game. We're looking forward to spending a year with our Ranger to see how it stacks up.

Photography by Ryan Greger

by Ryan Greger

Ryan Greger entered the automotive industry straight out of college in 2020. Since then, he's managed social media and created content for several companies, most recently at Edmunds, where he is a social media content strategist. In addition to his social media prowess, Ryan is an avid writer, authoring reviews and other articles at Edmunds. Ryan also enjoys high-end automotive photography and has developed a sizable following on social media, where he shares photos of some of the world's finest vehicles.

edited by Steven Ewing

Steven Ewing has worked in the automotive industry since 2003. In that time, he's written thousands of articles and tested just as many vehicles. Steven is Edmunds' director of editorial content and has previously been on staff at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog, Motor1.com, CNET, and was the U.S. correspondent for Top Gear magazine. Steven has also contributed to Automobile magazine, Car and Driver, The Drive, Jalopnik, Porsche Panorama, and dozens of other publications. In his spare time, Steven loves to play the drums, cook, and drive his 2000 BMW M Roadster.

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We Bought a 2024 Ford Ranger for Our Long-Term Test Fleet

Our Ranger Lariat FX4 cost just under $51,000

What did we get?

Why did we get it?

Edmunds says

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