2019 Ford Ranger Review

[MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: For the last several years, the Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado have dominated the mid-size pickup market. But we haven't seen a Ford Ranger since 2011. But now it's back. JASON KAVANAGH: And we've got all three pickups here today at the same time, the same place to find out-- where does new Ranger fit in? ELANA SCHERR: But before we find out, we need you to subscribe to the channel. And visit Edmunds for all your truck buying needs. JASON KAVANAGH: These trucks are all crew cab 4x4 configurations. We've got a Ford Ranger XLT with the FX4 package, a Chevrolet Colorado Z71, and a Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road. Now, these are affordable off-road packages and not the top-dog offerings. ELANA SCHERR: You know, I gotta get in here and say, I like big trucks and I cannot lie. But I might be willing to be won over to mid-size. I mean, I get it. It's a lot more convenient for daily driving, and hey-- if they can play in the dirt, that's even better. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, and I've got a Le Mans race car I have to tow, but I live in a city, so I can't deal with a full-size pickup. It's just too big. For me, a mid-size pickup is the only solution. DAN EDMUNDS: As for me, I go overlanding, and off-road performance is really important. I'm willing to put up with a truck that isn't perfect Monday through Friday if it does what I want on the weekend. JASON KAVANAGH: You might be wondering, where's the Honda Ridgeline? After all, it's our top-ranked mid-size pickup. The reason why is because it lacks some of the off-road capability of these other trucks. For example, it doesn't have a locking differential, low range, or even some of the ground clearance of these others. For those reasons, we parked it for this test. DAN EDMUNDS: This version of the Tacoma has been around since 2016. It's available with a four-cylinder, or what this truck has-- a 3.5-liter V6. It's pretty much a 4Runner pickup truck. JASON KAVANAGH: The Ranger is all-new to North America. It's been sold in its current form in Australia and other places for a few years now. The difference is, we get a unique engine and transmission-- an EcoBoost four-cylinder with a 10-speed automatic. ELANA SCHERR: The current Colorado dates back to 2015. It's got kind of a big truck energy, like a shrunken Silverado. You can get it with a four-cylinder, or a diesel, or the gasoline V6, which is what we're testing. All right, I don't mean to make a pun on the Toyota name, but the inside of the Tacoma is kind of like a toy-- in a good way, like one of those old Playskool cars, where it's big, chunky plastic controls, big knobs, and gauges and vents. It's all really easy to get to, easy to use. The off-road controls are all up here, which is fantastic because you don't need them when you're driving around in the city. And they're easy to get to and very clear when you're out in the dirt. There's a lot of storage in convenient places for both the driver and the passenger-- very egalitarian in here. I do wish that maybe instead of 10 cup holders, they'd had two USB ports-- there's only one. And there's also no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. It's like, hi-- it's 2019. If you don't like that stuff, or you don't care about that stuff, you'll really like the interior because it's very friendly, very on-brand for Tacoma. I feel like Toyota sort of forgot about the comfort of the passengers in the rear seat when they designed this. You sit up really high. The seats are really flat. And there's not a whole lot of leg room and definitely not a lot of headroom. That might be a little bit because we've got the optional sunroof. But as it sits, I certainly wouldn't want to be off-roading in the back of this. There's also just not a lot to do back here. You don't even have an armrest. As mentioned, you definitely don't have a USB port. Mm, you've got cup holders though-- six of them. Where the backseat of the Tacoma really shines though, is in the usability and flexibility of its in-cab storage. I'm going to show you. There are a couple of different ways to use the storage back here. First of all, no matter what you're doing there's a 60-40 split in the seat, so you can fold down one and let someone sit in the other. First is the quick and dirty way-- just fold up the seat bottoms. Gets you a little more space this way and access to these bins. They're connected, so you can put, like, a fishing pole or something in there. To fully use the storage back here is a little bit more complicated, but I think you'll agree it's worth it. [LATCHING, RATCHETING] Look at this nice, big, flat shelf. You can put a lot of stuff here-- tie it down, plenty of anchors. Or maybe put a dog bed back here and take your buddy for a ride. JASON KAVANAGH: The first thing that jumps out about the Colorado's cabin is the sense of space. It's a pretty roomy cabin. The controls are also really well-placed. You've got big, chunky knobs, well-labeled buttons, and the infotainment system is really good, too. It's got Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and four USB ports-- two in front, two in rear. And also, it looks like there's a lot of in-cabin storage, but it's kind of misleading. For example, this center console bin is huge and it holds a ton of stuff. But the downside is, it's kind of just a big hole. There's no storage organization whatsoever. And you look at the door pockets-- it looks like you've got three places to store stuff there. But really, they're small and they're hard plastic, so if you put anything in them, they're just going to rattle around and make noise. So from a functionality standpoint, the Colorado's cabin is kind of a mixed bag. Like the front seat, the Colorado's backseat is pretty wide. And you could fit three people across back here, and the person in the middle is not going to hate you afterward. When they're not there, the center armrest folds down and there are two pretty big cup holders here. Backseat passengers will also appreciate that there's a 12-volt Power Point. And did I mention those two USBs? One thing we noticed is, you've got to be a little bit careful getting in and out of the back seat because it's easy to catch your toes. But on the plus side, you've got a couple of different options when it comes to in-cab storage. The backseat is split 60-40. The seat bottom folds up like this to reveal some in-cab storage. Alternatively, you can flip the backrest down, and that's super easy. Boom. The only downside is this stack height is pretty high. But overall, this is simple and easy. DAN EDMUNDS: Here in the Ranger, there's no mistaking you're in a Ford truck. And it's really spacious, too. And I like the fact that it's got Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and four USB ports. And the controls are mostly really near at hand and easy to figure out. But there are some exceptions-- these HVAC controls are lookalike, and tiny, and hard to see in low light. The four-wheel drive control could use a little hash mark to tell me which one it's in because I have to shade it to see if there's a lot of sunlight here. And this touchscreen needs a shortcut button or two as you have to do everything on the touchscreen. As for the storage, there's a couple of cup holders but not much else. This armrest is only really good on the driver's side. The passenger-- they don't get anything. Overall, the new Ranger feels like a Ford truck, just not a very new one. And that's because it really isn't. Here in the backseat of the Ranger, things are a little bit tight for me. My headroom's OK, but my knees are jammed up against the seat here. And the rear seat back angle is a little bit vertical-- not too bad, though. Rear seat is cushioned well. But what I really like are there are two USBs back here and a 110 outlet and a little shelf for a phone. And there's also a center armrest that you can fold down to reveal a couple of cup holders. But let's take a look at the in-cab storage. You've heard of 60-40 split rear seats. How about 100-0? In this truck, you can't have three people in this cab and carry cargo. It's all or nothing. And here it's really kind of lumpy. I don't think your pet's going to want to lay on this. This isn't too good. Let's see what happens when we fold the seat back. Fold these here and that's as far as it goes. This is not a package platform. It's just access for the jack. I expected more, frankly. They may have optimized this for the US market, but they didn't spend much time back here. For many people, these trucks are a means to an end-- a way to haul their toys out of town for the weekend. If only we had a dirt bike. [WHOOSHING, ENGINE REVVING] Whoa! Check it out. Let's get it in the trucks. The dirt bike fit in all three trucks with no problem. The differences between them were the tie-downs, features, and bed construction, rather than the size. ELANA SCHERR: The Tacoma is the best equipped in the bed department and it all comes standard on this trim level. No need for an expensive spray-in liner here. Toyota uses a composite bed. It's molded to include 110 outlet, two storage compartments, and two-tier loading. You can throw a couple of 2x6s in the notches, and then throw a sheet of plywood across to make a second shelf. There are plenty of places to strap stuff down with six tie-downs and four movable cleats. Other conveniences include a damped locking tailgate, a bed light, and a step-down bumper. For me, the best thing about the Tacoma is the lower bedsides. Look, I can reach the D-rings. JASON KAVANAGH: The Ranger's bed is pretty basic. It has six fixed tie-down points, an optional spray-in bed liner. But what it doesn't have is two-tiered loading or even a damped tailgate. What the Ranger does have that the others don't-- a tailgate that locks and unlocks with the key fob. DAN EDMUNDS: There's not a lot to the Chevy's bed. It's a basic steel box, has pretty tall sides. It doesn't come with a bed liner unless you opt for a spray-in one like this truck has. It's only got four tie-downs even though you can add more using these optional holes here. It's got a damped tailgate, and it locks, but with a key. But the thing I really like is this corner bed step and the handhold that goes with it. [MUSIC PLAYING] ELANA SCHERR: Dan, when we were driving earlier, you pointed out something to me about Ranger. DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, yeah-- Ranger. You can chop letters off and it keeps spelling a word. Ranger-- range-- rang-- ran-- Ra-- r. JASON KAVANAGH: Anger. DAN EDMUNDS: Anger-- take the front one off and spell something too. ELANA SCHERR: So, guys-- it's not that common that you get carsick in the driver's seat-- DAN EDMUNDS: [LAUGHING] Right. ELANA SCHERR: --but somehow, Ford has managed to make that possible in this truck. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah. This front end floats around quite a bit. And there's a little bit of pitch too-- more than I would have expected. JASON KAVANAGH: It's not confidence-inspiring in terms of ride quality. It just doesn't feel like there's a lot of control. ELANA SCHERR: No, it's enough that I'm actually a little bit anxious going around corners. I mean, it's the kind of handling you'd expect from, say, a '70s sedan. DAN EDMUNDS: I feel differently about the handling. I think this thing goes straight nicely, and it goes around corners pretty well unless you hit a bump in the middle of the corner. But my biggest problem with the handling is there's no feel through the steering. In other words, as the tires are loading up, you don't feel it. So you don't have no confidence. But it's actually tracked pretty well. ELANA SCHERR: You don't have no confidence? DAN EDMUNDS: I have confidence. Well, maybe I don't. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, I'm with Dan. The front end-- it feels too soft and the steering is too numb and too light. ELANA SCHERR: The engine and trans combo are the best thing about this truck-- super fun, super fast. This engine doesn't have the most horsepower, numbers-wise, but it definitely has the best response, and it does have the most torque. DAN EDMUNDS: It has plenty of punch. And it gets off the line really well. And the transmission seems to-- hey, now you're just showing off. ELANA SCHERR: [LAUGHING] Well, why wouldn't you, because-- DAN EDMUNDS: Right. ELANA SCHERR: --I agree with you. It's got-- it's the most fun, in terms of acceleration. And it also sounds the best, which is sort of a surprise. JASON KAVANAGH: It's also really quiet, too. But you're right-- you've got that wall of torque, which is great for any kind of passing maneuver. The only thing I'd say is in D, it tends to favor the higher gears and the revs are too low, and then it's constantly having to downshift. But if you put it in S, it transforms that driving experience. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, I think that makes sense, though. D for fuel economy and S for having a little fun. ELANA SCHERR: The seats are adjustable, but they could use, like, a couple of notches in between where they are, especially in the angling of the back seat. I don't feel like it's super comfortable. DAN EDMUNDS: Well, this is the XLT with the basic mechanical seats. There's an upgrade package that will give you power seats with finer control. ELANA SCHERR: Oh, that would be nice. DAN EDMUNDS: And then the Lariat is the same, but with leather. ELANA SCHERR: Oh yeah, how is it back there? JASON KAVANAGH: Well, with this seat the way it is for you, Elana, I've got plenty of leg room. And even Dan, who's 6'9"-- [LAUGHTER] ELANA SCHERR: At least. JASON KAVANAGH: I've got-- I've got knee room right now, so it's not terrible right now. Dan, is that chair in a spot-- seat in a spot where you'd be happy on a long trip? DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah I could be. I'd probably put it back a little bit more, but I wouldn't have to. And by the way, I'm 5'14", OK? Just for the record. ELANA SCHERR: That's a lot of math. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: The thing that stands out about this truck to me the most is-- nothing stands out that much. I mean, it's pretty well-rounded. I like the way it rides. I like the way it steers. It feels pretty civilized. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah I agree. The drive quality, especially, is the most tied-down, the most sorted of the bunch. It just feels cooperative and confidence-inspiring. ELANA SCHERR: You could go and just do whatever fun thing you wanted to go do in your truck and not spend any time worrying about any of the elements of driving to go do that thing. Or just, like, around town, you know, running errands, or, like, even date night. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, which is going to be most of the time. ELANA SCHERR: Yeah, 'cos you go on so many dates. DAN EDMUNDS: I meant around town running errands-- Home Depot, usually. JASON KAVANAGH: It's pretty quiet overall. I mean, you think about road noise, wind noise, engine noise. All of these are pretty well suppressed. ELANA SCHERR: Yeah, it's silent in here. Like, I'm glad you're not eating snacks because I would hear every crunch and I'd be all irritated with you. DAN EDMUNDS: The seats feel a little bit small and a little bit firm, but-- JASON KAVANAGH: Well, that works for me, especially. I'm a narrow guy, pretty slim. So the seats actually worked in my favor. DAN EDMUNDS: Well, about three years ago, I weighed about 40 more pounds than I do now. And then I thought that seats were tiny and terrible, but now that I've lost a little weight, I actually like them better. JASON KAVANAGH: Now you're in my camp. All right. ELANA SCHERR: Bragging skinny guys. DAN EDMUNDS: Another thing I liked about the Colorado that goes along with everything else-- just the overall competence-- is the brake pedal. It feels nice and firm. You get good response out of it-- easy modulation-- it just feels real natural. JASON KAVANAGH: Powertrain-wise, we've got a V6, normally aspirated, and an 8-speed automatic. Guys, what do you think? DAN EDMUNDS: I think it's just about right. I mean, eight seems to be enough gears. And this engine doesn't have the most torque in the world but has good power, and I don't find it lacking. JASON KAVANAGH: And definitely, I think, that Colorado has the best on-road manners of the bunch. I'm really curious to see how it stacks up off-road being that, you're right, it doesn't have a locking differential or different terrain condition response stability control settings-- that kind of thing. So we'll see. DAN EDMUNDS: The thing that stands out about the Colorado is nothing stands out very much. There's nothing here that I don't like. It's got great steering, handling, and it goes down the road smoothly. The damping seems about right over big bumps and small alike. You know, I could spend a lot of time behind the wheel in this. No real weak points to speak of. ELANA SCHERR: Said the driver. JASON KAVANAGH: Hey-o. [LAUGHTER] ELANA SCHERR: I'm just kidding. DAN EDMUNDS: I could use a new passenger, too. ELANA SCHERR: That was really mean. Jay is doing a good job. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, why you gotta bag on me? I'm just sitting here. [MUSIC PLAYING] [CLUNKING] ELANA SCHERR: Oof. DAN EDMUNDS: Oh. Ow. ELANA SCHERR: You OK? DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, what was that? ELANA SCHERR: That was an attempt to not be quite so straight up and down, but I didn't realize that your knees were where they are. JASON KAVANAGH: All right, out here on the pavement in the Tacoma-- this feels like the oldest truck here for a number of reasons. But the one that sticks out the most is the powertrain. The transmission always seems to be in way too high a gear, and there's not enough torque down low for the engine to be able to pull that gear. So that's the first thing that jumps out to me. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, it keeps changing its mind, you know. It dithers between one gear and the next at the slightest provocation. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, it's a modern powertrain, but it feels like an old powertrain. The engine's loud. There's a lot of road noise. And the steering, too-- it's really slow steering that has, actually, some feel. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, I do like that. JASON KAVANAGH: But it's also weighted indifferently. So the steering just kind of doesn't work for me either. ELANA SCHERR: I hate a steering wheel that doesn't care about you. JASON KAVANAGH: Right? DAN EDMUNDS: It just feels the most like a truck of any of the-- JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, this is the "truck-iest", definitely. DAN EDMUNDS: It's the truck-iest one. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, although I do prefer the ride quality here to what we had in the Ranger. ELANA SCHERR: No barfing. JASON KAVANAGH: A barf-free zone. Yeah, let's talk driving position too. The floor in the Tacoma is much closer to your butt than in the other trucks, so you have this legs-out driving position. The greenhouse in the Tacoma also is shorter than the rest as a consequence of the floor being raised up. And also, did you guys notice the steering wheel telescopes, like, maybe an inch, inch and a half? DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, I need another inch, inch and a half. ELANA SCHERR: So the floor's up and that's actually what gives us all of the-- all the clearance underneath that Dan's so happy about off-road though, right? DAN EDMUNDS: Right. It's a compromise Toyota was willing to make. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, the Tacoma definitely has more off-road inherent goodness baked in, so I'm curious to see how that pans out. ELANA SCHERR: I gotta say, and this sounds sort of mean, but I almost feel like we've gone back in time and are doing reviews of all three trucks from like four, even six years ago. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, this truck was redesigned in 2016. But its bones date back beyond that. The Colorado's a fewer years old. And the Ranger, you know, has been in a similar form in Australia back to 2011. So none of them are all-new. JASON KAVANAGH: To me, the Tacoma feels like the oldest truck of the bunch, and there's a number of reasons why. The steering is another one I'm not crazy about it. It does have feel, but the weighting is sort of indifferent and the steering ratio is slow. So if you're in a parking lot situation, you're just putting armful after armful of steering input into this thing. DAN EDMUNDS: The brake pedal-- JASON KAVANAGH: Oh. DAN EDMUNDS: --I noticed that it has good braking, but it's kind of really hard to modulate smoothly. It's kind of like grabby and inconsistent as you put on the brakes. JASON KAVANAGH: In summary, the Tacoma feels the truck-iest of the bunch, which can be good and bad. ELANA SCHERR: There's nothing sophisticated about the Tacoma, but it does feel like it was designed for something. I'm gonna find out what that thing is. DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, and I feel like whatever it's doing, it's doing it on purpose. [MUSIC PLAYING] JASON KAVANAGH: We just moved from the pavement in our off-road-oriented trucks on to the first couple of miles of our trail. And Elana, what were your impressions? ELANA SCHERR: Well, all of the trucks made it, no problem. But they felt very different as you were in the cab. I think it's probably easiest if I describe that in a sort of interpretive dance. So first, the Ford Ranger-- DAN EDMUNDS: Pretty much. ELANA SCHERR: Like a dolphin. The Toyota-- sort of jittery, but very stable. The Colorado-- in between the two. A lot of up and down, but again, very stable. JASON KAVANAGH: Dan, what do you think? DAN EDMUNDS: Well, the Toyota is the only one with push-button start. That doesn't sound like an off-road feature, but there were no keys to the knees-- big difference. JASON KAVANAGH: Yeah, definitely. The Tacoma, so far, feels like it's the most capable and the Ranger-- kind of squishy. The Colorado is kind of someplace in between. Well, the more aggressive and harder terrain is yet to come, so we're going to hit the trail. [MUSIC PLAYING] ELANA SCHERR: So, unlike Dan, who does this, sort of, big, rocky, dirt trail driving for fun, I usually only end up on this kind of road by accident. Weet. Oh. [GASPS] I have no idea what I'm doing, and yet, the truck seems to just, kind of, keep going. I made it all the way up the hill in 4-High, like, I never had to use 4-Low. But I'm going to put it into 4-Low for the way down, partially just so I know how to do it, and also because then I can use the gearing of the truck to slow me down, rather than sort of riding the brakes all the way down. The thing that's making the Tacoma so forgiving of my inexperience off road is that as long as I don't drive it directly into a ditch or a giant rock, it has enough articulation that the suspension will move around-- drop into the hole, or whatever-- without bringing the tires up off the ground, and so I still have traction. And then I can just drive myself out of a problem. [RATTLING] Whoop. [LAUGHING] Or into a bush. Maybe I'll start doing like Dan and looking for these roads on purpose. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: This is pretty cool. The map database knows which trail we're on, and I'm on a trail that is a black diamond trail. So far it's not black diamond. I'm still in high range. Four-wheel drive, of course. All right, I think this is where I put it into low range. Well, let's see how it goes. [GRINDING] Uh oh. I think I'm teetering on two wheels. All right, let's try putting it in low range now. It's not doing it. All right, AdvanceTrac off. Low range engaged. Back to drive. Did that help? No. It looks like I'm going to have to lock the rear differential. So push the rear diff lock button-- and it's locked-- and forward momentum restored. Straddle the V and go for the rock. That wasn't much of a frame twist area that would get that wheel that far off the ground. That's surprising. Yeah, looks like we're going to get more of the same up here. Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo hoo-hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo. Now, we've got the wheel up in the air. I want to see this. Excuse me while I open the door. [CHIMING] Oh, yeah. About six inches. You know what I didn't like is that somewhere in there, this thing automatically shifted from 4-Low to 4-High. So I came down that section in 4-High, and I never made that choice. That's terrible. I was going too fast. I wasn't able to use the transmission to slow me down. If it goes into 4-High, it's because I put it there, not because the truck did. Bogus. [MUSIC PLAYING] JASON KAVANAGH: I'll go for those bumps on top of him. Straddle this crack. Oh, oh, oh. A little momentum goes a long way sometimes. That noise you hear is the key bouncing around. We're just kind of walking over these rocks. Traction control's grabbing us a little bit, but it's still going up the hill. Get my tire on that big, giant boulder in front of us. Get a little bit of speed going. There we go. And it's just doing it. It's just going up the hill. All right. So we're just making our way down in low range still. It hasn't automatically shifted itself into anything else. So it's very faithfully responding to my commands. So even though the Colorado doesn't have a locking rear differential, it made it through the spot that the Ranger got stuck in. Its hood is pretty broad and it can be hard to see over it. [MUSIC PLAYING] JASON KAVANAGH: I took the Colorado off-road, and it did better off-road than I expected. However, there's something missing from this Colorado. This thing is the air dam that goes underneath the front bumper. If we left it on, we would have tore that thing off within 10 feet. If you want to take your Colorado off-road, you're taking off the air dam. ELANA SCHERR: I was actually a little bit nervous about taking my turn behind the wheel. I actually made Dan give me a little bit of direction. So we get up to the top, and he's like, all right, we're done. Turn around. I was like, we're still in 4-High. Aren't we supposed to be in 4-Low? He's like, you didn't need any of them because you never even lifted a wheel up. I'm really ready to go straight up a mountain, as long as it's in a Tacoma. DAN EDMUNDS: The trail wasn't even that difficult and I was lifting wheels off the ground. The traction control doesn't really offer any help in low range. So then I was forced to lock the differential. And I don't think you should have to do it on a trail that's pretty much moderate, not really that difficult. It really needs more. [MUSIC PLAYING] ELANA SCHERR: If this was just an off-road test, we'd have a unanimous winner. We all loved the Toyota Tacoma on the trail. It was really good. JASON KAVANAGH: But this isn't just a test of off-road ability. We're looking for the truck that is best on-road and also has moderate off-road ability. That decision was unanimous, as well. The Chevy Colorado is our overall winner. [MUSIC PLAYING] DAN EDMUNDS: So where does that leave the Ranger? After all, that's the question we wanted to answer when we started this whole test. Well, it was a split decision, 2 to 1-- Colorado first, Tacoma second, and the Ranger bringing up the rear. ELANA SCHERR: We're really happy to see the Ranger back on the market. I mean, the more competition, the better. But for now, out of these three, it's third. DAN EDMUNDS: I mean, what was up with that, Jay? It rides like a pogo stick. It won't stay in low range. The backseat is just awful-- JASON KAVANAGH: I heard this enough. I'm done. DAN EDMUNDS: [GRUNTING] JASON KAVANAGH: There's a lot more than just this video if you head to Edmunds. You'll find pricing, features, ratings, and reviews on all three of these trucks. And if you want to see more videos, subscribe. [MUSIC PLAYING]