2024 Ford Ranger Lariat
Price: $58,765 CAD
Colour: Azure Grey Metallic Tri-Coat
I drove the first generation of the new North American Ford Ranger (try to keep up) last year. It left me decidedly underwhelmed. Everything about it felt old and out of date. It was a crushing disappointment given how much I loved the first North American Ranger. Add to that a price point setting it up as a Taco fighter and Ford’s massive misstep was laid bare for the world to see. Ford announced a new Ranger for model year ’24 and I got my hands on one as soon as possible. I wanted to see if Ford had finally paid respect to the vision of the relaunched Ranger, and it turns out they have.
The new Ranger is full of Modern Ford tech. It all works and looks good. The whole vehicle feels modern and up to date. The change is stark and striking from what came before just a year ago. For a kickoff, the new Ranger gets the enormous iPad infotainment system Ford is such a fan of and it’s a great centrepiece for the vehicle. It’s very large and makes an impact. The digital dash cluster and electronic shifter continue the winning formula making this interior a great place to be. I had this vehicle for two weeks and never tired of climbing inside. The seats are very comfortable with good ergonomics and heated bits and pieces. It was a great vehicle to spend some time with. I must also note that my son discovered the “fry holder” on the centre console as soon as he climbed inside. This meant repeated trips to McDonalds to verify the effectiveness of this piece of equipment. Regular readers will know of my dedication to my journalistic craft.
You can have 2 engines in the Ranger. You get to choose between the 2.3L Ecoboost or the bigger 2.7L Ecoboost. The 2.3L gives you 270 hp and 310 lb/ft of torque. This is perfectly acceptable for a truck the size of the Ranger as Ford, generally, does good things with the Ecoboost line of powerplants. More interestingly however, is the 2.7L option. I drove an F-150 for two years and 50,000kms and loved it. It had loads of power and it worked seamlessly with the 10-speed autobox. I was also able to extract similar fuel economy out of that F-150 that the 2.3L gave me in the Ranger, so there really isn’t an economy sacrifice. Add to that you get a boost to 310hp and 400 lb/ft and you’d be a fool to at least not consider it.
I picked up a new freezer from Costco while driving the Ranger and while it required the tailgate to be left down, it handled the oversized box just fine. The bed isn’t huge or particularly deep, but it does do what most of us need a pickup to do on most occasions.
When it comes to price, I don’t know what to say about the 2024 Ford Ranger. In this Lariat trim it costs nearly $60,000 CAD. That is a ferocious amount of money. So very much money. If you’re considering one and can do without some toys you might find a better price point. When you stack it up against its competitors, you’ll find they all share a similar cost. I guess cars like this just cost a lot of money. That makes me very sad.
Ford has finally made the Ranger good enough to battle properly with the Toyota Tacoma and other mid-sized pickups. While you might not find relief on the price, you won’t be disappointed with the truck either. It’s bang up to date and a pleasure to drive. It proves that don’t need the extra size and considerations that go with an F-150 and if the Maverick is too small for you, the Ranger will be just right.
