Is the Ford Ranger good enough to take on the competition? We test the 2020 Ranger XLT CrewCab 4x4

Even with the demise of the original Ranger pickup in 2011, there has always been a market for mid-size trucks. Case in point, the Toyota Tacoma and long in the tooth Nissan Frontier (which still manages to sell a ton of the amortized units). GM got wise to that before axing the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Now Mazda and Mitsubishi have regrets they vacated the market, although both, as well as Volkswagen sell, their mid-size trucks in every market except North America. All three want to return for a bigger piece of the pie.

If you look at Nissan’s more contemporary Frontier, not sold in the states, it was (or is) the basis for Mercedes-Benz’s pickup, not sold here. Last time I heard it wasn’t doing so well in those markets it focused on and may be already on the chopping block. The other trucks by Mazda , Mitsubishi and Volkswagen are all viable trucks, that could give the Ranger a run for its money. But the one that Ford has to worry about the most is the Tacoma, which like its viable F-150, is the “Mac Daddy” of mid-size trucks. The Colorado is now a close second only to the Ranger, which is closely catching up, and may surpass it in sales. One might forget, 2019 was its debut year.

The only thing the Ranger doesn’t have going for it is a Raptor version here in the States, although it does have one for the other markets it caters to. Of course, if you want a Raptor equivalent, that can be sourced through Hennessey, as the Ranger VelociRapter, for a mere $149,750 staring price. Think about, that’s at least twice the price for a F-150 Raptor, but it’s even bit of capable, if not more so, that a $50k plus Tacoma TRD or Colorado Bison.

Of course, with the upcoming re-engineered Bronco coming as a 2021 model, Ford has been focusing on that, which its underpinnings and powertrain are based on the Ranger. The re-engineered Ranger started out small (as far as the model lineup), with the base XL, XLT and Lariat, in SuperCab and SuperCrew configurations, but the model lineup is intended to grow as time marches on. $25,650 is about the price of what a loaded 2011 Ranger SXT club cab retailed back in its day, so by adding real rear doors and a roomer rear seat, plus all the safety and convivence features adds more like $45k plus to the sticker, or $47,020 to be exact for the most loaded out Lariat CrewCab 4x4 model.

Our tester’s Moroney did not state pricing, as it was offered as not for sale. However, best guess on equipment, it should retail for $34,925 plus designation fees. The one issue is that the mid-size trucks don’t have the mark-ups that the full-size trucks have, so don’t expect a huge $10-grand off the top.

The Ranger is nothing if it isn’t agile and reality smooth, more so than its Tacoma and GM counterpoints. And you can forget about the price leader Frontier. The Ranger stays true to its body on frame mentality, as oppose to the Honda Ridgeline unibody construction.

The Ranger comes in only one powertrain configuration, a 2.3-liter EcoBoost I4 mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission. Now one would not think that this is adequate power, but you’d be wrong; this rig doesn’t really need anything larger, even though the Hennessy VelociRapter has a powerful 380-hp engine V8 under the hood.

And you can forget about crank up windows. All Rangers now have power windows, even the utilitarian XL models. So no more lost leader strip down regular cabs with crank up window, a 4-speed manual gearbox and a regular under powered four banger, this jewel has grown up to the big leagues.