Detroit 2018: 2019 Ford Ranger

It looks pretty big, which makes me wonder still if there is a market for smaller size trucks.  If this didn't have a Ford badge on it, I probably would have thought it was a Toyota.  Ford needs this though, they are missing out by only having the F150, I think they will sell a lot of these for people that find the F150 too big.

Nice.. it looks like they haven't changed the styling much from the international Ranger that's had a similar face since 2015.   Glad they resisted the urge to go for F150 styling with giant lights and grille.   Key dimensions are within an inch or two of the Colorado, it looks like.    The bumper is different front the current international model, but the body and interior look pretty much unchanged. 

I would expect the international model to follow the look of this one pretty quickly.

This is the current international Ranger, styling looks much the same except for the front bumper/fascia details below the grille.  I wonder if we will have a trim similar to the Wildtrak (black one). 

44 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

I would expect the international model to follow the look of this one pretty quickly.

Yep- and it won't need that much updating either...

Curious to see the prices on this....as they have to be careful a bit there. As the new trucks to getting nice rebates, it's not helping the smaller trucks at all!

If might not hurt to have a small bit of cash on the hood/good leases when it rolls out. With a loving push-think the Ranger should do quite well....

Not bad, I like what Ford has done, I still believe there is a market for the Mini Pickup truck done right over the mid size pickup.

This, at first blush after the spectacular debut of the new Silverado, was a bit underwhelming... but after the hysteria wears off, it is actually a pretty good looking rig.  And I'm not mad that it is not aluminum   Steel bumpers on a truck will always have my vote as well.  The turbo 2.3 might give Chevy lovers an excuse to make fun, but if it delivers reliable power in a truck-like fashion it should be fine once driven and compared.

I want to see an FX4 Supercab in other colors... I am assuming Ford will not have this truck in the flesh at Detroit?  Plus I wonder if the FX4 package will be available on XL and XLT like the F-150.

P.S. if it is 71 inches tall it will fit in my garage!!!  P.P.S. - that full frontal view reminds me an awful lot of the Colorado, with similar headlamp shape, and the tumblehome of the fenders... features I find a little soft for a truck, whether on the Chevy or this Ford.

12 minutes ago, ocnblu said:

This, at first blush after the spectacular debut of the new Silverado, was a bit underwhelming... but after the hysteria wears off, it is actually a pretty good looking rig.  And I'm not mad that it is not aluminum   Steel bumpers on a truck will always have my vote as well.  The turbo 2.3 might give Chevy lovers an excuse to make fun, but if it delivers reliable power in a truck-like fashion it should be fine once driven and compared.

I want to see an FX4 Supercab in other colors... I am assuming Ford will not have this truck in the flesh at Detroit?  Plus I wonder if the FX4 package will be available on XL and XLT like the F-150.

P.S. if it is 71 inches tall it will fit in my garage!!!  P.P.S. - that full frontal view reminds me an awful lot of the Colorado, with similar headlamp shape, and the tumblehome of the fenders... features I find a little soft for a truck, whether on the Chevy or this Ford.

Yeah, there is nothing wrong with the Ranger... but it is just a mild visual refresh of the truck we've seen for years.  No V6 is a no-go for me though... I don't care if its faster 0-60, I don't want to have to constantly be in the boost just to keep moving. 

Yes it will be in the flesh in Detroit. It will be shown tonight.  William and I won't be there though. 

Maybe the 3.3 is viewed as not fitting what the demographic wants... and the 2.7EB might not fit or is seen as too powerful for insurance reasons.  I don't know.  But I agree on the lag thing.

8 hours ago, daves87rs said:

Curious to see the prices on this....as they have to be careful a bit there. As the new trucks to getting nice rebates, it's not helping the smaller trucks at all!

If might not hurt to have a small bit of cash on the hood/good leases when it rolls out. With a loving push-think the Ranger should do quite well....

That's what I'm wondering as well. If Ford prices it right, they could have a real winner. 

I went over to Ford's preview site for the new Ranger, and it seems like they're just as flexible with the trim package availability as they are on the F-150.  Good news for truck buyers of varying budgets.  So it's either XLT Sport FX4 Supercab 4X4 or even an STX FX4 4X4 Supercab in Lightning Blue or Magnetic since there is no green on the list.

I was looking at the Australian site, they also offer 4- and 5-cyl diesels, a regular cab, and regular cab and chassis variations.  Since they don't have the F-series, they have a broader range of configurations. 

Here's an STX FX4 4X4, based on the XL... I mean, it looks plenty sporty to me, except I'd want the Supercab for the more usable bed length.  And YES, it is a shame Ford won't sell the regular cab here.

I'll say it again,.  Ford needs to price this (at least a couple decently equipped models) in the Frontier range. The Frontier has been mostly unchanged since forever. But people still buy because of the price of entry. If they offer a couple decently equipped models at a low entry people will line up. They can do a King Ranch Ranger (or whatever a top of the line Ranger is) for the others that want a 50K small truck. 

I bet the price range will match the Colorado and Taco ranges pretty closely...

Nice, lack of V6 is an issue.  But Ford seems to be getting rid of nearly all NA v6's so unless there is a new NA v6 coming out, this won't see one.  4 cyl only may just be a way of keeping this from stepping on F150 toes.

When i was selling used vehicles, one of the most popular pickups was the old Ford Explorer based truck.  People loved those because they were trimmed out much nicer than typical rangers.  This new Ranger has a seemingly posh interior design which will appeal to fans of that old Ford Explorer pickup.

Some strong selling points for this truck lover:  the 2.3L EB, being the only engine, means I have no temptation to spend $1200 for a V6, like the Colorado, and it will have good power figures.  Also on the Chevy, in typical GM truck fashion, you have to go up to the Z71 to get a moderately sporty looking off-road package... something Ford offers on even their cheapest XL.  Ford also offers a Sport trim as an add-on to the XLT, for a darker, non-blingy alternative to the normal (and nice) chrome.  They give the customer choices.  This will definitely help ppl spec out a Ranger exactly the way they want it without going over budget.  Except for a stick and a regular cab.

1 hour ago, Scout said:

I'll say it again,.  Ford needs to price this (at least a couple decently equipped models) in the Frontier range. The Frontier has been mostly unchanged since forever. But people still buy because of the price of entry. If they offer a couple decently equipped models at a low entry people will line up. They can do a King Ranch Ranger (or whatever a top of the line Ranger is) for the others that want a 50K small truck. 

Yet many DO NOT need a Full size or Mid Size truck. This is a great looking truck with plenty of great options, but like @Drew Dowdell no V6 is a NO GO for me.

I think Ford missed the Boat, they could have cleaned up with a modern Mini Pickup that offered all these configs. I do believe that many people especially in the City want a mini pickup for their various projects.

The current international Ranger (the T6 dates back to MY 2011) isn't offered with a  V6 in any market that I can see...maybe they would have had to do costly platform re-engineeering to offer a V6...time will tell whether no V6 is a good or bad idea...

I think saying no V6 is a deal killer is a bit extreme.   Isn't the point of small trucks for people that don't want/need a full size, and economy. The "mini" truck market killed itself when they all got so darn porky the line between full size and small became blurred. It became a comparison between near economy and size of the big brother for about the same price. I'd say at best the small trucks are midsize to large compared to what the popular small trucks used to be.

So isn't the real question, is the Ranger going to offer economy in both efficiency and value for those that don't want/need a full size?

On that note, I'd also love to see speachal edition performance options like days gone by. But that's not the bread and butter of this particular market. 

Well, this Ranger is a midsize, though, which are usually V6...definitely not as small as the old Ranger. This is Colorado/Canyon sized. 

It's funny, I just realized the simple, clean front of the Ranger matches up more with the 2019 Ram than the overwrought dreck of the F series and Super Duty front ends....similar light clusters and grille shape to the Ram. 

11 hours ago, ocnblu said:

Here's an STX FX4 4X4, based on the XL... I mean, it looks plenty sporty to me, except I'd want the Supercab for the more usable bed length.  And YES, it is a shame Ford won't sell the regular cab here.

I love that color....and I was hoping they would follow the trims of the f-150 somewhat. It's pretty much all I need in a truck....

10 hours ago, dfelt said:

Yet many DO NOT need a Full size or Mid Size truck. This is a great looking truck with plenty of great options, but like @Drew Dowdell no V6 is a NO GO for me.

I think Ford missed the Boat, they could have cleaned up with a modern Mini Pickup that offered all these configs. I do believe that many people especially in the City want a mini pickup for their various projects.

If it still has the get up and go it needs and can do light towing, I am more than fine with that....