The Lariat uses a two-screen gauge cluster that’s ubiquitous in Fords but quite tidy and informative.

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Standout Features

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Photo: Andrew P Collins
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Just what I touched on already: The fact that it’s a nice-sized truck that’s just easy enough to live with to be a great daily driver for people who like pickups.

What’s Weak

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Photo: Andrew P Collins
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I had a feeling 10 forward gears might be too many, but who am I to question Ford’s wisdom in putting 10-speed automatics in every 2020 Ranger? I will, though. This truck’s transmission is way too clunky and busy at town traffic speeds. To hell with it.

The back seat, even in the four-door cab, is too small to be comfortably occupied by adults for any significant period of time. If you’re looking at buying a four-door Ranger with the intention of using the back seat a lot, make sure you check it out back there before committing.

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Safety

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Photo: Andrew P Collins
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The IIHS was generally pleased with the Ranger’s crash survivability but deemed the headlights and LATCH system (for securing car seats) “marginal.” That’s not great. I didn’t find the Lariat Ranger’s headlights to be noticeably crappy myself though.

The NHTSA gave the Ranger an overall safety rating of four out of five stars.

Braking felt adequate to me, though I can’t say I’d be super confident about taking the Ranger through high-speed panic swerving on account of its soft suspension and uncommunicative steering.

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Jalopnik Recommended Options

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Photo: Andrew P Collins
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I wrote a whole blog about how I’d spec my Ranger: A short-cab 4x4 base truck can be had for about $31,000. But after driving the Lariat, I’d be tempted to take advantage of the better trim’s heated seats and nicer gauge cluster.

Most people will buy the four-door, but honestly, I wouldn’t bother. Even with Lariat leather, the back seat sucks to sit in. It’s just too cramped back there, at which point, you might as well just accept the fact that you’ve got a two-seat vehicle and opt for the bigger bed. You’ll still have mini seats in the SuperCab if you need to haul a couple of extra asses for a short distance.

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The FX4 package with a locking rear differential, skid plates, inclinometer, and terrain management system, seems like a great deal on its own at about $1,300, but if you’re not ordering it on the Lariat you’ve got to bundle it with some expensive luxury features.

If you’ve got even more money to burn, check out the Ford Performance packages that can net you extra HP and off-road capability. (We’ll be running a. review of a Ranger equipped with the Level 3 off-road loadout on some proper dirt tracks in the near future.)

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You can’t go wrong with the color choices, regardless. Especially if you pick Race Red or Lightning Blue.

Class And Competition

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Besides used vehicles, the 2020 Ranger’s closest rivals in America are the Toyota Tacoma, Honda Ridgeline, Chevy Colorado, Jeep Gladiator, and Nissan Frontier.

The Gladiator barely counts because, as a pickup truck with a removable roof and doors, it’s kind of in a class by itself. The Tacoma feels more truck-like, the Ridgeline feels more car-like (and is objectively the best “truck” for daily driving for that reason), while the Colorado (and GMC Canyon) really are quite similar to the Ranger.

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The logical followup is, of course, “Colorado or Ranger?” I personally prefer the Ranger’s styling and turbo engine over the Chevy’s slothful V6, which claims more power than the Ford’s I4 EcoBoost but feels slower. I did find the Colorado’s transmission to be smoother and I love, love, the ultra-plush ride of the ZR2. I haven’t driven one since the hi-po Chev was brand-new and I still think about it to relax sometimes.

The 2020 Frontier finally has a new engine for the first time in about a decade and is supposed to be getting a whole new design soon, but the outgoing model is a little less refined than Ford’s offering.

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Verdict

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The new Ranger’s not a particularly exceptional vehicle but I can’t deny that I really enjoyed driving it. It just felt good and stout, and after a couple of days with it, I just got the vibe that I was in my truck. High praise for a loaner vehicle, I reckon.

Its claimed capabilities are impressive and its creature comforts are decent. I think it’d make a fine work-and-play vehicle you could enjoy for a long time.

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More Pictures

There’s a big batch of pictures of the new-for-2019 U.S. Ford Ranger on Netcarshow, which looks the same as the 2020 model so you should be able to find any detail shots I might have missed in there. Or, you could look at Ford’s big batch of Ranger pics on its media site.

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Meanwhile, here are the rest of my shots from my road test:

2020 Ford Ranger XL 2WD SuperCab Pickup Box Delete Specs
Price starting at
$23,387
Horsepower
270 @ 5500
Torque
310 @ 3000
Displacement
2.3 L/140
Engine type
Intercooled Turbo Regular Unleaded I-4
Transmission/Drive
Automatic w/OD
Curb weight
3922 lbs