The 2019 Ford Ranger comes with only one powertrain option: a small 2.3-liter turbocharged four cylinder mated to a ten-speed automatic. And while we’ve already established in our review that it makes plenty of power, what we really needed to know is if the Ranger can rip donuts, and if so, how good are the donuts? Here we have an answer; the donuts are delicious.
A friend sent me this video the other day, posted to Facebook by Maxlider Motors, a company that restores old Ford Broncos and F100s. The video’s caption reads: “This is for those folks who say the 2019 Ford Motor Company Ranger has no power with a 2.3L 4-cylinder!”:
The donuts are USDA Prime Choice, Grade A quality, and I say this as a certified connoisseur of the delicacy. They’re nice and tight, which is awesome, because quite a few modern cars’ donut-baking abilities are stymied by the dreaded, but also life saving technology that is over-intrusive electronic stability control, which Maxlider told me over text was turned off for this video.
The company’s representative also said that the vehicle in the video is bone stock aside from the leveling kit with Fox coilovers and wheels and tires.
Clearly that little turbo four has enough grunt to break the tires loose even on pavement, so in mud—which is where most trucks belong, if we’re honest—this thing could probably sling some thick gobs tens of feet into the air without issue.
Granted, there are lots of trucks out there that can do that, but the point here is that the brand new Ranger isn’t one of the sad ones that will leave you looking like a fool as you try to join your friends for some 360-degree hooliganism in your local field or suburban strip mall parking lot.
It’s also worth mentioning that Maxlider told me it’s working on becoming a Ford Ranger upfitter, and is planning on having Ford dealers stock its truck, whose rendering you can see above. It looks beefy and mean, which is in these days, I guess.