2024 Ford Ranger vs. the Competition

Midsize trucks are a tricky thing, manufacturers try to balance features like towing capacity, bed size, and a spacious interior with a lower cost and more practical size than a full-size pickup. The Ford Ranger has been an exceptionally good example of this for many years, and while there have always been competitors, more have been popping up in recent years. With competition so fierce, it’s worth taking a look at how these competitors measure up.

We’re going to start with the expected comparison, the Chevrolet Colorado. Chevrolet midsize trucks have long been the Ranger’s chief competitor, and there really are quite a few similarities between the two. But there are differences, important ones, nonetheless. In base form, the Ranger comes with more power. There is an optional engine for the Colorado that bumps those numbers up, but there are two optional power plants for the Ranger, and when it comes to available power, the Ranger is again way out in front. The Ranger has a slightly bigger bed, mostly due to it being wider. It also has a more sophisticated 10-speed transmission, which allows the Ranger to offer both more power and better fuel economy.

The Colorado can be optioned to have a towing capacity much closer to the Ranger, but it needs to be noted that it will cost you extra to outfit for this, while every trim of the Ranger has the same 7,500-pound towing capacity except for the race-ready Raptor, which can still out-tow the base Colorado, despite not being built with towing as its primary purpose. The Ranger shares a platform with the offroad-focused Bronco, so it should come as no surprise that it offers a bit more ground clearance than the Colorado. What might be more surprising is the differences in standard equipment. A remote-locking tailgate is nice to have, but things like LED headlights and cruise control are the sorts of things that you’d probably think of as extremely basic features by this point, especially for a vehicle that was so recently redesigned. Chevrolet has been ruthless when it comes to cost-cutting, which is the sort of thing that might be appealing if it meant better savings, but as it is, it’s a small savings that comes with big disadvantages.

Next up is a popular option among unibody trucks, the Honda Ridgeline. The Ridgeline is a bit pricier, so we’ve moved up to the XLT trim of the Ranger, and included the price of 4WD, since AWD comes standard on the Honda. The Ridgeline offers a bit more horsepower, but a lot less torque, which is a major disadvantage when it comes to trucks. Additionally, if you’re looking for more power, the Ranger is the only one of the two that offers the option. And in base form, that torque advantage also comes with a fuel economy advantage. The Ranger also comes with a much larger bed, and a considerably higher towing capacity.

Inside, you’ll find a much more comfortable front seat in the Ranger, thanks to the more than two and a half extra inches of legroom. Pickups rarely offer particularly impressive stereo systems as standard equipment, so a look at the premium offers is what tells you how much thought a given manufacturer has put into the idea. The stock infotainment screen in the Ranger is bigger than the one in the Ridgeline, but that difference grows if you opt for the available 12-inch screen. And lastly, we can see a reminder that the Ridgeline we’re comparing is the base model, without heated and power-folding side mirrors, whereas the mirrors on the Ranger do both.

Something a bit different for this last comparison. Jeep makes a midsize pickup as well, based on the Wrangler offroader. You might be thinking that this is an odd comparison, but the Ranger shares a platform with the Bronco offroader, so the two are more similar than they might first appear. The Gladiator is expensive though, so we’re matching the mid-range Mojave trim of the Gladiator against the Ranger’s top offroad/performance trim, the Raptor. Both vehicles come with a lot of offroad prowess, a full set of skid plates, excellent ground clearance, and so on, but the Raptor scores an incredibly easy win in the performance department. The Raptor has a few additional offroad advantages that might surprise you, given the Gladiator’s price. For one, the 4x4 system in the Raptor is full-time, something that is available for the Gladiator, but only at an extra cost. Same story with the steel bumpers, front and back. The Raptor also has a more sophisticated suspension system. Both vehicles use Fox shock absorbers, but the Live Valve setup in the Raptor allows it to better adapt to changing conditions quickly.

The Raptor has a tiger turning circle than the Gladiator, which is an extremely useful thing to have when you need it. And since you’re presumably looking at either the Ranger or the Gladiator instead of the Bronco or Wrangler because you want it to be able to do actual truck stuff, you should know that the Ranger is a clear winner here too. While other trims of the Ranger might have higher towing and payload capacities, the Raptor delivers maximum performance, maximum offroad ability, and still maintains a solid advantage over the Gladiator. And lastly, the Gladiator comes with manually adjustable cloth seats. In this price range, leather and power-adjustable seats just seem like they should be standard equipment. At least Ford thinks so.