2025 Ford Ranger

Inside, the Ranger has a pleasantly forgettable dash. The base 10.1-inch touchscreen can be swapped out for a bigger 12.0-inch setup; either way, it’s mounted vertically and it absorbs most conventional controls. A handful of buttons and knobs for the climate and audio systems sit below. Ford’s a bit stingy about color combos inside, too, and no model wears the imaginative surface textures that you’ll find in the Tacoma and Frontier. 

The Raptor is by far the most capable version. It has a taller suspension with Fox shocks at all four corners, plus 17-inch alloy wheels wearing all-terrain tires. It adds a locking front differential, too. These models manage to ride and handle the best of the pack thanks in part to rear coil springs rather than the leaf springs employed on all other trims. They lack the sports car-grade acceleration of the most powerful F-150 Raptors, but these mini-dinos are still plenty fun to drive. 

How fast is the Ford Ranger?

The base 2.3-liter turbo-4 puts out 270 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, which is more than sufficient for most light-duty needs. Aided by a responsive 10-speed automatic transmission, it’ll zip to 60 mph in around 7.0 seconds. A hint of turbo lag away from a stop can be exacerbated by the gearbox’s occasional confusion in sorting through the lowest two or three cogs, which makes it somewhat hard to move away from a stop smoothly. 

We’ve yet to drive the available 2.7-liter turbo-4, which puts out 315 hp and 400 lb-ft of torque. It’s optional on XLT and Lariat trims. 

Rangers can tow up to 7,500 pounds (except for Raptors, which are rated for 5,510 pounds), but you’ll have to order the factory Trailer Tow Package to net that figure. That package includes a trailer hitch and a wiring harness. Upgraded versions of that package add a trailer brake controller and a system that lets you use a dial on the center console to back up a trailer as though you’re using a computer game. There’s also a tow/haul mode. 

We recently towed about 5,000 pounds with a base Ranger XL and found it to be a confident hauler. Rangers offer a maximum payload rating of 1,805 pounds, though models with four-wheel drive are rated to lug about 90 pounds less. 

Underneath, most versions of the Ranger have an independent front suspension and a leaf-sprung solid axle out back. This setup furnishes a firm but comfortable enough ride, even when the pickup bed is completely empty (though there is some rear bounding typical of pickups). While the electric power steering has little in the way of road feel, it's direct and it centers itself nicely, which helps give the Ranger a somewhat nimble feel for a pickup truck. 

Base XL models have no shortage of hard, thin plastics lining the dash and door panels. XLT models toss in the occasional stitched and padded surface, but there’s nothing fancy here. Rangers we’ve driven have had so-so fit and finish, too. 

Out back, the 5-foot bed is fairly wide, which means it can easily accommodate plywood sheets. Ford will happily add drop-in or spray-in bedliners, LED lighting, and a power outlet—for an extra cost.  All but the base XL also have steps integrated into the bed to allow for easier loading and unloading.

Both the standard 10.1-inch touchscreen and the available 12.0-inch unit have the same software, which is easy to sort through. In our experience, the software can be quite laggy, however.

Which Ford Ranger should I buy?

Hold on tight. Simply adding four-wheel drive ups the price of a base XL by a staggering $3,645. Bolt on a trailer hitch, swap out vinyl floors for carpets, and spray in a bedliner, and Ford will want nearly $40,000 for one. 

We think the better buy here is the XLT with its upgraded interior trim, tinted windows, blind-spot monitors, parking sensors, and wider range of options, though even then you’ll need to budget around $45,000 if you want a four-wheel-drive one with power-adjustable and heated front seats, automatic climate control, a 12.0-inch touchscreen, adaptive cruise control, and a surround-view camera system. 

Figure closer to $50,000 by the time you’ve added some of those features to the Lariat with its leather upholstery and push-button start. That’s right: it takes stepping up to the top trim level to ditch the switchblade-like key.  

How much is a fully loaded Ford Ranger?

The Raptor is in a league of its own at $57,315, though mercifully these models come with just about everything Ford can bolt onto a Ranger. 

Raptors are guzzlers. They get just 16/18/17 mpg by 2024 ratings.