2024 Ford Ranger Arrives in US With New Look, More Engines, 405-HP Raptor Trim
The midsize pickup segment gets another surge with the new Ranger, which packs an optional 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6.
If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the 2024 Ford Ranger’s arrival in the United States, then good news: It’s here. Not a moment too soon, either, as it’s set to fight the new Chevy Colorado as well as the next-gen Toyota Tacoma in the midsize truck segment. It rides on an updated version of Ford’s T6 platform and offers an optional 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 this time around, as well as a long-awaited Ranger Raptor variant with a 3.0-liter EcoBoost that makes 405 horsepower.
This truck’s design is noticeably different from the existing Ranger’s because it’s more closely modeled after the F-Series. Those C-clamp headlights are a callback to the F-150, as is the Ranger’s horizontal grille bar. It’s intentionally more muscular than before, at least in part because it was designed with North America in mind. The Ranger that’s been sold here since 2019 is a carryover from the global market; this one is too, but Ford always planned on bringing it stateside.
That also played a part in the 2024 Ranger’s engine options, which now mirror the Bronco’s exactly. The 2.3-liter EcoBoost is still the standard engine making 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque—the same as before. However, you can now spec any non-Raptor Ranger with the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6 that produces 315 hp and 400 lb-ft. Anyone daring enough to get the top-shelf Raptor will be glad they did thanks to the 3.0-liter EcoBoost that makes 405 hp and 430 lb-ft, but that truck deserves its own blog, so I wrote one.
No manual transmission is available as every 2024 Ranger powertrain includes the 10-speed automatic.
As expected, the pickup’s T6 platform is reworked but not all-new. In talking with the 2024 Ranger’s chief engineer Juan De Peña, he called it the “T6+.” It features a slightly longer wheelbase as well as a wider track, with its suspension dampers mounted outboard of the frame rail. Our version of the Ranger is available exclusively as a crew cab.
With its updated architecture, the 2024 Ranger’s towing capacity tops out at 7,500 pounds. That figure can be achieved with either the 2.3-liter turbo four or the 2.7-liter turbo V6, though its best-in-class max payload of 1,805 pounds is only possible with the smaller engine and two-wheel drive. Handily, Ford has also made it to where a four-foot sheet of plywood can fit between the wheel wells and be accessed by an available integrated bed step.
While all these mechanical tweaks are welcomed, people who plan to drive a 2024 Ranger every day will be just as interested in the truck’s cabin. The outgoing pickup was designed in the middle of the last decade and it showed; this one is more modern with a standard digital gauge cluster and a larger, vertical infotainment screen that maxes out at 12 inches diagonally. And because it’s wider, Ford was able to make more room inside as well. It's still pretty plain in lower trims, but that's not always bad.
The 2024 Ranger outdoes the competition with its driver-assist tech more than anything else. Blue Cruise hands-free driving still isn’t available here, but Pro Trailer Backup Assist is for the first time. It also has a trailer-friendly Blindspot Information System, adaptive cruise with stop and go, and Active Park Assist when spec’d appropriately. The rig’s 360-degree camera system is something you’ll want if you plan on off-roading—or parking anywhere with limited space.
You’ve got until late summer to save up for the 2024 Ranger, which starts at $34,160 for the base XL model and goes up from there. The Ranger Raptor will cost significantly more at $56,960, though it’s still the most affordable Raptor on sale. We’ll know if it’s worth that kind of scratch when we get to drive it a little later in the year.
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