Latest in Ranger

About Ranger

The Ford Ranger leads a double life. In North America it is the midsize pickup slotted between the small Maverick and the full-size F-150; in much of the rest of the world, from Australia to South Africa to Europe, it is the main event, one of Ford's best-selling vehicles and the truck that took the fight to the Toyota Hilux. The current generation was engineered largely in Australia, and versions for the United States are built in Michigan, while global trucks come from plants in Thailand and South Africa.

America's original Ranger arrived in the early 1980s as a compact, cheap and nearly indestructible truck, and it lived a long life before Ford dropped it in the U.S. in 2011, leaving a generation of fans to grumble. The name returned to American showrooms for 2019 using the global truck, and the latest generation followed with sharper styling, better interiors and a long-awaited Ranger Raptor, whose twin-turbo V6 and long-travel suspension make it a midsize desert runner.

The midsize class is crowded with tough opponents: the Toyota Tacoma, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, the Nissan Frontier and, abroad, the Hilux, Isuzu D-Max and a rising wave of Chinese pickups. Reports indicate Ford plans to spread a twin-turbo V6 beyond the Raptor in coming Rangers, and overseas markets have added a plug-in hybrid. Not everything has gone smoothly: recent recalls covered blank central displays traced to a supplier, and Australian trucks have had campaigns of their own.

Ranger news arrives from several continents at once. American coverage centers on the Michigan-built truck, its engines, the Raptor and comparison tests against the Tacoma and Colorado, while Australian and European outlets follow the plug-in hybrid, the local recalls and the tightening contest with Chinese utes. Add the overland builds, accessory catalogs and long-distance road trips that make this truck a favorite among people who actually go places, and the Ranger's story rarely sits still for long.