Rough Rider: The 2020 Ford Ranger Supercrew 4X4 Lariat

The 2020 Ford Ranger Supercrew 4X4 Lariat.

Ford, which has owned the full-size pickup world with its F-150 for decades,  returned to the midsize pickup segment last year with the first new Ranger truck in seven years.  And while it's already caught up to Chevy's Colorado, which had a re-boot five years ago, it's still selling roughly half as well as the leading midsize, the Toyota Tacoma, which got its last major re-do in 2016.

We reviewed the 2019 Ranger XLT Supercab a year ago,  That was a fairly basic model---one trim level above base, two wheel-drive, with two doors.  This time around, we're in a very different Ranger---The Supercrew 4X4 Lariat---which means four doors, four wheel drive and the top of the line.

Under the hood, this Ranger is packing the same powertrain as the one we drove last year---the 2.3-liter Ecoboost four-cylinder with 270 horsepower and 310 pounds-per-foot of torque and a ten-speed automatic transmission.  It's plenty powerful and the EPA fuel economy estimate is 20 miles per gallon city/24 highway---believable numbers by our experience.

While it's fast, it's also one of the roughest rides in our memory.  We didn't have the chance to take the Ranger off-roading, but on what are usually smooth city streets and freeways, there's a bouncing, bucking motion that won't settle down at seemingly any speed.  Given that there doesn't seem to be any dedicated off-road suspension bits and that the two-wheel drive Ranger was a smooth ride, this may have been something specific to our tester.  Keep it in mind if you go for a test drive.

The 2020 Ford Ranger Supercrew 4X4 Lariat's base price is $38.675, and for that money, you get a very well-equipped truck, including an 18-gallon fuel tank, LED fog lamps, leather-trimmed heated  eight-way power front bucket seats, a 4G wi-fi hotspot, remote keyless entry, auto stop and start, blind spot information with rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping and pre-collision assist, reverse sensing and rear view camera, tire pressure monitoring and an anti-theft alarm.

Our tester came with $7,435 worth of extra-cost options, including an upgraded Bang & Olufsen 10-speaker audio system, navigation, and remote start, adaptive cruise control, a hard folding tonneau cover, a keyless keypad on the doors, a trailer towing package, an off-road package and the black appearance package.  In fact, the Rapid Red Metallic tinted clearcoat paint was also an extra-cost option.

Add it all up, fold in $1,195 destination and delivery charge and the bottom line on the window sticker reads $47,305, which is right in line with a similarly loaded Tacoma. 

My only misgiving about the Ranger is the ride.  If that was a peculiarity of our specific tester, you'll see raves about this stylish, well-equipped and very quick truck the next time we review one.