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.

Trucking Royalty: The 2017 Ford F-150 4x4 SuperCrew King Ranch

The 2017 Ford F-150 4X4 SuperCrew King Ranch.

Ford hit a home run when it whipped up the deal at the turn of the millennium with the folks at King Ranch.  The number one truck in America got a model named after the largest ranch in Texas.  Back in 2000, when manufacturers were truly beginning to grasp that size mattered when it came to pickup trucks, and that nothing succeeded like excess, introducing a King Ranch edition was a stroke of genius.

Fast-forward nearly two decades and the only thing that has changed is that the taste of the American pickup-buying public has grown more voracious.  The King Ranch is now in the middle of the F-150 lineup (if you remove the off-road Raptor and the work-truck XL), with the XLT and Lariat below and the Platinum and Limited above.

A Little Bit Extra: The 2017 Ford F-150 4x4 SuperCrew Platinum

2017 Ford F-150 4X4 SuperCrew Platinum

Pickup trucks have become all about the extras.  Humble two-door standard cabs do not cut it anymore, except as work trucks for public utilities.  No, a privately-owned pickup truck today has to be a pickup truck, a performance vehicle, a luxury vehicle and, ideally, bigger, glitzier and more expensive than the neighbor's pickup truck.

4x4 Status Symbol: The 2016 Ford F-150 4x4 SuperCrew Lariat

The 2016 Ford F-150 4x4 SuperCrew Lariat.

Those of us old enough to remember when a Lincoln in the driveway was the sign you had arrived are rapidly becoming a minority.  It has been a while.  And the new expression of that status, especially here in the Desert Southwest, is a truck.  An expensive truck.

Ford F-150 Supercrew Lariat Review

If you were wondering why Lincoln chose to discontinue building the Mark LT pickup this year, meet the reason:

The Ford F-150 4X4 Supercrew Lariat.

A fact fewer and fewer people seem to know: Full-size pickup trucks can be fairly cheap. A base Ford F-150 XL standard cab starts at $20,815.

But not this one. Base price: $37,990. And the Ford PR folks slathered on more than eight grand worth of options (special color metallic paint, limited slip axle, navigation, a chrome step bar, moonroof, the Lariat Plus package, 20 inch aluminum wheels, a trailer brake controller and heated and cooled leather captain's chairs) for a bottom line before discounts of $46,195.

Thank goodness for the $1,000 Lariat premium discount...it's really only $45,195.

Incredibly, the Lariat isn't the top of the line...meaning $45,195 isn't all the money you can spend for a Ford truck. The King Ranch edition starts about six grand higher than the Lariat base price...and the Platinum goes $1600 above the King Ranch.

Meaning you can break $50,000 here.

Mileage? Well, rent a car to go to the Sierra Club meetings. The EPA says 14 city/18 highway.

So...given all that, how is it?

If you want a full-size, four-door truck loaded like only Lincoln Town Cars used to be (and more tasefully at that)...and it appears that's exactly how truck buyers like them these days, then this is the one.

At least, I think. It's definitely one-upped the Chevy Silverado. There's also a new Dodge Ram pickup for 2009, but Chrysler pulled it out of the Phoenix press fleet a few weeks before my scheduled week in it. Will we see one again? If you know the answer, a courtesy call to the UAW workers biting their nails over Mopar's future would be nice.

                                                           

Keep your gear dry with a Ford F150 tonneau cover from AmericanTrucks.