Ford is well-known for making some of the best pickup trucks on the market. Recently, Ford has revived the Ford Ranger in order to compete in the midsize truck segment. With that said, the 2020 Ford Ranger may not be worth the expensive asking price that Ford has for it.

What’s good about the 2020 Ford Ranger

According to Carfax, the 2020 Ranger has some nifty features, especially in the trim that Carfax tested. Carfax drove around in the Lariat trim with four-wheel drive and the Supercrew option. Overall, the Ranger that Carfax tested was valued at $45,000 when the destination fee is included. In comparison, the regular Ranger starts at about $24,000. 

In any case, one of the best things about spending that much money on the Ranger was its interior. Like Carfax said, the Ranger’s interior was simply great. The seats were nice and spacious, the materials that Ford used were also soft and luxurious, and of course, the infotainment system inside the truck was pretty great as well.

The Ranger’s infotainment system is Ford’s SYNC 3, which, when compared to the infotainment systems on other Ford models that Carfax tested, actually worked well. On top of that, Carfax wrote that Ford’s physical controls were also good. That said, other than these things, Carfax didn’t have many other nice things to say about the 2020 Ranger.

What’s bad about the 2020 Ford Ranger

While it’s true that the Ranger’s interior is pretty great, Carfax still had plenty of complaints when it comes to the truck’s interior. For example, despite being a $45,000 truck, the Ranger’s seats didn’t even have a powered recliner. This meant that, if you want to recline with your seats, you’d have to use the lever. While this isn’t a big deal for most truck lovers, it really shows where Ford’s priorities are. 

Furthermore, the Ranger has other things that make it less comfortable than it ought to be despite having such a nice interior. For example, the running boards on the Ranger are placed in such a way that Carfax said that you’d have a better chance of hitting your shin than actually getting into the truck. 

Even when you’re in the truck, the comfort level in the Ranger is skin deep. Simply said, the truck’s engine experiences a lot of turbo lag that makes it rough to drive. And, ike Carfax wrote, “It’s got a really rough ride.” A rough ride isn’t unexpected from a truck, but once again, this was a $45,000 truck that Carfax drove, yet the ride was still very rough. 

Plus, the Ranger experiences a lot of handling issues, even despite the fact that it’s a smaller truck than the F-150 is. Handling issues aren’t uncommon for a truck either, but it’s another bad thing about driving in a Ranger. Lastly, Ford didn’t change much from the 2019 model year. While that’s not surprising, it also means that the 2020 Ranger isn’t that much different from the 2019 Ranger.

Why the 2020 Ford Ranger simply isn’t worth the money

Like Carfax’s gripe about the powered reclining seats showed, Ford seems to be skimping out on the higher end trims of the Ranger. Other cars and trucks, even those that are less expensive than the Ranger that Carfax tested, could come with powered reclining seats. 

Yet Ford, for one reason or another, chose not to have them in the 2020 Ranger. This fact, along with the other comfort issues that the Ranger has, shows that it’s really not worth paying the premium for the truck. A more basic trim of the Ranger may be worth the money, but if you want premium features, you’re better off buying a different truck entirely.