The 2023 Ford Ranger is the latest iteration of Blue Oval’s popular midsize pickup. The Ranger is competitive, but is it the best new midsize truck for the money? Here’s why there are better options on the market.
The 2023 Ford Ranger Doesn’t Have the Smoothest Ride
The 2023 Ford Ranger is a typical midsize pickup truck. It can tow and has decent hauling capacity, but the ride quality leaves a lot to be desired for many drivers. edmunds claims the new Ranger has a “disturbing ride” on certain types of pavement. The Ford Ranger is neither refined nor rugged. The midsize truck exists somewhere between refined and rugged.
The Toyota Tacoma is a popular midsize truck that is often praised for its off-road capability. It may handle better off-road than a Ford Ranger, but it doesn’t make for the best daily driver. The Honda Ridgeline is the polar opposite of the Toyota Tacoma. It’s a refined midsize pickup known for its smooth ride quality.
So if you’re looking for off-road capability or a smooth ride, there are better options on the market than the 2023 Ford Ranger. Having a decent ride quality is important to many truck buyers, especially those who intend to use a new truck as daily driver. The Honda Ridgeline is one of the few trucks in its class that features a one-piece design, so it rides much smoother than its competition.
The Ford Ranger’s infotainment system could be better
The infotainment systems have become the focal point of the cabins due to technological advances such as touch screens, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and new functions that are selected through the screen. As a result, some car manufacturers pay special attention to developing exciting, easy-to-use infotainment systems.
Brands compete to create the most attractive and advanced systems, and some fall short of the competition. The Blue Oval may produce some big workhorses, but the infotainment systems aren’t necessarily a strong suit for some of the automaker’s most popular nameplates.
The 2023 Ford Ranger’s infotainment system isn’t the simplest in its segment. Since this system is a part of the vehicle that thousands of drivers will interact with on a daily basis, the Ranger loses some nice points for its difficulty to use. Ford has clearly been upgrading its infotainment systems on newer nameplates like the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Ford F-150 Lightning.
That said, the nameplate on the new Ford Maverick small pickup also includes an infotainment system that seems lackluster, even for such an affordable pickup.
There are midsize trucks that last longer than the Ford Ranger
The 2023 Ford Ranger should be able to last 200,000 miles. That equates to about 14 years of ownership based on the average annual driving range. The average new vehicle only keeps around 8.4 years, so the Ranger is reliable enough for most drivers.
That being said, there are other midsize trucks on the market that are known for their longevity. The Toyota Tacoma is capable of lasting 17 to 21 years when well maintained. In fact, one Tacoma owner managed to rack up over 1,000,000 miles.
Getting a 2023 Toyota Tacoma doesn’t guarantee a long period of ownership, but Toyota’s midsize pickup has a long history of reliability. It’s one of the few midsize trucks that can appreciate over time because of the value it offers. The 2023 Ford Ranger is a competitive midsize pickup truck, but it’s not the best in its vehicle segment.