Ford Ranger Packages Aim for Off-Roadability, but There's Power to Be Had, Too

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

If you’re in the market for a midsize pickup and possess an irresistible urge to tackle the worst terrain you can find, chances are the most rugged variants of Chevy’s Colorado and Toyota’s Tacoma top your list of maybes. Ford would like a word.

The Ranger didn’t enter the segment with the brawniest hardware in tow, but the passage of time has a way of correcting mistakes (if you want to look at it that way). On Tuesday, the Blue Oval debuted a trio of packages designed to deliver more off-road capability — and even power. Raptor Lite?

Apparently, Ranger buyers bought, on average, $650 worth of accessories in 2019, so Ford opted to give them more choice. These packages cost way more than that, but they’re not just appearance-only frills.

Nor does the EPA need to know about them.

The dealer-installed Ford Performance Level 1, 2, and 3 packages all contain a leveling kit (one assumes a 2-inch lift in the front, like with the ROUSH kit already favored by some owners), beefy monotube FOX shocks (tuned by Ford Performance) front and rear, 17-inch Dyno Grey wheels, and look-at-me Ford Performance graphics. That’s all you’ll get on the $2,495 entry package, but the other levels dial up the noise.

Level 2 brings a power upgrade for the standard 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder, bumping output to 315 horsepower and 370 lb-ft of torque (up from 270 hp and 310 lb-ft), with tow hooks, off-road fog lights, and chunkier BFGoodrich KO2 265/70 R17 tires tossed in the mix. Minus the rugged add-ons, it’s reminiscent of the EcoBoost Mustang’s High Performance Package. Price tag: $4,495.

Moving up to Level 3 ensures the most stares, as the package adds all the aforementioned kit, plus a 40-inch LED lightbar (make sure you have this on at all times, to ensure urban safety), red tow hooks, a winch-capable front bumper, a performance exhaust courtesy of Ford Performance, and a chase rack for that Mad Max vibe. Prepare to spend, as all of these goodies carry a cost of $8,995.

Blue Oval fanatics might just feel such expenditure is necessary to rival various ZR2s and TRD Pros. It’s worth noting, too, that these packages can be added to all existing 2019 Rangers, as well as new buys.

If this thing turns your crank, Level 1 and 2 packages will be available come August, but the full-tilt Level 3 won’t be along until next summer. That’s a drag.

[Image: Ford]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Lou_BC Lou_BC on Jun 30, 2020

    A leveling kit is useless. You carry any gear and the back end squats. This is just a street queen appearance package. Where are the lockers and skid plates?

    • DenverMike DenverMike on Jun 30, 2020

      I sense there's a real Raptor II coming up. So this is just an appetizer. Yeah for girls only. With the 2.7TT V6 too, I hear. A real animal. But 2 inch blocks in the rear are just as easy (to do) as a "leveling kit". With enough lift (not too much), plus slightly bigger tires, it avoids a lot of belly scrapes.

  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Jun 30, 2020

    Meh I'll just take an XLT crew cab 4x4 with the "tune". Oh and some steps, my 5'3" wife bought steps for my old 4x2 F150 when we were seriously dating because she felt she needed assistance to get in.

  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
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