2026 Ford Ranger XL: Excellent value

As the current darling of the lifestyle pickup crowd, Ford hopes to reassert its original image as the working man’s choice with the commercial buyer-friendly XL trim of the Ranger.

By focusing on necessities at this edge of the market, Ford is able to bring the Ranger in at a rather competitive price point.

It may be a starting point, but the Ranger XL does its best to avoid that United Nations poverty specification look. It’s not rolling around on steel wheels, as you do get rims. All the bumpers are body colour, but the niceties from the upper trims, such as the factory roll bar and tonneau cover, aren’t there, which is a potential positive for a section of the target demographic. Also gone are the C-shaped daytime running lights, for a more LED-powered standard setup.