2024 Ford Ranger Contender For 2025 MotorTrend Truck Of The Year

The redesigned 2024 Ford Ranger arrived in the U.S. a bit later than other parts of the world, but the all-new mid-size pickup has thus far impressed its fair share of reviewers and consumers. In fact, the Ford Ranger has already beaten the Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado in more than one comparison test since its launch, both of which were conducted by MotorTrend. Now, the 2024 Ford Ranger has the chance to do something that the all-new 2024 Lincoln Nautilus just did in terms of SUVs – win MotorTrend‘s 2025 Truck of the Year award.

The 2024 Ford Ranger has indeed made the cut as a contender for 2025 MotorTrend Truck of the Year, though it must beat out the Chevy Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Ram 1500, Rivian R1T, Tesla Cybertruck, and Toyota Tacoma, which are the other candidates for this particular honor.

“The all-new 2024 Ford Ranger has a leg up on other 2025 MotorTrend Truck of the Year entrants, the XLT version having already taken down the 2024 TOTY champ, Chevrolet’s Colorado (along with another TOTY ’25 entrant, the Toyota Tacoma) in a comparison test,” the rag said of its selection. “But the 2023 UAW strike kept the Ranger out of last year’s competition, and we thought this handsome midsize pickup truck deserved an orderly shot at the title.”

To determine the winner of its annual Truck of the Year award, MotorTrend uses six criteria – advancement in design, efficiency, engineering excellence, performance of intended function, safety, and value. This is a bit different than the typical comparison test, as each vehicle is judged based on these categories and not directly pitted against each other. Overall, MT is looking for attractive designs, refined interiors, superior miles-per-gallon or range, how well a vehicle is built, how well it performs compared to its intended purpose, various crash test and safety ratings, and of course, how much of a value a vehicle provides based on what it offers.