Downgraded Ranger Lariat

[WsDesmond]

I'm liking my ranger so far but Ford can suck a D. I stepped away from them for a while because their quality took a $hit. Decided to give them a try again and the amount they charge for a ranger lariat with what you don't get nowadays is BS. You don't even get close to fake leather anymore and no cooled seats. Thats just the beginning. Penny pinching bastards.

I’m with u 100%.
When I walked in the dealership with my 19 Ranger, I felt exactly the same way.
Even with the same features, ford tried to cut corners.
they give u soft touch material on the door, and then removed the nicely finished soft dashboard. Hell, even the plastics felt thinner/flimsy. Not gonna even mention all the features they removed which make a lariat a real lariat.

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[WsDesmond]

I hate that people feel that bad buying a new truck. I was salty too, no vented seats, no AWD, no AC in the rear felt like cost cutting to me, too. But I'm happy with the Ranger. I installed Openpilot and none of the other midsizers except the not-a-real truck Ridgeline can do it. And the Ridgeline doesn't have vented seats either.

Me too, and being one of those people, the longer I’m waiting to pick up my new truck the more regret I feel.
The only reason left to back up my move is the time bomb inside the transmission of my 19 Ranger.
Hopefully this sadness will go away when I actually get the new truck.

 

[jdmarler]

I was on the verge of buying a lariat. I told myself I don't need the Raptor because I don't do any off-roading. Plus mpg is bad. Well anyway I test drove the lariat and noticed what people are talking about. It was nice but not great. Then they had the ranger raptor next to it. It just had everything. The electronic package, sprayed on bed line. Advanced towing package. I already started paperwork on the lariat but then wife suggested getting numbers on the Raptor because it was just better. With trade in, it brought the monthly payments down. So went with the Raptor. Mpg im getting probably around 16. But damn the interior was way nicer than the Lariat. Doesn't feel cheap to me.
They did delete some stuff on the 26 like the side mirror turn lights. But I didn't have it on my 21 so Its not really that big of a deal. Although it is annoying they did that. It does have projector leds though. Im very happy with it.

 

[surfstar]

If it makes people feel better, Tacomas are even more expensive, mpg still not great with a hybrid even, lower payload, fake leather, poor towing tech, and no memory seats at all.

Cross shopping, the Ranger was the better value (even assuming resale later on) for me at least.

 

[SLJ]

Ford does that with every generation/model/trim now. They start out with lots of bells and whistles and every year remove a few. Happened with my '21 Bronco Sport, then with my '23 Maverick, now with the Rangers. '25 looks to be the peak. It's all downhill from there.

 

[Max 57]

Hello everyone, just joined the Ranger 6g family. I own a 2019 Ranger Lariat(5G), and finally decided to trade it in for a 2026 last week. I love my 19 Ranger , it was built solid that I feel the build quality and material really justified the price back in the time. And I can tell that even more when I started to hunt for a 26 Ranger Lariat, by comparing the new trucks to my 19’s.
As the ford employee pricing is out in Canada, I finally pull the trigger on a 26 Lariat last week. I’m about to pick the new truck some time this week, and just learned that Ford went even cheaper by downgrade the headlight to a reflector on Lariat. The fake leather I can live with it, but I’m really hunted by these ancient looking reflectors.
I then start to check all local deals, and found something more interesting.
It seems that some of the 2026 Lariat actually equipped with the projector style headlights, and some are not. It almost feels like the assembly line accidentally put the xlt headlights on Lariat if that is even possible?
So far I have seen the lariats with reflector headlights were made before July, but I did find a couple of lariats with reflectors that was assembled in early July. And for sure the lariats with projector headlights are made from late June (as early as June 26). So I guess Ford now is not only going cheaper, but also doing mix and match?

yep the only way to get the performance leds are raptor they also removed the E shifter

 

[mrmike7189]

yep the only way to get the performance leds are raptor they also removed the E shifter

I've heard that the E shifter was garbage and you'd not want it anyways
But It is still sad that a top of the line model would get stripped of it's value every year.

I know Ford lost a fortune on Electric vehicles and the Lightning F150 really did them in.
Pay more for less

 

[josephp732]

Hello everyone, just joined the Ranger 6g family. I own a 2019 Ranger Lariat(5G), and finally decided to trade it in for a 2026 last week. I love my 19 Ranger , it was built solid that I feel the build quality and material really justified the price back in the time. And I can tell that even more when I started to hunt for a 26 Ranger Lariat, by comparing the new trucks to my 19’s.
As the ford employee pricing is out in Canada, I finally pull the trigger on a 26 Lariat last week. I’m about to pick the new truck some time this week, and just learned that Ford went even cheaper by downgrade the headlight to a reflector on Lariat. The fake leather I can live with it, but I’m really hunted by these ancient looking reflectors.
I then start to check all local deals, and found something more interesting.
It seems that some of the 2026 Lariat actually equipped with the projector style headlights, and some are not. It almost feels like the assembly line accidentally put the xlt headlights on Lariat if that is even possible?
So far I have seen the lariats with reflector headlights were made before July, but I did find a couple of lariats with reflectors that was assembled in early July. And for sure the lariats with projector headlights are made from late June (as early as June 26). So I guess Ford now is not only going cheaper, but also doing mix and match?

What's crazy looking up 2025 models (XLT vs Lariat) the replacement headlight cost is almost the same.

2025 Ranger headlights - Ford OEM List Prices

XLT –
Passenger: N1WZ-13008-DYLED Reflector $1,743.22
Driver: N1WZ-13008-DZLED Reflector $1,666.67

Lariat –
Passenger: N1WZ-13008-EALED Projector $1,666.67
Driver: N1WZ-13008-EBLED Projector $1,824.77

These are the 2025 Ranger OEM catalog listings, which specifically identify the DY/DZ assemblies as reflector type and EA/EB as projector type.

I guess Ford has some saving as the projector headlamp control module, ML3Z-13C788-A, $209.28 discounted / $426.67 MSRP isn't needed, but what can the total savings be for the full cost of goods for Ford? $125???

 

[hand-filer]

I've heard that the E shifter was garbage and you'd not want it anyways
But It is still sad that a top of the line model would get stripped of it's value every year.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the E shifter.

 

[CACTUSGREYFX4]

yep the only way to get the performance leds are raptor they also removed the E shifter

My 24 Lariat has the performance LED's and the E-shifter.

 

[daytoncarter]

Me too, and being one of those people, the longer I’m waiting to pick up my new truck the more regret I feel.
The only reason left to back up my move is the time bomb inside the transmission of my 19 Ranger.
Hopefully this sadness will go away when I actually get the new truck.

Sadness? Don't buy the truck that sounds crazy.

 

[daytoncarter]

I've heard that the E shifter was garbage and you'd not want it anyways
But It is still sad that a top of the line model would get stripped of it's value every year.

I know Ford lost a fortune on Electric vehicles and the Lightning F150 really did them in.
Pay more for less

I like how compact the e-shifter is but besides that it's definitely worse. If you do any real work in and out of the truck, opening the door, you don't want it slamming into park or having the e-shifter go to e-shit in a critical moment.

 

[daytoncarter]

What's crazy looking up 2025 models (XLT vs Lariat) the replacement headlight cost is almost the same.

2025 Ranger headlights - Ford OEM List Prices

XLT –
Passenger: N1WZ-13008-DYLED Reflector $1,743.22
Driver: N1WZ-13008-DZLED Reflector $1,666.67

Lariat –
Passenger: N1WZ-13008-EALED Projector $1,666.67
Driver: N1WZ-13008-EBLED Projector $1,824.77

These are the 2025 Ranger OEM catalog listings, which specifically identify the DY/DZ assemblies as reflector type and EA/EB as projector type.

I guess Ford has some saving as the projector headlamp control module, ML3Z-13C788-A, $209.28 discounted / $426.67 MSRP isn't needed, but what can the total savings be for the full cost of goods for Ford? $125???

Price didn't go up at all from 25->26 so you're getting 0% inflation but losing features.

 

[WsDesmond]

Sadness? Don't buy the truck that sounds crazy.

I would if I did pay attention to check the headlights before signing the paper.
Now it’s all done, and I’m about to pick up the truck.
It is absolutely 100% on me, but I honestly just did not expect Ford would get cheap on these features make lariat a real lariat. Alternatively, I could just go with a XLT instead.

 

[Sharpix]

Does it have the 3.0 diesel engine too?

No diesel for Wildtrak (MX)

They have BETTER headlights. Seen them first hand. $ 54,800 usd (direct conversion)
Wildtrak 4x4 with 4A Awd differential, leather, rear rollbar and side bed bars, electric sliding tonneau (super useful i have it), rear bed steps, only rear backup camera, black headliner and trim. Made in South Africa. It seems to be equipped as the Australian Versions.

It has DEEP ORANGE stitching on the seats and interior instead of yellow one (for 2023-2025 models).

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