All right, boys and girls—this is the real “last look” at our TTC Ranger. This is part two of closing out our 18–19 month ownership of the 2024 Ford Ranger FX4, because the first time we tried to end it, we hit that weird 4x4 failure on the hill test. The truck was in 4WD, but it flat-out wasn’t sending power to the front diff. No noise, no drama—just wouldn’t go. Turns out the driver-side CV axle was broken (something I’d called out months earlier), and because there’s no front locker, it just free-spun and acted like nothing was wrong. After the dealer fixed that, we immediately got a nasty highway vibration that they tried to blame on tires (again). We balanced the wheels ourselves, proved it wasn’t that, and pushed them to check the passenger-side CV—yep, that one was bad too. Two CV axles later (and way too much time in the shop), we took the Ranger through the Ozarks and it redeemed itself: rocks, mud, water crossings—no hiccups. Rival skid plates and the Firestone Destination XTs were the magic combo, and honestly you don’t even need a lift to do a lot with this setup. We also break down the mods we loved, what we didn’t love (Ford quality and dealer experience), and the resale numbers versus Tacoma and Gladiator. Bottom line: the Ranger is a good truck, and if you’re shopping midsize—keep it on your list, especially if you’ve got kids who actually need rear-seat room.