2024 Ford Ranger will come with the STX Special Edition Package included

For reasons we’re not clear on yet, Ford has made the STX Special Edition Package standard equipment on the just-introduced 2024 Ranger at launch. The package dresses the midsize pickup in body-color trim, LED headlights, halogen fog lamps, damped action for the tailgate, and 17-inch aluminum wheels outside, with premium cloth seats, a digital gauge cluster, 10-inch touchscreen infotainment, and lane-keep assist for the benefit of those inside. Ford added the package to the current Ranger’s base XL trim in 2021 to provide some features that previously required stepping up to the XLT, charging $995 but requiring the $1,135 XL 101A Equipment Group as well. The truck above is the kind of thing that will be off the menu once the 2024s reach dealerships.

The current STX bundle also includes halogen fog lamps, dual-zone climate control, privacy glass, rear defroster, two USB ports, Android Auto, and Apple CarPlay. Motor Trend confirmed the change for the 2024 Ranger while lamenting the loss of your grandfather’s stamped steel wheels, as much a car journo turn-on as manual transmissions, wagons, and brown cars.

We specify “at launch” because the new Ranger will ship upper trims first. The SuperCrew four-door short bed is the only choice for shoppers perusing the order book. For that truck, the 101A Equipment Group is no more and the STX kit is thrown in with the $34,160 price. It’s possible that when the XL SuperCab with the six-foot box enters production, steel wheels will make a return. Or it might not. In which case buyers would need to hit the aftermarket or consider the 2023 Chevrolet Colorado in base Work Truck trim, the Bowtie midsizer only available from the factory on a set of 17-inch Ultra Silver Metallic steel wheels paired with black bumpers.

2024 Ford Ranger production is slated to begin August 7. We can start asking again about bargain basement wheel choices when the automaker opens up the configuration menu.