There aren’t a lot of memorable 1990s pickups. But if we say the phrase “Ford Ranger Splash,” there’s a pretty good chance you immediately picture a cool compact truck, a little lower than other trucks, with convenient steps built into the bodywork just ahead of the rear wheels and vinyl graphics straight out of a Trapper Keeper.
It’s back. Sort of.
The Ford Ranger of today is a much larger midsize truck. And this one lacks the awesome stepside bodywork. But Ford has brought back the Ranger Splash name, and once again, it involves vinyl on the sheet metal.
For the 2022 model year, the Ranger will be available with a Splash Package. The package will be available for SuperCrew models in the XLT and Lariat trims. The package costs $1,495. Deliveries start at the end of the year.
It adds distinctive orange and black graphics down the sides, unique matte black 18-inch wheels, gloss black mirror and grille accents, and what Ford calls “orange grille nostrils” because Ranger Splash owners are the sort to anthropomorphize their trucks.
Inside, the Splash Package adds unique seats with orange contrast stitching and a color scheme Ford calls “carbon grain with Tuxedo stripes.” Orange stitching also appears on the steering wheel, shifter, and parking brake boot. More upscale Lariat models get leather upholstery, and the orange stitching also appears on the dashboard and armrests.
Ford will keep the customization theme going with a new Splash Limited Edition “every few months” during the model year. Just a few hundred of each will be built. The series kicks off with the Splash Snow Edition.
The graphics are more restrained than the pinks and purples of 1990s-era Splash Rangers, and the look definitely loses something without those flareside steps. But more customization is never a bad thing. Now, if only Ford would bring the Splash treatment to the upcoming Maverick small truck, we’d have something much closer to the playful spirit of the original.
