New to the Ranger for this model year is Fords new Blind Spot Information System with Trailer Coverage. It uses a radar mounted in the taillights that monitors blind sports all the way to the back of the trailer. This is offered at no additional cost on the XLT and Lariat trims and can store up to 3 trailer profiles, such as trailer length. Here's a quick overview of the BLIS.

Pretty neat tech and I don't think a similar system is offered by Chevy or Ram. I'm curious if there is a limit to the size/length of a trailer. Has Ford confirmed the max towing rating on the Ranger yet? I know early approximations suggested a max rating of 7,100lbs.

I'm guessing that it'll be fairly similar to what's offered in the Colorado and Tacoma. The specs on the latest Australian XLT suggest 3500kg, which translates roughly to 7,700lbs.

I fear what's going on here. We have an affordable pick up that appeals to younger demographics (probably first time buyers) and we have tech that dumbs down what should be mastered with your own eyes and skill.

Unfortunately the push for more safety tech is industry wide, and its not really in the hands of automakers anymore. New regulations are forcing these kinds of features as standard nowadays.

Its more of a complimentary tech, than a replacement for proper trailering expertise. I'm guessing that it wont be long until we see automated reversing however.

And I think automated parking/reversing is where we need to draw a line. If you don't know the sizing of your vehicle to park it yourself, you probably shouldn't be driving it.

I don't believe we've seen that kind of system in a pickup yet, though with Fords push into more advanced safety technologies, they might be the first automaker to do so. Active Park Assist is already offered on a lot of vehicles in their stable.

If these new camera systems are able to accurately determine trailer length, then the technology is already there. I'm pretty sure that we first saw these kinds of systems back in 2016 on the F150.

IMO it might help to get tow mirrors. Even with all this tech I still like to use my own eyes especially when tow mirrors give us such a great advantage.
Too bad the test mule seen here has the regular mirrors.