The Ford-Chevy rivalry is a familiar one to pickup-truck customers. In the full-size segment, the mighty F-150 has been the bestselling vehicle in the US since Ronald Reagan was president, while the Chevy Silverado has usually been No. 2.

Decades ago, there was robust competition in the compact-pickup segment as well. But more recently, the Detroit automakers have all but abandoned the market in the US.

That all changed when Chevy rolled out the Colorado in 2014. Suddenly, the old compact segment became a midsize battleground. (The trucks were larger than the entry-level, stripped-down pickups I drove when I was in college.) Toyota was well established, but with the Colorado and its GMC sibling, the Canyon, General Motors offered more plush, high-tech, yet still versatile and robust small pickups.

Honda revamped its Ridgeline to be more pickup-like, and just like that, Ford looked as if it had fallen behind the curve in its bread-and-butter realm.

The Chevy Colorado Z71. Matthew DeBord/BI

Not to worry, however, as the Ranger midsize was on sale outside the US, so all the Blue Oval had to do was bring the vehicle back to America. In the first three months of 2019, Ford sold almost 9,500 Rangers, a respectable debut. Colorado sales tallied about 33,500 for the same period.

I love midsize pickups. They're the ideal vehicles for suburban weekend home-improvement duty, and if you're an outdoorsy person who doesn't need to tow a large boat or horse trailer, they're great for getting out into nature (as long as you go for the 4x4 versions). When equipped for off-roading, they can be comfort-challenged, but you can also opt for a cheaper, rear-wheel-drive base model that will provide easier driving dynamics.

Having driven several Colorados in the past four years — coming away impressed with them all — I recently enjoyed the new Ranger. So, naturally, it was time to compare pickups. Read on to find out how they matched up.