Product cannibalization is nothing new in the automotive market. It is especially prevalent these days when so many manufacturers are introducing subtly different models to have a presence in every micro-niche around.

Ford's reintroduction of its Ranger mid-size pickup may seem like a logical accompaniment to its existing truck offerings but not when it gets its pricing a little bit wrong.

According to a report by CarsDirect, for the month of April Ford is offering a $1,500 conquest bonus on top of its $500 rebate, which means you could get up to $2,000 off a new Ranger if you own or lease a 1995 or newer non-Ford product. There is also a 1.9 percent/60-month finance offer but you will forego the $500 rebate if you take it up.

It could still be the way to go as the interest payments on a standard 5 percent loan over the same 60-months could amount to $1,800.

If you prefer to lease your truck then it gets a bit more interesting, CarsDirect says that a 2019 Ranger XLT 4x2 SuperCrew works out at $424/month if you don't qualify for the rebate (something that Ford includes in its calculations) and that equates to just $17 less than what it would cost you to lease the larger F-150 STX 4x2 SuperCrew.

Now there is not much wrong with the new Ranger, but in the world of trucks bigger is better and the F-150 would be our choice. Rivals like the Toyota Tacoma and Chevy Colorado are also offering very competitive incentives so, as always, it is definitely worth doing your homework beforehand.