Order the new Ford Ranger next year

The Ford Ranger and the current pickup European segment leader with record year-to-date sales record of 45,539 units and market share of 39.9 per cent will open its order books for the next-generation Ranger in the UK in late 2022 for customer delivery in early 2023.

The next-gen Ranger project has been led by Ford’s Product Development Centre in Australia . Its international team of dedicated designers and engineers worked with teams around the globe to not only incorporate the very latest in Ford technology, capability and safety, but to also engineer and test the Ranger to Ford’s toughest standards. Ford spent a lot of time with owners around the globe, conducting more than 5,000 interviews and dozens of customer workshops to understand how customers used their pick-ups and what they wanted and expected in the new Ranger.

Visually the design features a defined new grille, and signature C‑clamp headlight treatment at the front while a subtle shoulder line down the sides incorporates bolder wheel arches and the first time, Ford Ranger offers matrix LED headlights. At the back, the taillights are designed in harmony with the signature graphics on the front. Inside, the car‑like cabin steps up, using premium soft‑touch materials, and prominent portrait‑style centre touchscreen with Ford’s signature SYNC™ 4 connectivity and entertainment system.

Beneath the new bodywork is an upgraded chassis riding on a wheelbase 50mm longer and a track 50mm wider than the prior Ranger. A hydro‑formed front‑end structure creates more space in the engine bay for the new V6 engine and helps future-proof the Ranger for other propulsion technologies. It also opens up the front of the pick-up to allow more airflow to the radiator, which helps keep running temperatures low when towing or carrying heavy loads.

New Engines

There are three turbodiesel engines options including the much anticipated Ford 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel which according to Pritika Maharaj , Ranger programme Manager “delivers when you drive a Ranger with the V6 turbodiesel, it feels like a much bigger truck. And it feels really tough in the sense that it’s got endless power and torque, which is exactly what our customers wanted. We know our customers push their Rangers to the extreme, so that’s how we test them. We go the extra mile to make sure Ranger will do everything our customers want, over and over again”.

The next-gen Ranger will also come with a choice of proven Single-Turbo and Bi-Turbo 2.0-litre in-line four-cylinder diesels with the single-Turbo coming with two different performance levels and delivers power, torque and fuel economy.

Improved ride and handling

Engineers have moved the front wheels forward by 50mm for a better approach angle and outboard for better off-road articulation, both of which improve the off‑roading experience. They also shifted the rear suspension dampers outboard of the frame rails to give drivers and passengers a better ride both on- and off‑road, no matter if they’re carrying heavy cargo for work, or just taking the family out for dinner.

Customers will have a choice of two four-wheel drive systems – an electronic shift-on-the-fly system, or an advanced new full-time four-wheel drive system with a reassuring set-and-forget mode, designed for capability when and where customers need it. Off-road recovery is made easier with prominent dual recovery hooks in the front bumper.

New Interior

The heart of the Ranger’s connective experience is the large 10.1-inch or 12-inch touchscreen in the centre stack. It complements the fully digital instrument panel and is loaded with Ford’s latest SYNC™ 4 system, which comes customer-ready with its voice-activated communications, entertainment and information systems. Additionally, there’s an embedded factory-fitted FordPass Connect modem, allowing connectivity on the go when linked with the FordPass™.

Many of the traditional driving mode controls have been moved from the dash and centre console to their own dedicated display on the SYNC™ screen. With one button press, drivers can go to Ranger’s dedicated screen for all off-road and drive modes where they can monitor the driveline, steering angle, vehicle pitch and roll angles and other controls. The screen also is linked to a 360-degree camera to make parking a breeze in tight urban spaces or to assist when negotiating particularly tricky terrain while out exploring. In addition, customers can control Ranger’s new exterior zone lighting system via the touchscreen or the FordPass app, which means they don’t have to work, camp or do anything in the dark. Ranger technology will also be future-proofed to accept Ford Power-Up wireless software updates thanks to the embedded FordPass Connect modem.

There are places to store your phone or charge it wirelessly (where compatible) and there’s a large centre console bin to stash things including door pockets designed to carry more, the wide dash conceals an upper glovebox and there are storage bins under and behind the rear seats.

That was the inspiration for creating an integrated side-step behind the rear tyres of the next‑generation Ranger, to create a strong, more stable way for them to access the box. In addition, the Ranger team worked to ensure that a wider variety of cargo could fit and stay secure in the load box.

There’s a new, tough plastic-moulded bedliner that helps protect both the truck bed from scratches and owners’ knees from kneeling on a steel truck bed as well as extra cargo tie down points – on strong steel tube rails – providing convenient points to secure loads. Durable, flexible load box caps around the sides of the box and across the tailgate conceal structural attachment points for canopies and other aftermarket accessories.

Zone lighting – controlled via the in-cabin SYNC™ screen or through the FordPass app – provides 360‑degree lighting around the truck to help give customers better visibility around the vehicle. Load box lighting is provided under the left- and right-hand rails and provides plenty of light for finishing up jobs in low light or finding things in the cargo box at night.

The next-generation Ranger will be built at Ford’s plants in Thailand and South Africa beginning in 2022, with other markets to be announced at a later date.