Ford Ranger lands in US with petrol V6 and more powerful Raptor

Having had to wait until 2018 for the now previous generation T6 Ranger, seven years after other markets including South Africa, Ford has debuted the new internally named T6.2 derivative in the United States, along with the fire-breathing Raptor for the first time.

Spot the difference

Appearing almost identical to the global model, the US-spec Ranger has, however, been slightly altered underneath its skin to not only suite American buyer preference, but also to accommodate the petrol engines as no diesel is available.

In a further change, the Ranger will only be sold as a double cab or SuperCrew as a result of low demand for the SuperCab, and because of the single cab never being considered due to a lack of buyer interest.

Outwardly, the Ranger retains the C-shaped headlights and Maverick inspired facia, though depending on the trim level – XL, XLT and Lariat – no less than four different grille designs are available.

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Dimensions also unchanged

Besides the mandated orange indicator repeaters on the wheel arches, little else separates the US Ranger from the example made at the Blue Oval’s plant in Silverton outside Pretoria.

This includes the same dimensions, power outlets integrated into the inner walls of the loadbin, wading depth of 800 mm and ground clearance of 237 mm. Towing capacity is, however, down by 100 kg to 3 400 kg. Claimed payload is also almost identical at 819 kg.

What about the inside?

An equally familiar story awaits inside where apart from being left-hand-drive, the Ranger’s cabin design has not been hugely revised to differentiate it from the South African model.

This means the standard availability of the eight or 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster, the 10.1-inch or 12-inch SYNC4 touchscreen infotainment system, both with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, auxiliary overhead switches and in the case of the Lariat, a B&O Play sound system, plus the e-shifter gear lever.

Notable safety and driver assistance system include Adaptive Cruise Control, Active Park Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Evasive Steering Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, Intersection Assist, 360-degree surround-view camera system, Lane Keeping System with Road Edge Detection and Lane Centering.

Now for the big change

As mentioned, the main difference from the South African Ranger is the lack of a turbodiesel engine underneath the bonnet.

Despite long held reports of Ford debuting a plug-in hybrid model in the States, for now, two engines have been selected; the carryover 2.3 EcoBoost developing an unchanged 200kW/420Nm and, as a result of market demand, the 2.7 EcoBoost V6 from Bronco outputting 235kW/542Nm.

The introduction of a V6, last offered in 2011 on the US-specific Ranger that departed the market that years as a result if dwindling demand, means the new Ranger joins the Jeep Gladiator and twin of the Nissan Navara, the Frontier, as only the “compact” bakkies in the States to offer a six-cylinder powerunit.

Regardless of the engine selected, the sole transmission option comes by way of the recalibrated ten-speed automatic co-developed with General Motors, though buyers can opt for rear-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive across all trim levels.

Due to absence of the 3.0-litre Lion V6 turbodiesel, an engine ironically once available in the F-150, the permanent all-wheel-drive system isn’t available, with the same applying to the electronic transfer case.

Now, for Raptor

In addition to the new Ranger, the main highlight is the Ranger Raptor that finally joins the F-150 Raptor after famously being rejected by the States as a result of being powered solely by the 2.0-litre Panther bi-turbodiesel engine.

While motivated by the twin-turbo 3.0-litre EcoBoost V6, Ford has tweaked the bent-six to deliver more power, meaning while torque stays unchanged at 583 Nm, power increases from the 292 kW made in South Africa to 302 kW in the US.

Now officially the most powerful Ranger ever made, the amount of twist goes to all four corners via the revised ten-speed ‘box, albeit this time via a permanent all-wheel-drive configuration complete with an electronic transfer case and electronic front and rear locking differentials.

As in the case of the South Africa Raptor, the US model comes standard with the Fox Racing Live Valve position sensitive dampers, the Watt’s rear linkage, reinforced chassis, electronic active exhaust system with four settings; Quiet, Normal, Sport and Baja, and the Terrain Management system with seven modes; Normal, Slippery, the US-specific Tow/Haul, Sport, Off-Road that replaces Sand as well as Mud/Ruts, Rock Crawl and Baja.

Standard specific is also a mirror image of the South African Raptor, and consists of the 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster with Raptor specific graphics and readouts, the 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Code Orange accents, magnesium paddle shifters, ambient lighting, Ford Performance sport seats, a B&O sound system, Matrix LED headlights and the 33-inch BF Goodrich KO2 all-terrain tyres wrapped around Raptor specific 17-inch alloy wheels.

Price comparison

Build for the US at Ford’s Wayne Truck Plant in the state of Michigan, with sales expected to start from the end of May, pricing for the Ranger kicks-off at $34 160 (R645 251) for the rear-wheel-drive 2.3 EcoBoost XL and ends at $56 960 (R1 075 923) for the Raptor.

As a comparison, and lieu of there being no single or SuperCab derivatives, pricing for the double cab Ranger in South Africa starts at R495 800 for the manual transmission unbadged single turbo base model and concludes with the Raptor priced at R1 149 700.

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