The All New Ford Ranger, 21st Century Tough Styling

The New Ford Ranger would be making its debut sometime in 2012 in our country. From the days of the Splash, Extreme, Scorpion, and Hurricane, these were some of the names that used to the flagship models of the ever strong and reliable Ford Ranger. Now Sime Darby Auto Connexion Sdn Bhd the sole distributor and importer of Ford vehicles have a new revolutionary truck in hand that may rumble the market again!

Unveiled at the 32nd International Bangkok Motorshow, the new Ford Ranger prowess its new advanced technology, renowned for its toughness is making a comeback in ASEAN. It is an all new platform, engine, and the engineers simply put it as 21st Century Tough Styling.

The new global pickup is offered in three cab bodystyles –Regular, Super and Double – along with an extensive list of practical features that are available in up to five series choices. Ford’s new single platform strategy for ASEAN, eliminates its current two platform strategy currently in production regionally.The Malaysian market will see the regular double cab that has been the mainstay of our market needs and mainly would be from Thailand.

Designed and developed in Australia, it is the first truck to be built under the One Ford strategy as part of a global product program bringing together the full engineering expertise of Ford around the world. “With the One Ford strategy, we were able to deliver a truck with no compromise. The engineering team in Australia had full access to the global Ford capability, testing facilities, and most importantly, corporate knowledge around delivery of Ford Tough Trucks”, said Jim Baumbick engineering director, Product Development, Ford Asia Pacific and Africa. The All New Ford Ranger is a leaned out meaner version of the successful Ranger when it was first launched in the mid 1990s for the Malaysian market.

The new Ford Ranger has a higher belt line, pronounce stance, bulging fenders and a look that is more refined according to Craig Metros, Chief Designer for the Ranger. He was involved in every stage of the pickups’ new design from interior to exterior from concept to customer. Larger headlamps, bigger mirrors and stamped-in wheel lips provide an integrated look across all the series and contribute to an aggressive and sportier stance. The new Ranger comes with an all-new powertrain engineered to be class leading in torque and fuel efficiency. Three variants are available:

• 2.2L Ford Duratorq TDCI 4-cylinder Diesel, 375Nm of Torque and Power Output of 110kW (150PS)
• 3.2L Ford Duratorq TDCI 5-cylinder Diesel, 470Nm of Torque and Power Output of 147kW (200PS)
• 2.5L Ford Duratorq TDCI 4-cylinder Petrol, 226Nm of Torque and Power Output of 122kW (166PS)

Our roads would only see the diesel Rangers taking centre stage and would be most likely the 2.2L variant with a possibly entry of the 3.2L variant at a later stage. The recorded fuel consumption for the 2.2L on a combined cycle is at 7.6L/100km on a 4x2 variant and 9.6L/100km on a full trim 4x4 with the 3.2L engine.

The new automatic Ranger comes in a six-speed transmission with a sequential shift control in the automatic gearbox offers a car-like feel and quick shifts almost imperceptible to the driver. It has adaptive and performance modes that offers manual controls through sequential shifting. The new Ranger has hill descent control that recognizes the car when it is on a gradient. A new feature called the Grade Control Logic, the transmission will automatically downshift during downhill driving to provide additional braking from the powertain when it senses the driver is applying brakes. This is a great feature and a first in its class for a truck in this segment. Both the 2.2L and 3.2L Diesel powered Rangers are equipped with a 6 speed automatic and manual transmission, and only the 2.5L Petrol powered Ranger is offered in a 5 speed manual transmission as a standard equipment.

The all-new Ranger has an entirely new platform from its chassis frame to the front and rear suspension and steering system. With the engineers doing research across the ASEAN region to find the most durable and best in class features, they have put together a truck that is more user friendly and more ‘tough’ like functions to make this truck a better packaged truck than its competitors. Gary Boes, Vehicle Line Director for the new compact truck platform said, “I've worked hard to ensure that the global Ranger will be fully competitive in the marketplace, in every aspect. This launch is going to be huge for Ford. The new Ranger is going to surprise a lot of drivers and competing manufacturers.”

With an all-new platform the new Ranger has a more car like feel and one of the new added features is the Rack and Pinion type steering rack. Giving thoughts on the changeover, Boes explained that it would be most suited in today’s environment to make a truck more car-like than before. Some of the detailed changes that were made included using Ford Ranger’s existing owners’ demographics to see their applications of their Ranger in their everyday life. The new Ranger has been carefully tuned to handle a variety of driving conditions while still delivering outstanding payload capacity. The rear suspension has been tuned to deliver a lesser skate feel and reduced sway to still be able to provide additional comfort when driving on potholed roads. This has been identified by the Thailand market as a need, and it just demonstrates how committed Ford is to ensuring that they make a truck that delivers. To improve Ford Ranger’s water wading capabilities, the trucks key electrical components and air inlets have been strategically placed high in the engine compartment, enabling the pickup to go deeper than any other, with a wading capability of 800mm of water for both the 4x4 and 4x2. The four wheel drive models are equipped with an electronically controlled transfer case that allows the driver to shift on the fly. Selected models can also be equipped with an electronic locking rear differential or a limited slip rear differential to improve traction control.

For the first time side curtain airbags are on all cab styles, and they deploy from the headliner to provide protective cushion for the occupant’s heads. Side airbags are also available for the front seats, to protect from side impact forces. One of the other active safety devices which have been added is the ESP or Electronic Stability Program which is a key driving aid that applies inputs and engine torque reduction to control slip as well as mitigates over and under-steer during slippery conditions.

A complete collection of features make this all new Ranger a safer truck to drive. An added Trailer Sway Control system monitors the behavior of the tow vehicle and trailer array to sense the advent of trailer sway and apply braking countermeasures to reduce the effects. Adaptive Load Control provides additional stability assurance for heavy payloads. Roll-over Mitigation monitors Ranger’s speed, lateral acceleration and steering angle, and intervenes to restore stability if the Ranger is in danger of rolling over. Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and Emergency Brake Assist are designed to recognize panic braking by the driver, and will increase force used to slow down the vehicle. There is even a Gravel Road Logic in the ABS that will improve braking distance on loose surfaces. One of the features that is in the Ford Ranger are the flashing hazard lights during emergency braking, a feature found in Volvo cars today. This was a possible crossover during the Ford-Volvo marriage.

Some of the other added features are the Bluetooth with Voice Control and Rear View Camera System where the image is displayed in the rear view mirror. The new Ranger is a tough truck with best in class towing capacity of up to 3350kg and has an outstanding payload capacity of up to 1500kg on selected diesel variants. It is bigger than its predecessor being 190mm longer, 23mm wider, 65mm higher and 220mm longer in wheelbase. It is a bigger truck visually and physically.

Making full use of the spacious interior, the Ranger Double Cab offers 23 storage spaces in the cabin – more practical stowage than any competitor. It has a deep centre console that is class leading with a filling capacity of 8.5litres, it is the largest in its class. Moreover, it is designed to store a six cans of drinks and kept cool via an air-conditioner duct. The glove box is large enough to store a 16 inch laptop while door pockets can store a 1.5litre water bottle! Other areas include a mobile phone storage area and other small items that the driver can reach with ease. Much thought have gone into the tiny details which makes this Ranger a better truck.

The new Ford Ranger is a robust truck that is practical and yet functional that sets cars owner thinking on owning one instead or car. A pickup truck is a pickup truck and Ford sets them apart from the rest. ‘The all new Ranger is in a league of its own and it delivers all that is expected of a truck and more without forcing a trade-off on the customer,’ said Gary Boes, Vehicle Line Director for Ford’s new compact truck platform. With features such as these for a compact truck, it is quite an impressive list for the new Ranger. For our Malaysian roads, we would just have to wait and see when Sime Darby Auto Connexion brings in the first new Ford Ranger possibly in 2012. During the Q and A to Boes, a question was asked if ASEAN would see the first hybrid compact truck by Ford, the answer was plainly ‘not in the plans currently’. - iK