Ford announces new heavy-duty Ranger ute
Ford will add a new workhorse variant dubbed the Super Duty to its popular Ranger lineup in 2026.
Not everyone in Australia is enamoured with the growing popularity of full-size American pickups, and some people find them downright offensive, which may be part of the reason why Ford has announced its forthcoming Ranger Super Duty.
Despite not arriving until 2026, Ford is already beating the drum about its new Ranger ute variant, which has been engineered to deliver the higher load hauling and towing capability of US-sourced pickups including Ford’s own Ford F-150, as well as RAM, Silverado and the newly released Toyota Tundra.
The Ranger Super Duty will, however, be a much more work-oriented vehicle than the luxury-oriented US utes and will presumably arrive with a considerably lower purchase price.
Even the least expensive of the re-engineered full-size pickups costs more than $106,000, with Toyota’s Tundra asking a hefty $155,990 (MRLP). By comparison, Ford’s Ranger dual cab 4x4 lineup starts from $50,880 and rises to $80,640 for the luxurious Ranger Platinum V6 variant.
There’s no indication at this stage what the Super Duty will cost but Ford has said it’s been developed to deliver the higher levels of Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), Gross Combined Mass (GCM), towing and enhanced off-road capability required by the likes of farmers, miners, forestry workers and emergency services.
Read into this that it’s likely to be a true workhorse variant with the sort of basic, work-ready fitout that these customers require.
Ranger Super Duty to set new standards
Ford says the Ranger Super Duty has been born from direct collaboration with fleet customers and is a new mid-size truck that can do things no other mid-size truck can do.
Its specifications certainly look beyond what other ute rivals including HiLux and D-Max can offer, including a 4,500kg maximum braked towing capacity, 4,500kg GVM and 8,000kg GCM.
By comparison, the Ranger XL which is the most workhorse-oriented variant in the current 4x4 dual cab lineup has a 3,500kg maximum braked towing capacity, 3,230 GVM, and 6,350 GCM.
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The new model was developed by Ford's IMG Product Development team, led by a 1,500-strong group of designers, engineers and specialists in Australia, and will be manufactured in Thailand for sale in markets around the world.
Ford is applying a drip-feed approach to information on the new model, last week accompanying news of the car’s impending release with a darkened-silhouette teaser of the front end and minimal information, which was followed this week by a detail shot of the new model’s eight-stud wheel pattern, 18-inch steel wheel and 33-inch all-terrain tyre.
Strength and load capacity improved
Ford says the eight-stud wheel hub is shared with the US market F-250 Super Duty and was selected to provide enhanced strength and load-carrying capacity.
“The eight-stud configuration offers a significant advantage in terms of load capacity and ensures an even distribution of weight across the wheel,” said Ranger Super Duty Engineering Program Supervisor Drew O’Shannassy.
“This is important for a vehicle like Ranger Super Duty which will be expected to frequently carry and tow heavy loads.
“The wheel and tyre we’ve selected provide a great combination of strength, grip and reliability that our hard-working customers need.
“Our testing is pushing this vehicle to the limit so that customers can be confident in its capability.”
The Super Duty name was first used by Ford on its heavy-duty versions of US-market F-Series trucks in 1999 and sits above the consumer-oriented F-150 model.
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