20222023 Ford Ranger revealed Everything you need to know!
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00:00G'day, I'm Paul. So, we've been talking about it for ages now, we've done a few reveal videos
00:04about what we think it's going to have, but the Ford Ranger has finally been revealed.
00:08They pulled the silks off it today, and what I'm going to do now is take you through all
00:12of the information that we've just received on the Ranger and do a bit of a deep dive
00:16on what we're going to expect when this thing finally launches in 2022.
00:21So, let's get cracking, I'm keen to show you everything here about the new Ford Ranger.
00:26We'll start off with the exterior, and look, I think Ford has done exactly what we wanted
00:32them to do, which is keep the design fairly similar, but take it one step further.
00:36And look, I mean, we kind of knew this is what the design was going to be like,
00:39but it's good to get that reaffirmation now that this is exactly what it looks like.
00:43So, down the front there, you'll see they have those C-shaped LED lights,
00:47and inside that LED light cluster is actually Matrix LED lights, which is going to be a
00:52standard feature on some of the higher-end models.
00:54Down the bottom there, you can see a radar detector built into the lower portion of that
00:59cluster.
01:00There's also recovery hooks.
01:01Now, they call them recovery hooks, but as we know, some of the utes in this segment
01:05have recovery hooks that are not rated, which means you can only really use them as tie-downs,
01:09so we don't know yet from Ford whether you can use these to recover the vehicle.
01:13If you try and snatch it, it might just rip the recovery hook off entirely,
01:16so that is still to be confirmed.
01:18But they've got a big, confident grille there, and you can see they've gone to a lot of effort
01:22to increase the cooling space, because there are some pretty exciting engines coming for
01:26the Ranger, and I'll run you through those shortly.
01:28But I think overall, the front-end design is really quite characterful,
01:32and it kind of reminds me of the Maverick and also the F-150.
01:35It's got a really sort of muscular design to it, and I think they've done a really great
01:38job, not so much revolutionising, but just bringing the Ranger up to the next level.
01:42It was kind of starting to feel a little bit dated and old there.
01:45Now, what about the wheels?
01:46Well, you're going to have a massive selection to choose from, but this particular spec here,
01:50they've really just given this a premium feel.
01:52And look, to be honest, a lot of people use these as work utes.
01:55Yes, that's granted, but a lot of people also use them as weekend utes to go away with their
01:59families and do fun things like that.
02:01So I think these wheels kind of give you that premium vibe.
02:04It doesn't really look like it belongs on a work site, and I think they're really going
02:07to have to focus on things like the Raptor, just to make it look a little bit sort of
02:10tough, because you don't really want the sort of premium vibes on a big old Raptor.
02:14So that is still to be confirmed.
02:16I like on the side flank there as well.
02:18So kind of a signature theme for Ford with the Ranger has always been putting the engine
02:22or the transmission on the side flank there.
02:24They've continued that theme.
02:25This is actually an actual cooling vent now as well.
02:28So this is functional cooling for the engine.
02:31It actually has beneath the bonnet a tubular design.
02:33So that means that you're able to get better airflow through the sides of the car, and
02:37it means that when they design this architecture, it's much easier to make it left-hand drive
02:41and right-hand drive and to package it with the huge subset of engines they're actually
02:45going to fit this car with.
02:46So that functional cooling comes thanks to that tubular design, and it will also carry
02:50all of the engine designations as you move through the range.
02:53Now the wheelbase, it has been extended by 50mm.
02:56That means you should get more accommodation inside the car.
02:58It also means that you should get better approach angles, and that is the angle of the face.
03:02You can approach with the front of the car before you hit it, and that will be better
03:05for off-roading, especially for those of you who like going into the bush and getting your
03:09cars dirty.
03:10It's also worth noting on the side that that wing mirror now has a new design with the
03:13indicator built into there.
03:14It's hard to tell whether it's an LED indicator, but I suspect it will be.
03:18Most of the lights on this car look like they're LED.
03:20It doesn't really look like they've used any incandescent lights, which is excellent news
03:24for my part.
03:25Around the side there, you can see with the design, they've still got that sculpted line
03:28that is kind of Signature Ranger as well.
03:30Side steps for getting in and out of the car, and then roof rails.
03:34Shark fin aerial now as well.
03:35Gone is the sort of sticky pokey aerial that they used to have.
03:38I remember when I would park these cars at home, the aerial would always catch on like
03:43the ducting in my car park at home.
03:45So I'm glad they've gone to a shark fin aerial just to remove the risk of damaging that when
03:49you do any reverse parking.
03:50Let's talk about the rear of the Ranger, and this is probably the bit that I think is the
03:54biggest functional step forward for Ranger and the customers that are going to be buying
03:57this car.
03:58So you will notice down on the lower bumper, they have all of those sensors built in.
04:01That means you'll get the semi-autonomous parking plus rear and front parking sensors.
04:05But on the side, have a look at that, there's actually a step for retrieving things from
04:08the tray now.
04:09So you just put your foot into there, climb in, and you're able to get things out with
04:12a whole lot more ease.
04:14You can also see they've redesigned that tailgate as well.
04:16They've put that big Ranger lettering in there, big Ford logo, proudly worn one.
04:20The brake light has also moved.
04:22So what they discovered is when they were fitting canopies to these cars, the brake
04:25light was integrated into the actual vehicle body up the top there near the aerial, and
04:30they realised that when you do fit a canopy, you can't see the brake light.
04:32So they've now put the brake light onto the back of that tailgate, and it means that even
04:36if you do fit a canopy, you can still see that illuminated LED brake light.
04:40And the handle sort of nicely wedges into there as well with a keyhole just next to
04:44it.
04:44And notice as well on these high series vehicles, there are rails that run along the top of
04:48the tray there.
04:49That is for tie down, so you can actually functionally use them to tie down things in
04:53the tray.
04:53So that is a really nice option.
04:55Let's talk about the tray really quickly.
04:56So we don't know payloads or towing capacity or that kind of thing.
04:59I think it's pretty safe to say that towing capacity will be three and a half tonnes for
05:03just the standard Ranger range.
05:04But, you know, let's wait and see what happens.
05:06They could surprise us with that.
05:07The big news, though, is in the tray, because this is now a partnership with Volkswagen
05:12with the Amarok.
05:13The Amarok's always been able to fit a euro size pallet between the wheel arches in the
05:16tray.
05:17Well, Ford has said that this car will now do the same.
05:20So I think that may have filtered down from Volkswagen in terms of needing to meet their
05:24strict design criteria.
05:25But even the bed liner doesn't prevent you from fitting a pallet, a euro pallet between
05:29those wheel arches.
05:30They've been able to achieve that by increasing the track of the vehicle.
05:33So it sits a little wider on the road, and that means that it should be a little more
05:36confidence inspiring as well.
05:37It will feel more planted as opposed to sitting really high up.
05:40In addition to that, the rear dampers, instead of being mounted inboard of the chassis rails,
05:45they're now mounted outboard, and that means they've been able to really increase that
05:48space and make it more usable.
05:50There are some other creature comforts in there as well.
05:52They mentioned during the press conference that along the top parts of the tray here,
05:58you're actually able to pop out these little sections that allow you to mount things like
06:02ladders and stuff on the back.
06:03I don't know, tradies will do stuff with the little holes there.
06:06But the most interesting one for me is when you do drop the tray, you've actually got
06:10these clamp pockets.
06:11It means you can actually attach a clamp to the rear so you can cut things.
06:15And they also come with little measurements as well.
06:17So while you are doing all of your stuff there on the tray, you're not going to be
06:21getting things wrong.
06:22Mind you, if you're like me, you'll probably get them wrong anyway.
06:24It is worth calling out as well that in addition to a 400 watt outlet inside the tray,
06:29but they also have a 360 degree lighting setup outside the car and you can configure
06:34it in zones as well.
06:35So if you are approaching the car at night time or something like that and you unlock
06:38it, you can actually get it to light up the whole area around the car to help you feel
06:43safer and all that sort of stuff.
06:44So I really like that they've thought about this.
06:46The exciting thing on the accessories front though is from Australian company ARB.
06:51So if you've been to SEMA or I guess if you're really in over 100 markets in the world,
06:55you will have seen ARB before.
06:56So they're an Australian company that produces accessories for all types of four-wheel drives,
07:01that is literally any brand, they will be able to make an accessory for it.
07:04They've signed a partnership with Ford which means that the Ranger will be able to be
07:08equipped with over 600 accessories developed by ARB in conjunction with Ford that will
07:13be covered by the Ford warranty.
07:15So in Australia it's a five-year warranty and it means that if you do buy your ARB parts,
07:19they will be covered by the same warranty that you get with the car.
07:22They've all been engineered with the car as well which means that if you get a bullbar
07:25for example, it's not going to interfere with cooling.
07:28So pretty exciting stuff and it really means that you'll just be able to walk into a dealership,
07:32get everything that you need, have the car kitted out and then just go home.
07:35So really impressive there to see that Ford has thought ahead, especially to the use cases
07:40that a lot of people are using these for.
07:42Okay, interior.
07:43I think this is where the biggest change has come to Ranger and I've got to say this looks
07:47absolutely sensational.
07:49So we kind of broke the news that Ford was going to get that vertical screen and I was
07:54a little weary about what it would look like but here inside the cabin it just looks fantastic.
07:59That is a giant screen, so 12-inch vertical display in the higher-end models but even
08:03if you get like a lower-end car it will still have a 10.1-inch display and both of those
08:08come with SYNC 4 which is the latest version of Ford's infotainment system.
08:12They also have over-the-air updates.
08:13Ford has over 50 modules around the car that are capable of being updated with over-the-air
08:18updates and it means that if Ford discovers something after this car's release that really
08:21needs to be fixed, they can deploy an over-the-air update and you don't need to go take a car
08:25to a dealership and it does all of that using an embedded modem and here in Australia, for
08:29example, you have access to the app, lets you lock and unlock the car remotely, book
08:32it in for services, it really is a pretty comprehensive setup.
08:36In terms of the other design elements, so Ford has gone with the vertical air vents
08:40adjacent to the screen and they follow the theme on the grille there as well, so you
08:43can see they've got those sort of cut-out lines and they are adjustable and then plenty
08:47of storage.
08:48I think storage is so important with these utes.
08:50I still have memories of the X-Class and you couldn't even put a phone in there, it
08:54was so badly set up, whereas this, they have just gone to town on storage.
08:58You can see just here there's like a lower storage tier with a gripped pad on it, got
09:02a glove box down the bottom there, a big centre console, two cup holders.
09:05The door handles have changed as well, so instead of being a pull setup, you actually
09:09put your hand into there and then click it and it will then open the door.
09:13So a little bit hard to explain, once you see it in person you'll get a better idea
09:16of it, but again they're just looking at these use cases and making this a much more
09:20functional car.
09:21And yes, good news for you guys, I know a lot of you complain about not having actual
09:25knobs and buttons.
09:26While that is a mammoth screen and you can change a lot of functions on there, you can
09:30see that while climate control can be changed down the bottom, you still have these manual
09:34controls at the very bottom, so you won't have to use the screen if you don't want to
09:38and I think that's particularly handy if you're a tradie that wears gloves or something
09:41like that.
09:42You're probably still able to actuate all of those controls without having to take your
09:45gloves off and then interact with the screen.
09:47I've also spotted something really cool that I love from American Trucks, there's an
09:51integrated brake controller just there on the dashboard.
09:54That means you're not going to have to spend like $700,000 for getting a brake controller
09:59installed, it'll mean they will run the wiring from the front of the car all the way to the
10:03tow bar and you'll be able to just plug in a trailer and then adjust the brake controller
10:06there, you don't have to pop anything out and do a custom job, so they've really sort
10:10of gone to a lot of effort to make sure that looks good.
10:13A little bit of WildTrack lettering up the top there and it looks like there's a top
10:16storage box as well, there's a little button there for access to that.
10:20Head of the driver, you can see a TFT display too, this is again getting rid of all the
10:25analogue gauges we've come to expect with Ranger but it doesn't look like it's a full
10:29LCD display, you can see there it's kind of just that centre section, on the left and
10:34right sides it looks like it's flanked by just little digital lights that give you fuel
10:38and also engine temperature and then hidden behind there as well is a starter button,
10:42so it looks like the key's gone and you'll just hit that little button there to turn
10:46the car over.
10:47Actually there you go, in the footage here you can actually see a full display as well,
10:50so I've probably got two different types of grades here depending on how much money
10:54you're going to spend on your new Ranger and look at these seats, so look a lot is
10:58said about leather, leather's easy to keep clean and all that sort of stuff but at the
11:02end of the day cloth material is just easier to brush things off, you can throw a seat
11:06cover on them and it looks like the designers have really sort of gone to town here on
11:11textures, so you can see it's sort of those, whatever shape that is, the circle type shapes
11:16are then split with the cloth section at the top, that looks really good and then a closer
11:20look there at the doors, so again it looks like that rubber material and you can see
11:24that grab handle as well to get in and out of the car.
11:26Now what about your drivetrains and look, I'm going to have to say I told you so here
11:30but we revealed this information quite a while ago from our secret source at Ford and I do
11:35have some more leaks coming but just on Ranger alone we now know they have confirmed a number
11:41of engines here for Ranger, both petrol and diesel depending on the market that you're
11:45in.
11:45What we do know is that there will be two sets of four-cylinder diesel engines, so one
11:50is a single turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel, the other is a twin turbocharged
11:552.0-litre four-cylinder diesel, so I think with the 2.0-litre they're probably going
11:58to keep outputs the same, so that means around 500Nm of torque.
12:02They have updated the 10-speed automatic transmission so it has a bit more meat to
12:06it now and it is better calibrated to deal with this engine but it also allows them to
12:11use a different type of engine and this is the one that we've all been waiting for and
12:14I think it's one that Volkswagen may have pushed into the program and that is the V6
12:19diesel.
12:19So as we revealed a little while back it is a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 diesel, they
12:24haven't confirmed power outputs but we do know it is the Lion diesel and that is the
12:28engine that's used or was used until recently in the F-150.
12:32The Lion diesel has also been used in a number of high-end Land Rover and Range
12:36Rover products including the Jaguar XJ, the F-Pace, the Discovery 5, also the Range
12:41Rover Sport, so this is a pretty versatile engine.
12:44It has been updated though since it was used in those applications because Land
12:48Rover and Jaguar have now moved to Ingenium engines so our prediction is that it will
12:53be around 200kW of power and 600Nm of torque if not more because that engine is
12:58capable of putting more torque out as well.
13:01The exciting part to all of this is that it's not sending all of the torque through
13:05just the rear wheels, they now have a constant full-time four-wheel drive system
13:10available on some grades and I suspect they'll probably fit that to the 2.0-litre
13:13twin-turbo diesel and also the V6 diesel.
13:16It'll be like the Super Select four-wheel drive system in the Mitsubishi Triton, it
13:20means you can select 4A and it will just stay in four-wheel drive the entire time.
13:24There are also drive modes, so previous to this only the Raptor was able to move
13:30through drive modes, the Ranger only really just had like a sport mode and the drive
13:34modes are really cool because it really just adds a bit of versatility to what the
13:37car's able to do and it means that you can select the right mode for the type of
13:41driving that you're doing.
13:42This can also adjust the amount of torque that's being sent to the front and rear
13:45axles and by the looks of it as well, it changes a lot of the displays.
13:50You can see here there's an Eco mode there, Normal, we've got a Tow and Haul mode
13:55and then you've also got Slippery and then I predict there's probably a Sport mode
13:59in there as well but it's now all controlled through this little dial just here.
14:03So have a look at that, you've got a Tow mode just in the centre there, you can
14:06manually select 2 High, 4A which is that four-wheel drive automatic mode, you've
14:10got a low range four-wheel drive mode and also a high range four-wheel drive.
14:14Just next to that, you can't see it in this shot but there's probably a rear diff
14:18lock button there.
14:18You can also change all of these controls through the centre screen as well.
14:22Ford said a lot of their customers wanted that.
14:24Now the one thing I find really interesting, have a look at this down the bottom
14:27here.
14:27So some of Ford's American products have a trailer parking assistant and I do
14:33wonder whether this down here means that Ford has integrated that technology into
14:37the Ranger as well.
14:38It helps people like, well not me but other people who can't park with a trailer,
14:42the ability to just use a central controller to navigate the trailer in the
14:46direction they want to go without having to think about which way the wheel needs
14:49to be positioned to get the trailer to go where you want to go as well.
14:52So it's really exciting to see these drivetrains on offer and I think that,
14:57you know, I really do think that this is exactly what the Ranger needed and I
15:00suspect when the Amarok finally does come out in late 2022 it will also be
15:04equipped with the V6 diesel and some variation of this type of controller.
15:08Now what do I think about all of this?
15:10I think a lot of you know that I'm pretty passionate about dual cab utes,
15:13especially in Australia where we have so many of them and in Australia the top
15:16two selling vehicles are the Toyota Hilux and the Ford Ranger and now that it's
15:20received a comprehensive update to that T6 platform, it's now in its third
15:24generation, I think this is going to be a bit of a problem for the rest of the
15:28competitors in this segment and I'm squealing looking at Toyota Hilux, when
15:32you see this, the interior, the V6 diesel and everything that they've jam-packed
15:36into this, it kind of makes a lot of the other dual cab utes in this segment feel
15:41very old and I just don't know that I'd be comfortable paying Hilux money for a
15:44Hilux when I know that I can potentially get this with an actual nice infotainment
15:49system. I think the Toyota system is now just so old that every time we hop into
15:53one of them it just really doesn't feel all that impressive and it means that
15:56brands like Mitsubishi with the Triton are really going to have to go sharp on
15:59pricing because they just feel light years behind what Ford has been able to do
16:03here and we haven't even spoken about the Raptor yet.
16:06Our understanding is that the Raptor is going to get a turbocharged V6 engine
16:10and I mean if it does, it's just everyone is going to buy it. I think I'll
16:15probably have to buy one as well because it will just be the ducks nuts when it
16:18comes to dual cab utes. So this is really pushing the auto industry forward in
16:23this sector in particular. It's going to mean that you as a consumer are getting
16:27far more bang for your buck. These will be more expensive, don't
16:30you know, don't think twice about that. Ford will charge a whole lot more for
16:33this but the rest of the competitors are going to feel a little bit ashamed of
16:37the prices they are charging and I suspect they'll all have to calm down a
16:40little bit if they want to retain a bit of market share. So what is going to
16:44happen with Ford now? So they're going to release this car let's say early next
16:47year, so early 2022. There's still a semiconductor shortage,
16:50they're producing this car for Australia out of Thailand, it's also built
16:53in South Africa and for the US market which this car hasn't been announced yet
16:57they'll probably do other V6 or turbocharged petrol engines for that
17:01market. I think that they're going to have to
17:03think very carefully about that semiconductor shortage and making sure
17:07there is supply because when this is released
17:09I think they're going to have a huge waiting list and if they don't sort out
17:11supply they could end up in a situation like
17:13Isuzu with the D-MAX where there is just like a
17:16one-year wait on your car and they just put the prices up because they know
17:19you're going to have to pay for it. So look I am really excited about this, I
17:23cannot wait to drive it and I think that this is going to go
17:26gangbusters and we could see the market share of dual cab utes in Australia
17:29increase even further away from sedans, wagons and potentially even some
17:34SUV buyers as well. So really exciting stuff. Now this may confuse you, it's a
17:38bit of back to the future stuff but when this video goes live I will have been
17:42invited to an event where we can see the Ranger in person
17:45and that video will go live shortly after this one. You can click up here to
17:48watch that if it's ready. Now if you did like this video and I'm
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