The Ford Ranger has built a reputation around the world for being a tough and capable pickup, with more and more customers trusting it to deliver years of dependable service for both work and play.

Ford has continued to strengthen customer trust in the Ranger by listening to owners and delivering on features that matter to them most. Next-gen Ranger takes this to the next level with a truck that offers customers exceptional towing and hauling, incredible off-road capability and a choice of durable and fuel-efficient engines.

“The Ford product development team’s goal with the next-gen Ranger was to deliver a vehicle that met the needs of customers in more than 180 different markets and be the one truck the world trusts to tackle anything,” said Graham Pearson, vehicle program director for Ranger. “And to be that one truck the world trusts, next-gen Ranger had to excel in several key areas: stance and stability, towing, off-road capability, performance, and drivability.”

“Ford knows trucks,” he added. “We want to give our customers greater levels of performance and capability, expand Ford’s credibility on the work site, and offer the most desirable lifestyle pickup with more distinct styling, advanced technology, and comfort.”

Whether a customer’s priority is fuel economy, refinement, towing or hauling the powertrains chosen for next-gen Ranger will provide customers with the best performance and capability, according to Pritika Maharaj, Ranger and Everest program manager.

The headline grabber is the addition of Ford’s proven 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel, which is being offered on both Ranger and the Everest SUV. “We’re offering this engine specifically because some customers told us they wanted more power and torque for towing and extreme off-roading,” said Maharaj.

Making up to 184kW of power and 600 Nm of torque in both Ranger and Everest, Ford engineers treated the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel like a brand-new engine. “We did a lot of application calibration and validation work in both the US and Australia to make sure it would meet the needs of Ranger and Everest customers,” said Maharaj.

“The 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel delivers,” added Maharaj. “When you drive a Ranger with the V6 turbodiesel, it feels like a much bigger truck. And it feels strong in the sense that it’s got plenty of power and torque, which is exactly what our customers told us they wanted.”

But the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel also is strong in the literal sense of the word with the compacted graphite iron (CGI) block around 75 percent stronger and 75 percent stiffer than the iron used in traditional engine blocks.

The Single Turbo comes in two different performance levels, offering 110kW and 350Nm, and 125kW and 405Nm.

Ford’s proven 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo makes 155kW and 500Nm and will continue to be available in Everest as well. This engine boasts a clever bypass system that determines the optimum operating mode, meaning the turbochargers can operate in series (at lower engine speeds for enhanced torque and responsiveness) or the smaller turbo can be bypassed allowing the larger turbocharger to deliver high power.

“We know our customers push their Rangers to the extreme, so that’s how we test them,” Maharaj said. “We push them to the limit initially on dynos, where they get exposed to extreme loads, temperatures, and aggressive duty cycles. Then we test the vehicle in markets from the frigid cold areas of Europe and New Zealand to the hot humid markets of Southeast Asia.

“Whether it’s our 3.0-litre V6, 2.0-litre Single-Turbo, Bi-Turbo or 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol, we simulate extreme customer usage by running these engines for more than 700 continuous hours at full throttle. That’s like going around the world six times at full throttle. And we do that in temperatures ranging from -40 degrees Celsius to more than 50 degrees Celsius,” she said.

Transmission choices include a 10-speed auto that also sees service in the Ford F-150 and F-150 Raptor and has notched up more than six million kilometres of testing, including more than 3,900km of sanctioned off-road racing, including at the Baja 1000. This transmission will be available on the 3.0-litre V6 and 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo engines, across Ranger and Everest.

The current six-speed automatic transmission available on Ranger will continue along with the introduction of a new five- and six-speed manual transmission for Single Turbo diesel variants. The new manual transmission was four years in development across four continents and boasts a new gear set for smoother shifts.