Ute revealed at centenary

The Ranger Super Duty V6 turbodiesel has been officially unveiled at Melbourne Showgrounds as part of Ford Australia’s 100th birthday celebrations.

Orders for the ute in New Zealand and across the Tasman open later this year ahead of its anticipated arrival in dealerships next year.

Its gross vehicle mass comes in at 4,500kg while its gross combined mass is 8,000kg. Maximum braked towing is 4,500kg. 

It will be available in Super Duty and Super Duty XLT trim levels. The latter will boast unique alloys and touring-focused upgrades, and will only be available with double-cab chassis and pick-up variants.

The inspiration for a heavier-duty Ranger began with living the life of Ford’s customers, according to Todd Willing, head of design.

“Fleet managers told us about the heavy-duty medium pick-up space and how there just wasn’t anything they wanted,” he says. 

“This set our team on a path to digging deeper, meeting more than 50 companies and public services to live the life of these customers to understand their specific needs.”

The three-litre V6 has been calibrated for heavy-duty emissions standards. Improved cooling ensures optimum temperature management under load and sustained off-roading in difficult conditions.

Owners have the option of delaying the automatic diesel particulate filter’s regeneration and then manually initiating the cleaning when it suits them. 

Ford’s engineers have mounted the differential, transmission, fuel and transfer-case breathers up high, while the Super Duty boasts a better water-wading depth than other diesel Rangers. 

Its drive modes are normal, eco, tow/haul, mud/ruts, sand and rock crawl. These adjust a range of settings, such as throttle, transmission response and stability control, to aid off-roading.