2015 Ranger spied!

Ford released its own teaser video of its updated 2015 Ranger in late November, but now spy pics of the pickup have emerged on the internet showing both the revised model's exterior and interior.

The photographs, shown here on US site Carscoops.com, originally surfaced on the Facebook page of Thai-based auto blog MZ Crazy Cars. Given the bulk of global Ranger production stems from Ford's Rayong facility in Thailand, it seems perhaps one local employee couldn't resist spilling the beans ahead of the update's official launch.

That official unveiling can't be far away: Ford Australia has said the 2015 Ranger is expected to reach Australia in mid-2015, with its new SUV variant, the Everest, to follow soon after.

The photos, which have had their backgrounds blurred, show a camo-free prototype of the Ranger's flagship Wildtrak, but with a black grille instead of the chrome item shown in last year's official teaser clip.

The new model boasts a number of styling cues taken from the Everest. The new grille, slimline headlights and a bolder bonnet deliver a more aggressive stance, while the remainder of the model appears unchanged from the original 2011 design.

Ford has promised that the new Ranger will be "smarter, safer, smoother, stronger", which hints at a raft of new high-tech niceties and mechanical refinements, many of which will also be shared with the Everest.

While the spy pics of the interior show the model indeed appears to have Ford's next-gen SYNC2 infotainment system, the new Ranger may well adopt many of the Everest's advanced driver aids including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, adaptive (radar) cruise control and auto-dipping high beam.

The Ranger is also tipped to receive the Everest's Curve Control, which automatically slows the vehicle if it's determined to be corning too quickly.

While no details have emerged, Ford is believed to have carried out a number of tweaks to extract more performance and economy from the Ranger's (and Everest's) 2.2-litre and 3.2-litre turbo-diesel engines, in addition to refinements to the six-speed automatic transmission.

Ford Australia sold 26,619 examples of its Ranger (both 4x2 and 4x4) here last year, the figure equating with growth of over 22 per cent from 2013. In the lucrative 4x4 segment it was second only to Toyota's HiLux, with market share of 15.5 per cent versus 20.5 per cent.

Toyota is also releasing an updated HiLux this year, but the timing of that model's launch is yet to be announced.