Sprung! Updated Ford Ranger breaks cover
Pre-production, next-gen version of Ford's top-selling ute spied in MelbourneThese pics courtesy of an eagle-eyed reader suggest Ford could be set to update its strong-selling Ranger.
The disguised utes are likely our first look at Ford’s next-generation Ranger, the model reported carsales.com.au last year as the first of a stand-alone development range whose design will be headquartered right here in Australia, and will likely also include the next-generation Everest SUV.
As Ford works to realign its global automotive partnership, and with Mazda previously suggesting its next BT-50 could instead align with either Isuzu’s D-MAX or Toyota’s HiLux, the T6-platform Ranger’s on-going development looks set to continue unabated at Ford’s Victorian-based reseach and development facility west of Melbourne.
“It’s [T6] a great investment story in terms of what we are doing and the people, so it’s not going away,” Ford Australia president and CEO, Graeme Whickman, told motoring.com.au previously.
“We don’t talk about future programs in general but the program is important to us and it’s important enough that we will be doing it by ourselves. I can’t really say much more.
“The vehicle is doing very well and it’s engineered right in this country, and I don’t see why that would change,” he concluded.
Evident in today’s pics are a new dual-bar grille, side-slung exhaust, and revised tail-light lenses, the model’s body otherwise a facsimile of the PXII-series Ranger on sale since June 2016.
The bubble-style camouflage masks any suggestion of updated body work, the Ranger’s headlights, roof-mounted antenna, and rear-window-topping stop-light suggesting a base or mid-spec variant.
There’s no word yet on any update to Ford’s 2.2-litre four-cylinder or 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel engine range, though the side-slung exhaust extension – reminiscent of Ford’s F Series light trucks – indicates the model could be up for an increase in performance.
Trucksales.com.au has approached Ford Australia for comment on the mystery utes, and will update this article as soon as news comes to hand.
Related reading: carsales.com.au's Ford Ranger launch report
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