By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(January 23, 2018) The original Ford Ranger was sent out to pasture in 2011 after years of being mildly updated but basically neglected. Every last ounce of profit was pulled from the small pickup, and the decision finally was made to drop out of the segment and redirect buyers to less pricey versions of the F-150. The segment, claimed Ford, was dead.

It wasn’t the segment that was dead, but the idea that a small pickup had to be a low-cost, low-profit vehicle. Under that supposition, no modern small pickup could be made profitably, especially as emissions and safety legislation continued to ratchet up.

But while Ford sold its “Global Ranger” almost everywhere but the U.S. and toyed with the idea of offering it here as a 7/8th scale full-size (F-100), GM introduced fully modern versions of the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, and proceeded to shift 145,000 units in America in only the second year of production.

Suddenly Ford had an incentive to bring the Global Ranger to the U.S.

There’s only one powertrain offered (for now) on the Ranger, a turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost four mated to a 10-speed automatic. Overseas buyers also can choose the turbocharged five-cylinder diesel offered in our Transit, an engine which also is used in the Ranger Raptor. Unfortunately, we won’t get either, though the latter is due to fears that a smaller, lighter, less expensive Raptor model might steal sales away from the full-size version.



It wasn’t a simple matter of slapping on some new trim, adding some content, and rejigging an assembly facility (Michigan Assembly, a.k.a. the Michigan Truck Plant which was turned over to building C-Class cars (Focus, C-Max, etc.) before being pressed into service for the new Ranger).

Numerous detail modifications had to be made to the truck before it could pass muster here. Like adding stout mounts for the steel front and rear bumpers to the fully boxed frame, adapting U.S. spec. lighting units, revising the interior and greatly improving fit and finish. Things that all added cost as they were changed after the fact.

There’s control arm front and live axle rear suspension, with Dana Trac-Lock rear differentials on both two- and four-wheel drive models. FX2 and FX4 models are fitted with an electronic locking rear differential standard, while it is available as an option on other trim levels. Interestingly, both the FX off-roaders and regular models have the same ride height, though the FX versions come standard with all-terrain tires, specific dampers, and the requisite steel skid plates.

The Ranger comes in SuperCab and SuperCrew configurations, and three trim levels (XL, XLT and Lariat). There are Chrome and Sport appearance packages for each, and multiple paint and wheel options.

Unfortunately, the Ranger won’t go on sale until early 2019.

The Virtual Driver