It鈥檚 been just over six years since the last Ford Ranger pickup rolled off the assembly line, and Ford Motor Co. is ready to make the small-size truck for North American markets again.
But this time, it鈥檚 a mid-size pickup, and it looks a lot more like the current F-150 than the former Ranger.
Production on the new truck will begin late this year for the 2019 model year. It will be powered by Ford鈥檚 2.3-litre EcoBoost gasoline engine and mated to the company鈥檚 10-speed automatic transmission. The new Ranger will be available in both two-wheel- and four-wheel-drive configurations.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not just bringing the global Ranger here and dropping it into the [North American] market,鈥� Eckert said.
That means that, unlike Ford鈥檚 bigger trucks, the new Ranger will not be offered with a diesel engine 鈥� at least not at first 鈥� or with a manual transmission.
The reinvented Ranger will allow Ford, which dominates the full-size truck market but has not had anything to offer in the competitive midsize segment, to sell against Toyota鈥檚 Tacoma, Chevy鈥檚 Colorado, Nissan鈥檚 Frontier and GMC鈥檚 Canyon.
It鈥檚 about time, said Kelley Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer.
鈥淭he old Ranger was kind of an enigma as the last compact truck on the market, after the Tacoma, the Frontier and the Canyon all got bigger,鈥� Brauer said. 鈥淭he new one is not little anymore, so it has finally caught up with the midsize trucks.鈥�
Like its larger F-150 sibling, the Ranger will feature a high-strength steel frame paired with frame-mounted steel bumpers. It will feature some aluminum parts, also like the F-150, including the hood and tailgate.
Eckert said the reinvented Ranger is expected to offer best-in-class torque and payload.
The new Ranger will be built in the Wayne, Michigan, factory that currently builds the Focus. Ford is shifting production of that vehicle to plants in China and will use the freed-up factory space to make Rangers starting this year and new Broncos starting in 2019.
Eckert said the truck will come standard with driver-assist technology such as automatic emergency braking. Safety features including blind-spot detection, lane-keep assist and lane-departure warning will be available on higher trim levels.
The truck will be compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The FX4 Off-Road Package will include skid plates, off-road shocks and suspension, and heavy-duty tires.
Other key details, such as pricing, payload, fuel economy and towing capacities, have not been revealed.d
