New Ford Ranger officially revealed
The next-generation Ford Ranger has finally been unveiled. Here’s what we know about the Blue Oval’s newcomer, which, like its predecessor, will be built in South Africa.
Throughout the past few months, our channels have been inundated with
teaser images, videos and spy photographs of the next Ford Ranger and, today, the new-generation bakkie has finally been revealed. Ford calls this rival to the
GWM P-Series,
Isuzu D-Max,
Nissan Navara – and especially the top-selling
Toyota Hilux – the “smartest, most versatile and most capable Ranger ever.”
“With Ranger, we’ve had a big extended family for decades,” said Jim Farley, the Ford Motor Company’s president and CEO. “This truck has always been a trusted partner to small business owners, farmers, families, adventurers, commercial fleets – and so many more – in more than 180 markets around the world. And with the new Ranger, this is our moment to deliver… not just a product our customers will love, but an always-on experience that will help us build strong and lasting relationships with them. This is the mid-sized truck people will want to own and experience.”
The all-new Ford Ranger will be built at the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa’s assembly plant in Silverton, Pretoria, as well as in Thailand, for the global market. Interestingly, the new Ranger project was spearheaded by Ford’s Product Development Centre in Australia. Australia is a bakkie-crazy nation (as we are) and, in case you didn’t know it, the outgoing Ranger was, by and large, developed Down Under as well. Ford claims to have tapped into its current ownership base and conducted more than 5 000 interviews and customer workshops to try to understand the market’s needs and expectations.
2023 Ford Ranger Design
The teaser images did a good job of concealing the new model’s finer exterior details, because the production-ready design certainly looks fresh and contemporary. Pictured here are the mid-range XLT, rugged Sport and luxurious Wildtrak derivatives of the new range. There are design elements that were borrowed from the rest of the Ford pickup range, including the front-wheel-drive
Maverick and the darling of the North American market – the
F-150. The front is characterised by an aggressive grille, C-shaped headlights (with matrix LED headlight technology, for the first time) and daytime running lights.
The bodywork features plenty of creases and lines, all of which gives the new Ranger a muscular stance, while the bakkie’s rear end shows off newly-designed tail-light clusters. The cabin is where the new Ranger
really shines, however. The interior architecture is dominated by a smart-looking portrait-oriented infotainment system, which is underpinned by Ford SYNC4 technology.
The newcomer’s fascia appears far less cluttered than before… Ford has effectively done away with many buttons by migrating some controls into the bakkie’s infotainment touchscreen (functions such as the 4×4 modes and climate control are now integrated here). What’s more, a full 360-degree camera system is now available and, thanks to an embedded modem, the bakkie supports over-the-air updates.
South African Availability
The new Ford Ranger will be launched in South Africa in 2022 with order books opening in the 2nd quarter. The local model’s engine lineup and outputs, as well as derivatives, will be shared closer to the launch. There was no mention of the next-gen Ranger Raptor, but we’re sure it’s in the pipeline… there will undoubtedly be more info about the range’s flagship in the coming months.
The all-new Ford Ranger has been revealed after a lengthy teaser campaign. Here's everything we know about the Blue Oval's next-gen bakkie.
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