Exciting New Ford Ranger To Be Launched in 2012
The Double Cab light truck market is going to take one major leap forward when the all new 2012 Ford Ranger makes its debut here in the first quarter next year. With bold new looks that make this potentially the best-looking 4 by 4 double cab light truck ever made, if you are considering a purchase now or in the near future, it would be worth holding back from signing on the dotted line until you have checked out the new Ford Ranger.
The front mask is very macho-looking, very striking in its presence, and the design actually makes the new Ranger looks much bigger than it actually is. I am one of those who strongly believe a truck should look like a truck, and the new Ranger not only looks like a truck, but it is quite handsome as well. To me, it seems to have just the right proportions, and looks very classy, yet maintaining a no-nonsense demeanour. The designers have somehow managed to balance refinement and toughness in one package. The overall package is one impressive-looking and very desirable truck. Although the designers deny it, if you look at the new Ranger, you cannot help but see some design cues taken from the Range Rover and Landrover – not surprising, considering that the Landrover brand, together with the Range Rover has been sold, and some of the design talent has been absorbed into the Ford team.
In terms of size, it is longer, wider, and higher than the current model – Ford have adopted a single platform for the whole world, and this takes into consideration the size requirements of all the countries that the new Ranger will be sold in. The ground clearance is considerably higher, and Ford was proud to declare a wading depth of 800 mm, which is actually quite fantastic. Most other light trucks in this class have a wading depth not exceeding 500mm.
What is great about the new Ranger is that the people at Ford have taken the good features of the current model, and built on them, while ironing out those features that its customers had wanted improvements on. Other than a completely new body, the new Ford Ranger comes with two option of common rail turbo diesels, in 2.2 litre or 3.2 litre capacity, or a 2.5 litre gasoline powered engine. For Malaysia, only the diesel will be available, I would expect, for I don’t envisage that there would be any buyers for the gasoline model. The 2.2 litre diesel boasts of 150PS and 375 Nm of torque, which is 7PS higher than the current 2.5 litre engine, and about 35Nm more torque. The 3.2 litre variant delivers an awesome 200 PS and 470Nm of torque. I can imagine that the 3.2 litre variant will leave most of the competition eating dust behind it when push gets to shove.
The current model already has a very good 5-speed automatic transmission, but Ford moves forward with a 6-speed automatic as standard, and those who prefer a manual will also benefit from a 6-speed transmission. Having an additional gear means some savings in fuel consumption, coupled with smoother gear changes with smaller gaps in between.
Another exciting piece of news is that the new Ranger will come equipped with Hill Descent Control (HDC), a feature adopted from Landrover, together with Hill Launch Control, which stops the Ranger from rolling backwards momentarily when taking off from standstill on a slope. DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) and ESP (Electronic Stability Programme), features found only on more expensive vehicles are also included in the list. From what I glean, there will be four levels of specifications and trim, and the top of the range will have all the bells and whistles. Ford also made a commitment to price the vehicle ‘competitively’. From what I have seen of the last few model launch prices, they appear to be able to deliver this promise.
The bane of the Ford Ranger has always been its rear door, the main complaint being the size of the door itself, and the small opening angle – this has been addressed in the new model. The rear doors are visibly wider, and the opening angle has been increased. Although what we saw was actually a clay model, the Ford designers assure us that the issues have been resolved. As an added bonus, the rear seat rake angle, we are assured again, has been increased so that the rear passengers do not have to sit straight up. At the new Ranger preview in Bangkok organized by Ford, we were also told that the ride quality has been improved over that of the current model, the designers having taken into consideration the urban user.
The new Ranger will be launched in the last quarter of this year, and should reach us by early 2012 – I can’t wait to get my hands on one. It is going to be one great truck!
