SPY PICS: Bold new face of next Ford Ranger exposed

The rugged new front-end design of the next-generation 2022 Ford Ranger has been exposed for the first time.

New photos posted to Facebook reveal the confident new styling – including a dynamic headlight design – ahead of the next Ranger’s official reveal in the next couple of months and its Australian showroom arrival in early 2022.

Despite the camo wrap, it’s now clear the Aussie-designed and developed ute shares design elements from the bigger Ford F-150 and smaller Maverick pick-up trucks – neither of which will be sold in Australia.

A handful of photos snapped in Thailand – where Aussie Rangers are built – and posted to the Ranger Club Thailand Facebook page show off additional details of the bigger, more powerful Ranger dual-cab ute, which was recently seen undergoing final testing in Australia and New Zealand.

The highly-anticipated middle sibling in Ford’s global ute line-up features similar C-shaped headlight clusters to the Maverick’s and borrows other elements from the F-150, such as vertically-stacked dual-beam headlights encircled by LED daytime running lights.

The new Ranger’s dynamic front-end also boasts dual horizontal bars that bisect the new-look grille and bleed into the headlight clusters.

Together with a higher, squarer bonnet, the resulting look gives the front-end more a larger, more powerful aesthetic than the current model.

The vehicle in the photos is understood to be the global model that will be sold in Australia, New Zealand and many of the circa-180 countries the Ford Ranger is currently sold in.

Given the similarities to the new Ford Maverick, however, it’s likely that US models may get a slightly different front-end design.

Set to grace Aussie showrooms from early 2022, the all-new Ford Ranger is currently the second-best-selling vehicle in Australia behind the Toyota HiLux). Although Ford is yet to release any technical details of the new model, such as towing capacities and engine types, it will pack a lot more power.

Along with upgraded 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engines, Ford is set to shoe-horn a twin-turbo diesel V6 under the bigger, wider bonnet. Widely expected to be a development of Ford’s 3.0-litre Power Stroke V6 diesel, power is expected to eclipse 200kW.

It’s not clear whether the V6 powertrain will be exclusive to the hard-core Ford Ranger Raptor or whether it will be optional on popular high-spec models such as the Ranger Wildtrak.

The new Ford Ranger will also form the basis for the second-generation Volkswagen Amarok, which won’t take a backward step by ditching its turbo-diesel V6 engine.

There’s also scope for a turbo-petrol V6 offering up to 300kW in markets like North America, and there’s even been talk of hybrid and fully electric versions of the new Ranger. However, electrified powertrains are likely to be introduced later in the vehicle’s lifecycle.

All combustion engine models are expected to use Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission and official footage of the Ranger blasting across rugged terrain suggests improvements to the dual-range 4x4 drivetrain on 4WD models.

Other upgrades will include an all-new cabin set to offer Ford’s latest SYNC4 infotainment system, which may include a big 12-inch central touch-screen and potentially a 12.3-inch digital instrument display.

As well as improved smartphone connectivity, expect to see an uptick in safety tech as well, including enhanced driver assistance systems.