Ford retires bi-turbo Ranger and Everest as Transit engine takes over

Ford has officially launched the upgraded Ranger and Everest, and as we reported last November, the bi-turbo diesel four-cylinder is no longer available.

The decision to can the impressively refined and flexible engine was founded on cost and global emissions, according to Ford Australia’s product communications manager, Ben Nightingale.

“Bi-turbo was an engine that was in Ranger and Everest only, globally. And as Ford globally looks to increasing emissions controls and development costs and all those things, you’ve got to have a singular four-cylinder diesel drivetrain that’s available across our commercial vehicles globally,” said Nightingale.

“What this has allowed us to do is create a really great engine that’s going to have more development, more time spent on it – across the board. So it’s going to be in millions of vehicles – Transits, Everests, Rangers across the globe.

“That’s where that’s come from.”

Nightingale revealed that global production of the bi-turbo engine has now ceased.

“It’s not produced anymore for any vehicle, and this engine now becomes the four-cylinder diesel option, globally.”

Ford Australia director of marketing, Ambrose Henderson, said dealers have taken more orders for the four-cylinder diesel Ranger and Everest than any other powertrain variant in the lead-up to deliveries of the revised model year vehicles.

“From a demand perspective, you might be surprised to know that the cars that had the highest contracting rates – to put it another way, the cars that had the highest number of orders – coming into this launch, [were] the cars that had the 2.0-litre engine,” said Henderson.

“And I think that’s for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it allows us to expand into those entry price points that we talked a fair bit about. So it broadens our portfolio to a larger group of customers.

“But also because it brings with it a bunch of features and refinements that is a step up... the 10-speed auto transmission that’s now standard across the range is a big step up.” 

Although the Ford execs on hand wouldn’t admit it freely, the Transit engine’s timing chain is anticipated to be more durable in the long term than the timing belt of the bi-turbo engine.

In the public consciousness, the bi-turbo engine was long held to be ‘overstressed’, producing as much power and torque as it did from such a small displacement.

Nevertheless, some Ranger and Everest buyers may miss the 154kW/500Nm of the defunct engine, which is replaced with a single-turbo engine good for 125kW and 405Nm. It now comes coupled with a 10-speed automatic transmission rather than the earlier engine’s six-speed automatic.

As for the swings and roundabouts of pricing, one example of how that plays out is the Ranger XL 4X4 dual-cab pick-up, which was priced at $51,130 plus on-road costs for the MY26.00 variant with the previous single-turbo engine and six-speed automatic. Now, with a 10-speed automatic, the counterpart in the MY26.50 range is priced from $51,400.

Previously featuring the bi-turbo four-cylinder under the bonnet, the Ranger Wildtrak now comes with the 3.0-litre V6 as standard for $75,090 (plus ORCs) – an effective price increase of $5,200.

But pricing for the flagship Ranger Raptor remains unchanged, at $90,690 (plus ORCs).

To recap, the MY26.50 Ranger and Everest can be identified by black exterior trim in lieu of chrome, along with revised wheel designs. New colour options for some Ranger variants comprise Traction Green, Ignite Orange and Acacia Green, which is also optionally available for the flagship of the Everest range (Platinum).

Standard equipment has been enhanced for the basic Ranger XL, with driver assist technology suite added, along with a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen and dual-zone climate control – including rear vents in the dual-cab variants.

The Wildtrak grade gains Matrix LED headlights and a 10-speaker Bang & Olusen sound system.

A limited edition Ranger Wolftrak has also been introduced at $73,000 driveaway, sitting between the XLT 4X4 dual-cab pick-up and the Ranger Tremor, which is back for an encore performance, but with the 3.0-litre diesel V6.

For the Everest, the entry-level model is now the Everest Active series, replacing the Ambiente and Trend grades, priced from $60,000 including on-road costs. Standard features for this variant comprise leather-appointed seats, a 12-inch infotainment screen, 18-inch black alloy wheels, rear privacy glass, tyre pressure monitoring system and six selectable drive modes.

Everest Sport and Tremor variants are now equipped with a 360-degree camera, heated/ventilated front seats, third row seat removal option on Tremor and tyre pressure monitoring system. Ford has also reintroduced the Everest Wildtrak limited edition model, priced from $79,990.

The launch of MY26.50 Ranger and Everest coincides with Ford’s end-of-financial-year (EOFY) marketing activities, with fuel cards and clearance deals being offered on select models.

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