Fresh Ford Ranger arrives

The intense competition in Australia's ever-popular ladder-frame ute class is set to ramp up once more, with Ford's locally developed and heavily revised PX MkII Ranger poised to reach Australian showrooms.

The new Ranger family will today be unveiled to the nation's motoring press at a media launch in Victoria, the event seeing a variety of model grades sampled over a selection of sealed and unsealed roads, and culminating in a workout at the Melbourne 4x4 Training and Proving Ground at Werribee, to Melbourne's west.

Ford Australia says the new model will hit showrooms from September.

The new Ranger sees its ladder-frame chassis and driveline options carried over from the previous model, but the updated offering brings with it refreshed styling, a new cabin interior, and – in the higher trim grades – a raft of new technology.

Also new is the appearance of Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS), an adjustable speed limiter, a cable-shift manual transmission, auto stop/start on manual 4x2 Hi-Rider and 4x4 models, a 230-volt inverter (Double and Super Cab models) and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

The new range spans 11 4x2 models and 26 4x4 models, with the full gamut of body styles including Single Cab, Super Cab and Double Cab in both cab/chassis and pick-up formats. The same five basic trim grades have also been retained, beginning with the entry-level XL and moving up to the XL Plus, XLS and XLT, before topping out with the flagship Wildtrak.

The two engines options also continue, the entry-level 2.2-litre TDCi four-cylinder turbo-diesel offering 118kW and 385Nm and the top-spec 3.2-litre TDCi five-cylinder turbo-diesel pushing that maximum output to 147kW and 470Nm. The adoption of electric steering and a range of other tweaks has boosted the 2.2-litre unit's output by 8kW and 10Nm. The 3.2-litre engine's output remains unchanged but features flatter torque and power curves, while fuel economy has improved by up to 20 per cent in some models, says Ford.

The engines can be paired with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.

With extensive input from Ford Australia's own Design Centre, the Thai-manufactured Ranger receives a styling lift thanks to its new trapezoidal grille, repositioned headlights and new wheel designs, while models with sports bars now benefit from an integrated cargo light.

Ford says the new cabin interior has been "enhanced to deliver a car-like environment that is more innovative and functional", with new soft-touch materials and noise-suppression measures further blurring the line between the LCV and passenger-car.

While the new Ranger brings with it an array of new technology, the benefits are largely restricted to the highest trim grades.

XLT and Wildtrak models come fitted with Ford's latest SYNC2 multimedia unit, featuring a large 8-inch touch-screen and boasting an advanced array of user-friendly voice commands. These models also receive satellite navigation with traffic management channel, a DAB digital radio and a mobile WiFi hotspot function, along with the new tyre pressure monitoring system.

As is the case with the current Ranger line-up, a reversing camera is standard only in the Wildtrak, and optional in the XLT. The XLT also comes with rear parking sensors, however, while the Wildtrak comes with front and rear sensors.

Ford says the Ranger's advanced new safety technologies rival – and even surpass – those of $60,000 luxury passenger cars, but again they're only available in the XLT and Wildtrak. Available as a 'Tech Pack', the aids include adaptive (radar) cruise control with Forward Collision Alert, Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keep Assist, the latter actively guiding the vehicle back into its lane should it begin to wander.

The optional Tech Pack – $1100 for the XLT, with reversing camera, and $600 for the Wildtrak, which has the camera as standard – also features a Driver Impairment Monitor, which uses a rear-facing camera, among other inputs, to warn the driver of dangerous levels of fatigue.

These come on top of standard safety features like stability control with rollover mitigation and load-adaptive control, hill start assist, emergency brake assist and Emergency Assistance. The latter works in conjunction with the SYNC2 system in the XLT and Wildtrak to alert emergency services that the vehicle has been involved in a serious accident. The systems provides a GPS location and automatically opens a line of communication with emergency services via the driver's paired smartphone, while it also shuts off the fuel supply.

The new Ranger retains its best-in-class braked towing capacity of 3500kg (shared with Holden's Colorado, Nissan's Navara, Isuzu's D-MAX, Mazda's twin-under-the-skin BT-50, and the soon-to-be-released new HiLux) and an 800mm wading depth, while ground clearance is also at the upper end of the scale, at 230mm.

Off-road the Ranger benefits from a dual-stage transfer case with electronic switch actuation and an electronically locking rear differential. A hill decent control provides enhanced traction at a preset speed on difficult declines.

Pricing for the new range has seen increases made across the board, save for the two XLS manual models. The new Wildtrak now costs $700 more, while 4x2 models have been slugged appreciably – the entry-level 4x2 XL is now $3650 more.

The Ranger has been steadily gaining on Toyota's dominant HiLux in recent years and this latest update will help that momentum. However, the new Ranger faces off against a fresh wave of rivals this year, and with next-gen offerings like Mitsubishi's Triton and Nissan's Navara and recent updates like Holden's Colorado and Volkswagen's Amarok – and with the new Toyota HiLux just around the corner – the competition has never been hotter.

Check back soon for our full launch report and drive impression of the new Ford Ranger.