Ranger seeks fortune for Ford

Ford has officially launched its new Ranger light commercials. The launch took place early this week although pricing and details of the new models have been in the market since October last year.

'Sisterships' to Mazda BT50 range, the Fords arrive Down Under with a choice of body styles and two new turbodiesel engines. The entry level 2.5-litre version used in the basic single cab-chassis and ute delivers 105kW and 330Nm, which is a 20kW increase and 22 per cent improvement in torque over the previous diesel offered in The Ford Courier.

The 3.0-litre version offered in higher-spec Rangers packs a knock-out punch with its 115kW and 380Nm.

Ford has confirmed that the name change to Ranger will be pivotal to the vehicle range's success. In an unexpected admission at this week's launch, Ford Australia President Tom Gorman acknowledged that the outgoing Courier badge was not only limiting sales but it was actually turning buyers away.

According to Ford research, buyers outside the (admittedly) loyal Courier owner base saw the badge as describing a basic, lightweight delivery vehicle -- a long way from the tough truck image driving today's sales boom in the market segment.

As CarPoint/Carsales noted last year, the main obstacle to using the Ranger name originally was Chrysler's claim over the badge. More recently, Hino's later use of the Ranger name for its trucks prevented Ford from renaming the Courier until the name became available again last year.

"The Ranger brand is used by Ford around the world and, with an all-new vehicle for 2007, we saw this as the ideal time to introduce a new light truck with a bold new name for the Australian light commercial market," Gorman said.

Thanks to a major shift in the way the vehicle was developed, the new Ranger lives up to its new name and Ford's claims of extra toughness. Links to the cricket through the Ford Ranger Cup have been a vital part of getting the message across to the target buyer group.

Promotional material includes a brown paper pie bag waiting at your local pie shop claiming that the Ranger is "Tougher than that chewy, gristly bit you find in a meat pie". Local pie makers trying to make their mark in new US export markets might not be amused!

Although there is little that is visible that links the Ranger with the outgoing Courier range hence Ford's "all-new" claim, it remains a clever and comprehensive redevelopment of the old model. The underdash handbrake, separate chassis, smaller size, torsion bar front suspension and the old-fashioned manual lever 4WD engagement in manual models give the game away.

Although it is not the true all-new model that Ford Australia has been given the job of developing for Ford's global markets (and is still some years away), the new Ranger is, however, a vital interim model for which the local arm had unprecedented input.

Where previous Courier models were little more than a Mazda B-series with a different grille, the Ranger now has its own very different look styled under former Ford Australia design chief, Simon Butterworth.

Mark Winslow, Ford's Vice-president of Marketing and Sales explained the shift in looks and emphasis as a move away from the car-substitute role that these light trucks normally perform in Thailand (where most Australian delivery 4x4/4x2 utes are manufactured).

Ford claims it consciously moved the Ranger away from the softer "zoom, zoom" passenger car face of the Mazda BT50. The Ranger picks up the new corporate face now appearing on Ford's latest SUVs and light trucks in the USA.

CarPoint has been told it is an important link to the "wild new looks" of the global model still under development.

We can vouch that testing across Europe, the USA, Asia, Australia and South Africa backed by extra validation testing in Australia has delivered a Ranger suspension and chassis package that feels much stronger than any Courier before it. The turbo's intercooler which was totally unprotected in the Courier now has a stone guard which tends to support Ford's claims of extra testing. The Australian version of the Mazda BT50 uses the same specification.

Although Ford had the option of sourcing a V6 petrol model as offered in the final Courier series, Gorman claims that the new 3.0-litre diesel with its five speed automatic option makes such an offering superfluous.

Ford's diesel-only range delivers a braked towing capacity as high as 3000kg depending on transmission. Payloads for all models are at least 100kg over one tonne as more rivals are under by up to 200kg. The Ranger utes continue with some of the longest and deepest load beds in the business thanks to an increase in depth of 60mm.

That said, although safety and comfort are boosted in all models, there is still no factory-fitted cruise-control and adjustment for the driver's seat and steering column is basic.

On the plus side, the Ranger offers the first Ford bull bar option that is airbag compatible and it actually mates up with surrounding bodywork, both major failings in previous models. A choice of no less than 12 colours will also be a big hit in this largely four colour segment.

Check out CarPoint's/Carsales' launch review of the new Ford Ranger soon.

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Ford Ranger 4x2 'low ride' Pricing

Ford Ranger 4x2 'high ride' Pricing

Ford Ranger 4x4 'high ride' Pricing

Note: auto pricing still to be announced. Prices for outgoing 2.5 Courier diesel models in brackets. Single cab-chassis XL 4x2 and 4x4 add $2000 for air-conditioning.