SPY PICS: 2022 Ford Ranger XL local testing

There’s currently a huge amount of attention at the top end of the all-new 2022 Ford Ranger line-up, with the flagship Ranger Raptor set to be officially unveiled this week.

But that hasn’t meant the wheels aren’t continuing to turn in and around Ford’s Victorian-based Asia Pacific Product Development Centre, where the new-generation global ute has been designed and engineered.

At the other end of the scale to the Raptor, we’ve caught the incoming entry-level 2022 Ford Ranger XL undergoing late-stage engineering development on the streets of Richmond ahead of the new ute’s mid-2022 local launch.

The fleet-spec XL doesn’t have quite the same road presence as models further up the chain, but even at this base level the 2022 Ranger is easily spotted with its bolder Americanised front-end design and longer wheelbase.

As seen here, the base XL grade is fitted with 16-inch steel wheels, halogen headlights and black door handles and body trim, and lacks side steps and cabin railings of higher-spec models.

The engine line-up for the Australian market is still to be fully confirmed, but the XL is expected to be powered by a single-turbo version of the ‘Panther’ 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel found further upstream.

The single-turbo oiler has been developed in two output levels, which are still to be divulged; in the Ford Transit Custom sold in Australia, the engine churns out 125kW/405Nm.

A 2.3-litre turbo-petrol EcoBoost four-cylinder engine remains an ongoing part of the global line-up, but it’s not expected to be offered in Australia at launch.

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