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The next-gen Ranger, set to arrive in 2023, is wider and has a longer wheelbase as well
by Sidd Dhimaan, on LISTEN 05:49For a company that comes up with pretty much a new generation of the F-150 every five years, it sure milked the Ranger for a very, very long time; 11 years to be precise. Ford sold the Ranger T-6 for 11 years without a major update, but times are changing now.
The Blue Oval has unveiled the next-gen 2023 Ford Ranger. It is based on an upgraded chassis, comes with new styling cues, and also features a new V-6 diesel mill. The mid-size truck will also have a longer wheelbase, a wider body, and a whole of tech features inside.
How Different Is The Next-Gen Ford Ranger On The Outside and Inside?
In terms of styling cues, the Ranger doesn’t look any more aggressive than it does in its current avatar, but looks fresh. The design seems to be inspired by the recently unveiled Maverick. It features a new grille up front along with signature C‑clamp headlights. It will be offered with matrix LED headlights for the first time, but expect this to be a Europe-exclusive feature only. There are two recovery tow hooks as well on the front bumper.
There’s nothing much to write about the side profile other than the bolder wheel arches. We’re yet to get all the details, so there’s no word currently on the wheel and tire options that will be offered on the Ranger. The rear looks fresh, too, courtesy of the taillights that complement the graphics up front.
The next-gen Ranger rides on an upgraded chassis. The truck has a 50 mm (1.97 inches) wider track and a 50 mm (1.97 inches) longer wheelbase. Ford also noted that the hydro-foamed front-end structure creates more space in the engine bay and allows the new diesel V-6 to sit in and breathe comfortably.
On the inside, the next-gen Ranger will come with a 10.1-inch touchscreen in the lower trims and a 12-inch touchscreen on the higher trims. They’ll be powered by the SYNC4 infotainment system. The drive control modes that are present on the dash and center console in the current models will be moved into the touchscreen system. While it frees up the space, I’m not entirely sure it will be as convenient, but Ford says it can be accessed by the press of a single button. This will give you access to the off-road data as well, like the steering angle, vehicle pitch, driveline, roll angles, etc.
Apart from this, the 2023 Ranger will be offered with:
- Fully digital instrument cluster
- 360-degree camera
- New short-throw e-shifter and e-parking brake
- Zone lighting
- Wireless charger
What Powers The Next-Gen Ford Ranger?
Speaking of the engine, the automaker will be offering the next-gen Ranger with three engine options. First up is a new 3.0-liter, V-6 oil-burning mill. It replaces the 3.2-liter, five-cylinder engine that makes 197 horses and 347 pound-feet of torque. There’s no word on the power outputs yet, but we expect it to be significantly more than this; perhaps around 240 horses and 400 pound-feet of torque. We speculate this because a 10-percent increase would mean the power outputs clashing with the 2.0-liter, four-pot bi-turbo’s outputs.
The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder diesel engine will be carried over and offered in three different states of tune. In the current iteration, it is offered with a twin-turbo setup that makes 211 horses and 369 pound-feet of torque. For the next-gen model, Ford will offer it in the twin-turbo setup as well as a single-turbo setup. The twin-turbo model could make the same outputs, perhaps five- to ten horses more. The single turbo option will be offered in two states of tune, both of which will be lower than the bi-turbo options in all likelihood.
As for the transmission, we expect the same ones to be carried over with little nips and tucks. There are three transmissions that Ford offers on the mid-size truck – a six-speed manual, a six-speed automatic, and a ten-speed automatic.
Ford will offer two four-wheel-drive systems on the Ranger – an electronic shift-on-the-fly system, or an advanced new full-time four-wheel-drive system. The truck boasts of a better approach angle, too, according to Ford since the front wheels are moved forward by 50 mm. The rear suspension dampers are also moved outboard of the frame rails for better ride quality inside the cabin.
Final Thoughts
Ford hasn’t announced the trim levels either. However, we could decipher an XLT, Sport, and Wildtrak trims. There may or may not be more trims. The U.S.-spec Ranger is currently offered in the XL, XLT, and Lariat trims. It’ll be interesting to see if we’ll get the off-road Wildtrak trim.
The next-gen Ford Ranger will be built at the automaker’s plants in Thailand and South Africa in 2022. Ford will start taking orders in Europe in late 2022 and first customer deliveries are expected in early 2023. The Thereon, the automaker will bring it to the 180+ countries it serves the truck in. There’s no word on the U.S.-spec Ranger yet, but we now know what to expect from it whenever it arrives. On a side note, the announcement of the new Ranger could also mean that the new Amarok is on the horizon.
