What’s this new ute all about then?
Meet the much-anticipated plug-in version of the best-selling Ford Ranger. The specifications have been known for a while now, but to recap: there’s a 2.3-litre petrol engine tuned for just 138kW/411Nm, matched to a 75kW electric motor that’s integrated into the 10-speed transmission and fed by an 11.8kWh battery.
Combined power is 207kW and torque is 697Nm - the latter higher than any other Ranger, Raptor included. The PHEV also has the “4A” automatic-AWD mode that’s usually reserved for the V6s and special-edition biturbos like Wildtrak X and Tremor.
There’s been much talk about the Ranger’s small battery and modest 43km (3P-WLTP) electric range. Ford is firm on its connected-car data showing that globally (and this is a global model, despite being designed next-door in Australia), the average Ranger daily trip is 40km.
Australasian data from 10,000 vehicles/5 million trips also shows that nearly 60% of owners use 4A, nearly half engage 4H and/or the locking rear differential, 11% use 4L and 80% tow.
That’s the basis for the company’s argument that the PHEV couldn’t compromise at all on any of the Ranger’s 4x4 and tow-abilities. The 11.8kWh battery is the right size and weight to allow the rest of the package to remain... Rangery.
Combined power is 207kW and torque is 697Nm - the latter higher than any other Ranger, Raptor included.
There is one little detail that illustrates how seriously Ford took the brief to avoid compromise: the tray is mounted 31mm higher in the PHEV than the diesel, to package the battery underneath. So Ford reshaped the tray-inner with extra cutouts front and rear so the PHEV would offer exactly the same volume.
The Ranger PHEV’s big USP is not necessarily electric driving, but Pro Power Onboard (PPOB). There’s a single 2.3kW socket in the cabin and twin 3.45kW outlets in the wellside within the tray, all of which can power whatever you’d like to plug into them up to a total of 6.9kW.
Ford says the 11.8kWh battery is the right size and weight to allow the rest of the package to remain Rangery.
They’re powered by the traction battery of course, and even if you run it flat using PPOB, the engine will fire up automatically to run as a generator, all the way down to 80km range in the fuel tank.
How much is it?
The Ranger PHEV arrives here in three models: the $82,990 XLT and $89,990 Wildtrak are roughly equivalent to their turbo-diesel namesakes (which continue, of course), but there’s also a new PHEV-only flagship called Stormtrak: it’s $94,990.
The XLT PHEV carries the biggest premium: it’s $15.5k more than the biturbo model. The Wildtrak PHEV asks $13k extra over the 2.0-litre equivalent, or you could look at it as being $5k more than the Wildtrak V6 (the PHEV has more power and torque, remember).
What’s it like to drive?
We travelled to Australia to drive the Ranger PHEV over two days of open-road motorway and country work, plus some dedicated off-road stuff designed to show what the new plug-in can do.
As a road vehicle/pseudo-SUV, there’s certainly appeal in having a petrol engine that revs, but also boasts diesel-like muscle when the electric motor is doing its thing.
The PHEV still doesn’t have the easygoing delivery and aural character of the big 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 used in the top Wildtrak, but it feels more relaxed than the biturbo, which often has its 10-speed transmission snicking up and down at a furious pace.
If you’re driving purely in electric mode you still have those 10 gears, because the electric motor is part of the transmission. That also means you can have full-4WD under pure-electric, too.
There are four separate EV-related modes, which you can cycle through on a single button: Auto EV, EV Now (priority to electric-only), EV Later (to save the current battery charge) and EV Charge, which is self-explanatory and quite important for this vehicle, because it means you can be sure to have a full battery if you want to use PPOB at your destination. Ford reckons a couple of hours of motorway driving is enough to fully charge the battery using this method.
There are also 7 selectable drive modes, like you’d mostly find in a regular Ranger; although Sport, previously a Raptor exclusive, is also included. Only select combinations with the EV modes are allowed; no point having Sport enabled with EV Now, for example.
The PHEV is heavier than the diesel; Wildtrak-for-Wildtrak the difference is 286kg, for example. The PHEV has slightly wider wheels and a bespoke tyre design to handle the extra weight of the vehicle and the potential loads of cargo and towing.
Off-road, we did pretty much everything: from crawling through ankle-deep mud in 4H with traction on, to 4L full axle-articulation over rocky terrain, to wading (the PHEV maintains an 800mm rating). All on standard tyres.
No surprise that the PHEV excelled, just as a conventional Ranger would do. In some respects it’s a very traditional ladder-frame 4x4 with a live rear axle, but the calibration of the electronics is also remarkable.
If there’s any tangible disadvantage to the extra weight of the electric model, it wasn’t obvious. Through the sludge the Ranger’s traction control just kept it steadily on the move with no sign of bogging down. No signs of alarm from Ford people about scraping the underside along some pretty big rocks, either: it’s as well protected underneath as any other Ranger.
We did complete some hill descents and 60% gradient climbs (that’s pretty steep, people) on electric power alone. You wouldn’t actually do that in practical 4x4-ing, but you know… just to see if we could.
No problem at all, until an annoying person next to me asked for a pause near the top of the climb for a photo… at which point the electric motor couldn’t summon the grunt to get us going again. An instrument-panel prompt immediately appeared, suggesting we activate the petrol engine; a click on the “OK” button and we were away again. Easy.
Fuel economy is a tricky subject with PHEVs, because it depends how you use them. The official figure of 2.8l/100km is not that useful, then. You could drive this entirely on electric all week if your commute is less than 20km each way, but in hybrid mode on the open road we saw around 9l/100km – similar-to, or a bit better than, a biturbo. But we look forward to putting it to the test at home.
What’s the pick of the range?
The more Ranger changes, the more it stays the same. The mechanical/electrical package is the same across the lineup, but it looks like the Wildtrak is still the sweet spot: for an extra $7k over the XLT it takes the Ranger from workhorse to luxury pseudo-SUV status.
As an aside, while Wildtrak still has unique styling detail like a specific alloy wheel design, it’s arguably the hardest to differentiate from the regular Ranger. Both XLT and Stormtrak have a very-EV-appropriate design of wheel with flush, flat spokes.
Stormtrak is a clever play by Ford. It features the clever Flexible Rack System (already an option for other Rangers) and matrix LED lights, but beyond that it’s mainly details such as special grille and wheels, unique decals and interior trim, plus a special colour: Chill Grey. But there will be many who simply must have the look-at-me version of the PHEV. And it does make a statement.
If you want maximum utility though, XLT is the one: it boasts the full 973kg payload, which drops to 885kg for Wildtrak and 808kg for Stormtrak.
What other utes should I consider?
The most obvious rivals are two much cheaper Chinese offerings that also utilise plug-in hybrid power: the BYD Shark 6 and GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, which are both under $70k.
Both also offer more than twice the battery-capacity and twice the electric range of the Ford: 29.58kWh/100km (NEDC, more like 80km real-world) and 37.1kWh/115km (also NEDC) respectively. So if you want maximum EV driving from your ute, these two have the Ranger beat.
But this trio are all quite different in their priorities. The Shark 6 is primarily an EV (it has more of a range-extender type powertrain) and doesn’t have the 4x4/tow-ability of the Ranger; although it does have wellside-mounted power outlets like the Ford (and further vehicle-to-load from the main recharging port).
We haven’t had any real experience with the plug-in Cannon Alpha as yet, but it seems more of a match for the Ranger off-road and can tow 3.5 tonnes; however, that big battery/EV range comes with an even more significant weight penalty.
Given Ranger’s utter dominance in the market generally, it’s logical that the PHEV’s main rivals will be… other Ranger models. Ford is clear that this is an addition to the lineup, not a replacement for anything. It was designed to be a no-compromise Ranger first, EV second.
So price premium aside, there’s nothing lost in the vehicle’s utility for those buyers who want/need the EV-ability and ProPower OnBoard functionality.
