Forbidden Ford: Ranger PHEV Debuts Down Under, But Will The ‘Thunder’ Come To The US?
The Ford Ranger is ready to charge … up!
Ford has unveiled the production version of its new plug-in hybrid Ranger PHEV in Australia. The global Ranger is closely related to the new truck that’s built and sold the U.S., but not exactly the same, as it has been engineered for the demands of different markets.
The Ranger PHEV combines a 2.3-liter turbocharged engine with a 75-kilowatt electric motor sandwiched between it and a 10-speed automatic transmission.
It’s a similar setup to what’s found in the Ford F-150 PowerBoost hybrid, which uses a turbocharged V6, but it also has a large 11.8 kilowatt-hour battery pack that provides an estimated 28 miles of all-electric driving.
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The combined power output is 275 hp and 503 lb-ft of torque, the latter of which beats the high performance Ranger Raptor’s stock 430 lb-ft.
The Ranger PHEV is rated to tow up to 7,700 pounds and can haul 2,200 pounds in its bed, underneath which the batter pack is mounted between the frame rails. It also comes standard with four-wheel-drive and was designed with off-road driving in mind.
“Not all hybrid vehicles are the same, and our mission was to ensure the Ford Ranger was as versatile and capable as possible,” chief engineer Rob Sharples said in a news release. “Our engineering teams worked very hard on keeping Ranger’s core off-road capability while adding in the performance and efficiency of a hybrid powertrain.”
Ford has been having great success with the F-150 PowerBoost and Maverick Hybrid, but hasn’t yet confirmed any plans for launching a hybrid Ranger, let alone a plug-in hybrid version. However, it may have something in the works.
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While American Cars And Racing has not been able to find any U.S. trademark applications for Ranger PHEV, Ford has filed one for the Ranger Thunder name. Ford is also seeking protection for the F-150 Thunder and Maverick Thunder names, but hasn’t yet publicly said anything about what they might be used for.
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The applications specify the intended use for “Motor vehicles, namely, automobiles, pick-up trucks, electric vehicles in the nature of automobiles, sport utility vehicles, and structural parts therefor,” which leaves the door wide open.
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That said, with the F-150 Lightning being an all-electric truck, using the Thunder on a plug-in hybrid might make sense. Further supporting this is the fact that the global Ranger PHEV is launching with a Stormtrak trim, so we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the Ford forecast.
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