Ford is set to push the Ranger ute into new, more luxurious territory.
The blue oval has unveiled a high-end Ford Ranger Platinum model with features that elevate it above the generously-equipped Ranger Wildtrak.
Priced from $76,990 plus on-road costs – $5800 more than the Wildtrak, but $9800 less than the Raptor – the new Ranger Platinum adds new equipment inside and out.
New “silk chrome” highlights and 20-inch alloys join a premium grille with a chrome pin cushion treatment similar to that used by Mercedes. Clever Matrix LED headlights feature up front, while the rear end has a gas-damped tailgate and new flexible rack system – a sports bar that can slides from front to rear along the Ranger’s load bay.
The interior benefits from quilted leather seats with heating and cooling functions, along with a heated steering wheel and wide-screen 12.4-inch digital dash.
Borrowing elements from the Everest SUV, it has extra storage space, 10-way power memory seats, an auxiliary switch bank and Bang and Olufsen stereo.
Customers can choose between body-coloured and black-painted roof treatments.
Powered by the same 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine as other high-grade Ranger variants, the Platinum sends 184kW and 600Nm to the road through a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Ford Australia president Andrew Birkic said the top-end Ranger was a response to customer requests.
“We listened hard to our customers throughout the design and development of the Next Generation Ranger, and in doing so we reinvented the pick-up truck segment,” he said.
“We’ve seen growth in high-end variants in this segment over recent years, so we challenged ourselves to create a vehicle that provides all of our customer’s wants and needs.
“Ranger Platinum gives customers the chance to have their cake and eat it too, they get the Next-Gen Ranger’s inherent capability with a serious dose of class and sophistication.”
The new machine goes into production in April 2023, arriving locally a month later.