We'll probably get a turbo gasoline engine, however.
Maybe the US Ranger Raptor will have the high output 2.3T from the RS.
Well, it's refreshing to see that Ford finally decided to offer a 4 door Ranger in the US market, 20+ years after they offered it in other markets.
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But I'm still trying to figure out what the angle is here. What does the Ranger offer that the F150 doesn't, except for the momentary cachet of being the "next shiny new thing." Once the shiny and the new has worn off, what is it? A truck that carries less than an F150 and uses the same amount of gas as an F150? Where is the benefit there?
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Unless the price point is significantly lower than an F150, what can the new Ranger do that the F150 can't?
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I suppose Ford could look at the 4 door Ranger as an SUV substitute (and in fact, I think 4-door pickups in general fill the same market niche that body-on-frame SUV's used to, before they all but disappeared) but Ford already makes a crap-load of SUVs: Escape, Explorer, Flex, Edge, Expedition and Expedition EL) as well as unibody the unibody CDV, the Transit.
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One has to wonder, will Ford trim down their SUV lineup to make room for the Ranger? Or will Ford dealers look at every Ranger sold as a lost opportunity to sell an F150?
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Another possibility, I suppose, is that the lower trim levels of the F150 are all but dropped from the lineup and customers with less money to spend are directed to the Ranger while customers with more $$ will be directed to the F150.
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Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the Ranger - hell I've owned two of them - but I'm scratching my head trying to figure out where this new Ranger fits into Ford's lineup.
Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the Ranger - hell I've owned two of them - but I'm scratching my head trying to figure out where this new Ranger fits into Ford's lineup.
I really don't care about the Raptor version. Just as with the F-150, it's likely going to be overkill, even for an overlander, and its suspension will have a fraction of the base version's payload and towing.
Give me a turbodiesel (3.2 inline 5 would be preferred, but a 2.0l inline 4 could suffice) or a bombproof gasser, a rear e-locker, and at least 1.6k-2k lbs of payload, 6k-7k lbs of towing...similar to the Ranger Wildtrek sold overseas.
I'll be happy with that and I suspect most mid-sized truck owners (coming from Tacoma's and Colorado's) would want something like that over a Baja-wannabe.
Go ahead and scratch your head. Mid-sized trucks sell now, and will continue to sell well when the fuel prices eventually increase, which is inevitable. The Tacoma is selling at ~200k per year and GM's Colorado/Canyon sell at ~150k per year. There is a consumer demand for mid-sized trucks.
1/2 ton's and 3/4 ton's still dominate the market, but I will be surprised if that trend continues when fuel prices go back up. A lot of HD truck buyers are bro's who want to look cool and throw a hockey bag in the back. Want will very quickly give way to need when money becomes an issue.
Based off what I've read here (https://jalopnik.com/how-the-ford-ranger-raptor-measures-up-to-the-real-rapt-1822810030) I don't know if using "midsize" as a reason for how this truck would be marketable works. Looks like its .7" narrower than the current Raptor, which makes it a good 8-10" wider than most midsize trucks currently out there. Shorter length helps but being that wide would be a problem here in the PNW. I'll still check it out though.
Two car payments and insurance cost more than fuel savings, that's why we see big trucks doing little tasks so often. You have to err towards big sometimes. I don't plan on replacing my 15mpg truck with a little one even if fuel is $5 a gallon. And I like having both of my legs.
In the Summer I have the bike and car, if I had to commute. I only take an economy hit in the winter. But I have a company vehicle now, so no worries.
For most drivers, who have the truck as their only vehicle, fuel efficient engines (both gassers and diesel) in smaller platforms are going to make more and more sense as fuel prices rebound.
Hard to predict the future, but fuel prices may not rebound for a while as the current admin is getting ready to sell off our public land and open it up for resource extraction. Though it all may change again with the next election.
Please leave overt political commentary in the fireside chat sub forum.