We know that Ford has a plan to bring back the Ranger nameplate to North America and we know it will be introduced sometime in 2018, yet we could not say anything else about the future pickup truck until now. Today, we managed to catch a prototype that seems to be the 2019 Ford Ranger. Yes, the carmaker started development of the interesting vehicle, so it is inevitable to see the truck on the North American roads.
Judging by the spy shots we got, the 2019 Ranger won’t be exactly the same the as the oversea sibling. No, the US model will get some changes inside, out, and under the hood. The new exterior styling shows the all-new front end that features pretty familiar two-bar grille that we already saw at the refreshed F-150. On the other hand, the new pickup is getting its own headlights and front bumper, so we can’t say it’s just the smaller F-150. As you can notice, the 2019 Ford Ranger sports a lot more dynamic rooflines and more aggressive hood design, so no, it’s not just the scaled-down interpretation of American best-selling vehicle.
The testing model you are looking at features a four-door Crew Cab body, but the latest rumors suggest that the car manufacturer plans to introduce the two-door Super Cab model as well.
The 2019 Ranger will not use F-150’s platform. The pickup will rather use its own architecture, but it will definitely include more aluminum than before. Under the hood, Blue Oval will likely add several gasoline engines and at least one oil-burner option. We are pretty sure that there will be nothing bigger from V6, so the diesel model will be fitted either with a Land Rover’s 3.0-liter Lion unit or Ford’s 3.2-liter diesel inline-five. If you want our opinion, we believe that the car manufacturer plans to use the 3.2-liter mill, because there is no need for something wilder. Ford’s diesel unit currently delivers 185 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque, which can compete with Colorado’s 181 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque strong 2.8-liter Duramax. Still, if they decide to add Land Rover’s option, you can expect up to 254 horsepower and 440 lb-ft of torque. The gasoline 2019 Ford Ranger will probably get Mustang’s 2.3-liter engine, but you can expect to see the topping model with a direct-injected twin-turbo EcoBoost V-6. Of course, most of the options will be mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
Like we said, the US-specs 2019 Ranger will not come this year, so we should found out more in the coming months. The price should be in the range of the biggest mid-size truck rivals, which is around $25,000.
