One of the country’s top selling vehicles is being updated with new features and technology.
The 2019 Ford Ranger will be on sale from October this year with pricing yet to be announced.
It features a new powertrain with 10-speed automatic, improved suspension for enhanced off-road and towing capabilities, smoothness and cabin refinement.
It’s also equipped with a new-generation 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel engine available in the Wildtrak series as an option.
The award-winning Ranger has been the most popular vehicle in New Zealand for three years running and the most popular ute in New Zealand for the last four years.
Ford New Zealand marketing manager Jeremy Nash says the Ranger “has proven to be a great fit for all aspects of the Kiwi lifestyle”.
“The Ranger’s solid workhorse credentials combined with class-leading refinement and capability have pushed the Ranger to the top of the charts in New Zealand, and has attracted many new customers to the ute segment.
“The 2019 model builds on that and with new powertrain options it will appeal to even more customers for a wider variety of uses.”
Ford Ranger chief program engineer John Willems says the new bi-turbo diesel engine delivers “500Nm from 1750rpm, giving customers access to more torque, more of the time”.
Meanwhile, the Ranger’s proven 3.2 litre turbodiesel also continues to deliver on the payload and towing it is renowned for with 3500kg capacity.
Ford’s pre-collision assist uses autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection and vehicle detection at any speed to bring the Ranger to a complete stop, mitigating rear-end collisions and road-traffic collisions with pedestrians.The system is standard on the Ranger Wildtrak.
Traffic sign recognition is also available for the first time on the Ranger. It is designed to identify traffic signs whether they are at the side of the road or above it, permanent or temporary. An icon of the speed sign appears on the instrument cluster and changes every time you enter a new limit.
Lane keeping alert and lane keeping aid, and adaptive cruise control with forward alert are other new features on the Ranger Wildtrak, reducing driver workload to help with both short-term attentiveness and longer journey driver fatigue.
In a segment first, the 2019 Ranger Wildtrak also features active park assist (APA), enabling semi-automatic parallel parking. The driver needs only to apply the throttle and brakes, as the system steers the Ranger into the parking space.
*Pricing for the new Ranger is yet to be announced. Go to ford.co.nz for more information.
