In the United States, the Chevrolet Colorado and its GMC-branded twin, along with the all-new Toyota Tacoma rule the mid-size pickup truck segment. It’s a damn shame that Ford pulled the Ranger from America, especially after you take a look at the facelifted model.
Being built in Thailand, the Blue Oval is urged to pay a 25 percent import tariff for every non-American built light truck that arrives in its North American dealerships. It’s an even bigger shame that if it were sold here, the 2015 Ranger would’ve got the 3.2L 5-cylinder TDCI of the 2015 Ford Transit. On the van, the oil burner produces 185 HP and 350 lb-ft (474 Nm).
That’s about enough of why the Ranger mid-size truck isn’t sold in the US anymore, so let’s move on to our main subject - the 2015 Ford Ranger facelift. The video and photo gallery below were uploaded on the Internet prior to the workhorse’s debut at the Bangkok Motor Show and you’re in for a big treat over the pre-facelift T6-generation Ranger, which entered production 4 years ago.
On the styling front, it’s easy to tell that the Blue Oval’s design team was told to 2015 F-150-ify it as much as possible. The revised head lamps or the bravado-laden grille and the resculpted face are the main visual newbies, while the rear end has been barely botoxed. Then you hop inisde...
...and it hits you: there’s a Ford Fusion/Mondeo-inspired single analogue gauge flanked by two TFT displays, together with a Ford SYNC II touchscreen infotainment system. Moreover, these are joined by an HVAC unit, center console and gear shift lever lifted from the Everest seven-seater SUV.
On the powertrain front, customers (outside the U. S. of A.) are in for a very big treat
You’re offered with 4x2 (RWD) or four-wheel drive, a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic, as well as a choice of motors: a 3.2-liter TDCI five-pot turbo diesel (200 PS and 470 Nm / 197 HP and 346 lb-ft), a 2.5-liter Durance gasoline motor (166 PS and 225 Nm / 164 HP and 166 lb-ft), as well as a 2.2-liter TDCI oil burner with 160 PS and 385 Nm (158 HP and 284 lb-ft) of twist.
The treat comes in the guise of the 2015 Ford Ranger 2.2 TDCI High Efficiency model, which has been tuned to offer 20 percent better fuel economy than the more powerful 2.2-liter oil burner mentioned beforehand. This fuel-sipping variant churns out 131 PS and 330 Nm (129 HP and 243 lb-ft).
As it was the case in recent years, the 2015 Ford Ranger facelift will be sold in the ASEAN region, Australia and NZ, together with some pickup truck-loving countries from Europe.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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