Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Believed to bear the name Courier, the Ford Motor Company’s sub-Ranger looks… well, like a compact Ranger. The unibody pickup truck has been spied on the streets of Detroit, and despite the camouflage and all-terrain tires, the Blue Oval isn’t fooling anyone.
The single-cab pickup with a hardtop on the bed appears to be a chassis mule, not a pre-production prototype. If you were wondering, Ford is understood to utilize the C2 platform from the 2019 Focus. Even though the camouflage around the rear wheel wells and rear suspension doesn’t help, there’s no mistaking the Courier has CV axles up front.
Take a look at the exhaust pipe. Exiting from underneath the vehicle on the right-hand side mirrors the design of the Euro-spec Focus. “But look at the wheels! Six lug nuts like the Ranger?” That’s a good observation, and from our point of view, Ford has failed to confuse the carparazzi.
The Ranger-like grille up front doesn’t show a radiator or intercooler behind it, but knowing the Ford Motor Company, there’s an EcoBoost hiding under the hood. If there’s a case to be made for a diesel-fueled option, then Europeans will receive the Courier with the 1.5- and 2.0-liter EcoBlue.
Like the CD6 of the Explorer, the C2 platform was developed with electrification in mind. A mild-hybrid option could be in the pipeline, along with more economical solutions such as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Speaking of which, the F-150 Hybrid is right around the corner!
Color us intrigued about this test mule, but Ford is certainly targeting a different audience from the Ranger. The previous Courier was a cheap workhorse that shared its underpinnings with the Fiesta, a subcompact hatchback that's available as a van to this day in select markets.
Ford filed the trademark for Courier with the USPTO on May 1st, 2018. Last time we’ve heard anything about the compact pickup, Jim Farley said to “expect new nameplates below where we compete today.”
Take a look at the exhaust pipe. Exiting from underneath the vehicle on the right-hand side mirrors the design of the Euro-spec Focus. “But look at the wheels! Six lug nuts like the Ranger?” That’s a good observation, and from our point of view, Ford has failed to confuse the carparazzi.
The Ranger-like grille up front doesn’t show a radiator or intercooler behind it, but knowing the Ford Motor Company, there’s an EcoBoost hiding under the hood. If there’s a case to be made for a diesel-fueled option, then Europeans will receive the Courier with the 1.5- and 2.0-liter EcoBlue.
Like the CD6 of the Explorer, the C2 platform was developed with electrification in mind. A mild-hybrid option could be in the pipeline, along with more economical solutions such as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid. Speaking of which, the F-150 Hybrid is right around the corner!
Color us intrigued about this test mule, but Ford is certainly targeting a different audience from the Ranger. The previous Courier was a cheap workhorse that shared its underpinnings with the Fiesta, a subcompact hatchback that's available as a van to this day in select markets.
Ford filed the trademark for Courier with the USPTO on May 1st, 2018. Last time we’ve heard anything about the compact pickup, Jim Farley said to “expect new nameplates below where we compete today.”
Google News