Ford reveals all-new Ranger in Australian International Motor Show

SYDNEY, Australia -The bubbles hadn’t yet fizzled from the champagne at the Paris Motor Show before the Aussies started cracking open a few cold ones of their own to celebrate the opening of the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney’s stunning Darling Harbor. I know that may not be as familiar to the ears as the Frankfurt Motor Show, or roll off the tongue quite as easily as the Geneva Motor Show, sure, but it still remains one of the top ten motor shows in the world, with this year being the biggest showcase of environmentally sustainable vehicles ever assembled in Australia.

There were over 400 vehicles displayed on more than 20,000 square meters of floating floor and carpet, yet despite being the largest single-industry event and the largest exhibition of any kind in New South Wales (after their Royal Easter show), it seemed to be one car – or should I say ute – launching the show, rather than the other way around.

As Ford pulled the covers off their all-new, Australian-designed, Ford Ranger, there was almost a mass exodus off the showroom floor and into the nearest wifi hotspot where journalists tapped furiously on their Blackberrys, iPhones or any other handheld device that could out-tweet the next guy or scoop the auto bloggers.

It was almost as if Australia’s love affair with the humble ute (pick up) had just gone from third base to home run – and the heat was turned up even more when Mazda “dropped” their version of it with the radical BT50 just an hour after. You could only imagine what it would be like when they launch a new beer.

But today was all about the ute. Mercedes had the brutal 480bhp Pearl Orange C 63 AMG and the menacing “designo magno” Night Black gull-wing SLS AMG; Koenigsegg had the 392km/h CCX and Porsche displayed their priceless GT1; Lamborghini had the Superleggera and Peugeot showed off its Le Mans car,  but still they kept going back to the utes.

But who could blame them? They were like proud relatives gushing over the newest addition to a growing family. It will never do 0-100 in 3.2 seconds or win a 24-hour circuit race, but the Ford Ranger is the biggest automotive design story to ever come out of Australia and their first ever locally designed global product. If it wasn’t so cliche, someone would have chucked another shrimp on the barbie.

Although the top brass were skimpy on the specs, we know that the Ranger will be introducing three new engines, including two Duratorq diesel (TDCi) engines from the Puma family that range from a 150ps/375nm 2.2 liter to a thumping 200ps/470nm 3.2 liter job. It will be offered as a 4X2 and 4X4, and both will offer brand new six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes.

Aside from the obvious visual improvements, Ford claims an impressive towing capability and a payload capacity of up to 1,500 kilograms on selected models and more features and smart technologies than ever before seen on a Ford Ranger, including Adaptive Load Control, Trailer Sway Control, Rear Park Assist and the segment’s first Rearview Camera system, making this next-generation model amongst the most high-tech vehicles in the compact pickup segment.

It’s bold and chunky styling ties in with the global face of North American Ford trucks and really looks like one of the family now and not just a distant relative. It is longer, wider and taller than the one it will replace and offers unprecedented levels of safety, while promising new levels of comfort and convenience, like an extra tough interior with 20 separate storage bins and a glove box big enough to swallow a 15-inch laptop.

Destined for 180 markets around the world, the Ford Ranger has the weight of the world on its new deep bed as it needs to be so much to so many people. But Ford is confident that they have nailed it. “Good design is long lasting and transcends all markets,” Design chief, Craig Metros, brags during an exclusive preview in Sydney’s Cockatoo Island. “Cute gimmicks don’t cut it with this group. It’s a robust truck that gets the job done, first and foremost.”

Metros also continued to explain that extensive research among truck customers around the world revealed surprising similarities in taste and design expectations, which is how they came up with the universally appealing Ranger. There may be some subtle differences in local preferences, of course, but one thing that all of them agreed on was that the entire success of the Ranger hinged on the fact that it needed to be developed from the ground up, or as they prefer to say in these parts, down under.