Compared to those models, Ranger’s story is actually surprising. Ford first used this name under the Edsel brand, to name a short-lived lineup composed by a convertible, a coupé and a sedan. And some years later, it made reference to a styling package applied to the F-100 pick-up. It started to name a compact truck in the early 1980s, and only in North America. During its first years, this Ranger was designed as a miniature of its F-Series siblings, which might have been the reason of its quite fast ascension to commercial success. Since things were going this well, Ford tried to export it for the first time: it started with American countries, and later Mazda spawned a badge-engineered pick-up of its own for Asian markets. Sales were only about to grow even more.
One of the reasons why Ranger did so well in these countries was being the “right amount” of a pick-up truck. Most people either go to other categories for smaller cars, or just can’t afford the costs brought by something as big as the full-size pick-ups. The twist in this story is that North America’s increasing environmental concern started to divide drivers between those who really needed large trucks (or were wealthy enough not to care) and those who decided to buy smaller vehicles. Long story short, Ranger’s popularity managed to decrease in its homeland as quickly as it increased elsewhere. Over the past years, this phenomenon reached the point of its current generation having been developed in Thailand and released in dozens of countries – except for the United States.
This is the precise truck which will boast refreshed looks for 2016. Since the ‘2011 model had such great reception around the world, Ford was encouraged to start producing the SUV sibling Everest as well. And given that this one received many compliments of its own, it became the role model for the pick-up’s facelift. Ranger reminds it at the brand new front fascia: combining smaller headlights (with projector lamps) to a bigger, hexagonal grille aids to a design which looks very imponent, and very well-adapted to the carried-over parts – those are pretty much the rest of the exterior. The Wildtrak trim (only for Thailand) changes the chrome finishing for matte black and adds tough-looking accessories, but nothing that changes the overall intention.
Since this is just a midlife update, Ford decided to improve the cabin, more than changing it. Ranger received new instrument cluster, trim schemes, and 8” touchscreen. The equipment list added the second generation of the Sync infotainment central, tire-pressure monitor, hill holder, adaptive cruise control, stability control and alerts for blind spots, lane departure, and imminent collision. Besides all that, both the electric steering and the suspension feature updates to deliver more comfortable handling. When it comes to engines, the only gasoline-burner is a Duratec 2.5, good for 166 hp. Switching to the turbo-diesels, the 2.2 delivers 130 hp or 160 hp, and the 3.2 reaches 200 hp. Both can be paired to six-speed transmissions, whether manual or automatic.