The highly anticipated new Ford Ranger is set to go on sale in South Africa and other international markets in 2022, but word on the street is that it could stick around until at least the early 2030s.
Citing insider information, CarBuzz says that the US-spec Ford Ranger will have an eight-year lifecycle, running from 2023 until early 2031. Although that does not necessarily mean that the global version of the Ranger (as sold in SA) will have a similar lifespan, it is likely given that the vehicle is expected to share its basic architecture with the US version.
Long life spans are not unusual in the bakkie world, with the current Ford Ranger having been launched in SA exactly 10 years ago, while Toyota’s latest Hilux, introduced in 2016, isn’t likely to be replaced until mid-decade.
The new Ford Ranger will be officially revealed later in 2021 ahead of its 2022 on-sale date, and it is widely reported that the newcomer will be built around a modified version of the current model’s ‘T6’ architecture.
The new bakkie is also set to inherit the 2-litre single- and twin-turbo diesel motors, which were introduced late in the current model’s life cycle, while rumours of a V6 diesel engine (sourced from the Ford F-150) have also been doing their rounds.
The new Ford Ranger prototypes are currently being put through their paces on some of the world’s roughest terrain, covering the equivalent of 1.25 million kilometres of customer driving, as well as 625 000km worth of rugged off-road durability testing at maximum payload.
“It’s important that our customers are able to rely on Ranger to deliver years of dependable service,” said chief program engineer John Willems. “So, we’ve gone to great lengths to subject next-gen Ranger to extreme tests - stressing it much more than a typical consumer would - to help ensure it is ready to face everything life throws at it.”