Car Fule

The Ford Ranger has managed to find a place in Europe in a historically complicated category: that of pick-ups. In the United States as in emerging countries, these vehicles, which straddle a passenger car and a utility vehicle, are gaining a lot of followers. In the United States, one of the best-selling models each year is the big F-Series (F150, F250, etc.). In 2022, he was again at the top of the ranking. Followed by the Chevrolet Silverado and RAM 1500. A success that has never really been exported to us, Europeans are fond of more compact models. Ford had a nose early on in deciding, however, to launch in Europe a reduced version of the F-150, the Ranger. Arrived in 1998, it was first a carbon copy of the Mazda BT. It was assembled alongside it in Thailand and then distributed to most European markets.

The best-selling pick-up in Europe

Currently in its fourth generation, it has withstood the vagaries of time rather well. While pick-up sales remain anecdotal here. Toyota is present in this niche with its HiluxNissan with its Navara. Mitsubishi with sound L200and Isuzu with its D-Max. More recently, Volkswagen lifted the veil on its new Amarok, which is developed on the basis of the new Ford Ranger, precisely. A category largely dominated by Japanese manufacturers therefore, but in which the Ranger is the undisputed leader in Europe.

Most of the other brands, especially European, have broken their teeth there. Renault with the Amarok, Mercedes-Benz with the X-Class, Fiat with the Fullback. All that to say that the Ranger continues on its merry way. Available in four body variants, it is available in diesel and petrol, with a singing 3-liter V6 biturbo in sporty Raptor version. Only a few weeks after its launch, Ford has already announced new features in the range.

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Versions cut for off-piste

Two new finishes will now be available in the catalogue. Named Tremor and Wildtrak X, they bring the number of finishes to seven. Both stand out for an unprecedented long-travel suspension with Bilstein shock absorbers, and chassis settings specific. Concretely, they are more geared towards off-road and extreme conditions. The Wildtrak X also features new 4X4 driving aids. Like Trail Control and Rock Crawl in particular. This version is intended to be the highest in the range, to ennoble the Ranger even more than the Wildtrak. Conversely, the Ranger Tremor is more of an accessible model, located at the beginning of the range. These two new versions of the Ranger are already available to orderbut we will have to wait a few more weeks to know their French prices. Deliveries are expected to start in the summer.