Powertrain updates result in the 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel engine begin dropped entirely.
The global announcement of the Ford Ranger 2026 powertrains was an important one for local bakkie buyers.
The Ranger is South Africa’s best-selling bakkie after the Toyota Hilux and the two have shared the top table with the Isuzu D-Max for a long time.
But once the new powertrains come into effect next year, the Blue Oval’s bakkie portfolio will look very from that in the Toyota Hilux and Isuzu D-Max stables.
ALSO READ: Isuzu D-Max X-Rider loses out to Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux
New Ford Ranger line-up
In this week’s episode of The Citizen Motoring’s Pitstop podcast, we analyse the new Ford engine structure. And compared it to that of its rivals.
The biggest news from the announcement is that the 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel engine is being discontinued. This mill, that is manufactured at Ford engine plant in Struandale and shipped to the main manufacturing facility in Silverton, produces 154kW of power and 500Nm of torque.
Both the 184kW/600Nm 3.0-litre V6 and 125kW/405Nm 2.0-litre single turbo oil-burners have been kept. But the single turbo will eschew its current six-speed automatic transmission in favour of the 10-speed automatic transmission that serves on the bi-turbo and 3.0-litre models.
The Ford Ranger Raptor will also keep the 292kW/583Nm twin-turbo 3.0 V6 petrol engine.
Another petrol engine
Another change sees the 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol engine being introduced to the Ford Ranger. The blown mill produces 222kW/452Nm and is mated to a 10-speed auto box. It was recently introduced to the VW Amarok which is built alongside the Ranger in Silverton. Before it was rolled out on the Amarok, the 2.3-litre mill was already imported to South Africa. It is also fitted to the plug-in hybrid Ford Ranger which is built only for export markets.
The Isuzu D-Max is not offered with petrol engines. The Toyota Hilux only have 2.7-litre petrol mills in its workhorse offerings.
