When Ford announced the Ranger Super Duty was going to join its Australian fleet, the most natural comparison was to the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series ute, which for decades has been the go-to utilitarian workhorse for local organisations and farmers.
The 79 Series ute has been the byword for reliability and dependability in harsh conditions since its launch in the 1980s, though in recent years development has stagnated, while it’s no longer able to be ordered with a V8 – instead the HiLux’s four-cylinder turbo-diesel is the only source of power.
With its four-decade-old underpinnings and basic equipment, the LandCruiser 79 ute was always going to be vulnerable to the Ranger Super Duty, which is based on a far more modern platform, includes more up-to-date features and boasts a V6 engine.
Speaking to Australian media at the launch of the updated MY26.5 Ranger and Everest, Ford Australia marketing director, Ambrose Henderson, said the Ranger Super Duty had bested the 79 Series on the sales charts in the opening three months of 2026.
“Many of you joined us out at Tallarook at the end of last year, where we launched this amazing car [Ranger Super Duty, a car that is really in a white space in the market,” Henderson said.
“That started selling at the end of last year. We’ve now sold thousands of these vehicles and are going incredibly well, continuing to exceed our expectations.
“And one of the real pride points for us is in the first quarter of this year – which was also the first full quarter that this vehicle was on sale – we beat LC70 [LandCruiser 70 Series] from a sales perspective.
“[It’s] another proof point of how important this vehicle is to Australian customers and how it’s resonating with them.”
Just how many more Ranger Super Dutys were sold compared to the LandCruiser 70 Series ute remains to be seen, as sales figures for both vehicles are murky.
In the case of the Ranger Super Duty, it is counted as a part of the Ranger lineup, not split out as a separate entity.
Though not in the same class, the likes of Ram and Chevrolet split sales of their core 1500-class pickups and their heavy duty counterparts, allowing the two different vehicles – which have different customer bases – to be distinguished on the sales charts.
Likewise, while Toyota lists the LandCruiser 70 Series ute (the 79 Series) cab-chassis and pickup as its own variant, the wagon (76 Series) and Troop Carrier (78 Series) are included in sales of the unrelated LandCruiser 300 Series.
Despite the addition of the Ranger Super Duty to its Australian lineup, deliveries of the Ranger are down to 15,841 examples between January and April 2026, a drop of 8.2 per cent compared to the 17,257 delivered in the same period last year.
The Ford Ranger is still the best-selling vehicle in Australia, having taken that title for the past three years running.
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