Ford’s toughest Ranger yet is due to launch next year, becoming a fleet-focused workhorse in the ilk of the Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series, but with the familiarity of the best-selling dual-cab in Australia.
Testing is well and truly underway, and we’ve previously seen it sent down rough durability tracks at You Yangs, to being a support car for the Finke Desert Race-winning Ranger Raptor.
Now, it’s been sent to the messier parts of Ford’s local proving grounds in a bid to get muddy, replicating the kind of extreme off-roading and working conditions some owners will expect it to conquer.
“Mud is one of a truck’s greatest enemies,” said Rob Hugo, Ford Australia’s product excellence and human factors supervisor.
“It can add significant weight, prevent airflow, and act as an insulator, causing components to heat up much quicker. It’s highly corrosive and can clog up fans and alternators, preventing them from running correctly.”
After multiple days playing around in the mud, the Ranger Super Duty had amassed an additional 600kg, but the ute continued without a hitch.
“Our mud-pack testing is a key part of our ‘Built Ford Tough’ validation. So, for the Ranger Super Duty, we knew we had to turn it up to 11. We packed more mud onto this vehicle during development than we ever have before.”
As previously reported, the Ranger Super Duty will offer a 4500kg towing capacity, 4500kg gross vehicle mass (GVM) and an 8000kg gross combined mass, while also offering a 130-litre long-range fuel tank and a modified version of the regular Ranger’s 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 with upgraded cooling.
Ford is due to launch the Ranger Super Duty in Australia with single-, Super- and dual-cab chassis variants early in 2026, before a dual-cab pickup is added by mid-year. It will be available in two trim levels, the standard Ranger Super Duty and the Super Duty XLT.
Pricing starts from $82,990 before on-road costs in single cab-chassis form, making it almost $6200 dearer than the equivalent LandCruiser 79 Series WorkMate.
The Ranger’s price increases to $86,490 plus on-roads for the Super cab-chassis (offering more interior space) while the range-topping dual cab-chassis starts from $89,990 before on-road costs. That’s about $10,700 more than a dual-cab 79 Series WorkMate, or $6490 more than the LandCruiser’s top-spec GXL auto.
Its 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 engine produces 154kW at 3250rpm and 600Nm at 1750rpm, down 30kW on the V6’s output in the standard Ranger, however the Super Duty features the same torque output. Ford claims it’s upgraded the Ranger Super Duty’s cooling system to be 25 per cent more efficient than the standard V6’s.
Other preliminary details to be announced include wading depth (850mm, thanks to an integrated snorkel), track width (1710mm, an increase of 90mm), and running ground clearance (295mm to 299mm, depending on spec).
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