The Ranger is not an unknown truck for the US market. The truck actually originated here with the original which was released back in 1983. Ever since it was launched it was one of the best-selling compact trucks on the US market. However, because Ford had some problems back in 2010 and 2011, they decided to completely remove the Ranger from their US roster back in 2012. Ever since then people started wondering how the International version of the truck would fare on the US market. Unfortunately, though, Ford said that the Ranger would create competition for their own F-150, so they decided not to release it. However, a few months ago rumors started spreading about the 2018 Ford Ranger coming to the US and only a couple of weeks back the truck has been confirmed.
Why the sudden change?
It is a well-known fact that GM’s Colorado and Canyon are the best selling compact trucks in the US despite being quite large. In fact, the base four-door Colorado is longer than the equivalent Silverado. This didn’t impact in a negative way the sales for the Silverado but it did give people a good truck to use inside a city while keeping the usability of a true truck. It now seems that Ford wants a share of the market so they will release the Ranger sooner than expected. The truck has already been leaked by a Ford official from the UAW factory which said that people will not lose their jobs because they will work on the Ranger and the Bronco. So far it seems that the Ranger will be priced aggressively, most likely at less than $25,000.
2018 Ford Ranger Changes
Just like with its GM counterpart, the 2018 Ford Ranger is not going to be identical to the International version. Instead, Ford will adapt it for the US market in order to better please their customers. For starters, the exterior design is expected to change quite a bit. Some suggested that it would take from the F-150 while others said that it would adopt a modern-classic look, similar to the upcoming Bronco. We are quite sure that Ford will refine the design of the ongoing Ranger and they will give it a slightly more aggressive look.
Ford Ranger 2018 Interior
Here things are likely going to be a bit more straight forward. Why? Well, the model currently on the market is a good truck and offers a good amount of options. The interior of the 2018 Ford Ranger will most likely be based on it while adding some new touches from the upcoming Focus. The end result should be a more premium truck than some of its competitors. The cabin is already known to be larger than pretty much all of its rivals. The only real drawback might be the materials used inside the cabin but this could prove to be wrong.
Also read about 2018 Ford Bronco
Under the hood new Ford Ranger
Just like with the European model, the US version of the Ranger is expected to offer three different engines. However, it will get two all-new engines and a carry over one. The one that will be carried over is likely going to be the 3.2 liters turbocharged inline 5. This engine is currently in use on the Transit where it makes a good 185 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. In the Ranger, it might be tweaked to make closer to 200 horsepower and a similar amount of torque. The base truck, on the other hand, is expected to use a turbocharged petrol engine with around 250 horsepower. This would give it an advantage over the 2.5 liter naturally aspirated engines of most of its competitors but it would likely drive the price up quite a bit. The other choice will most likely be a V6 with well over 300 horsepower.
