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27/03/2011
By EWAN KENNEDY
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The Ford Ranger pickup / ute is the largest-ever automotive design and engineering export project ever undertaken in Australia. The light commercials engineered here will be used in about 180 countries, many where utes are the top selling vehicles. Where a ute is a working vehicle as well as a family car, even a bus without a roof into which an enormous number of passengers are loaded.
It’s vital that the Australian program encompasses all of the above, perhaps more. The volume-selling dual-cab variant was given its first public airing at the Sydney Motor Show last year. Now Ford Australia is giving some fascinating inside information about the design of the body.
It’s essential in many countries, Australia is certainly one of them, that a ute looks tough. Tradies want to look the part and in Oz more and more utes, particularly dual-cabs, are doing double duty as family cars.
Ford’s just announced new Territory has revealed that the looks of the upcoming Ford Ranger will be part of that family. Just look at the big-grille treatment to see what we mean.
But even tough utes have to play their part in minimising fuel consumption by slipping through the air as easily as possible. To do so, Ford Australia has employed a solid team of body engineers, some of them with a background in racing cars. These guys are actually using techniques similar to the ones used in Formula One racing cars to guide the Ford Ranger’s body cleanly through the air.
The Ford Australia aerodynamics guys have trimmed the Ranger's drag coefficient down to just 0.40. Prior to the 1980s passenger cars weren’t as streamlined as that.
The biggest drag reduction was achieved by designing a front air dam that limits the amount of airflow that goes under the vehicle and sends more air around the Ranger’s body. This air dam cuts drag by about seven per cent. It also adds to vehicle stability.
They also created the best shape for the windscreen pillars, tapered the C-pillars slightly more than in the original stylist brief and designed a tailgate with a small spoiler at its top edge.
Of course any vehicle that passes the air efficiently around the body doesn’t just save fuel and lower emissions. It is also quieter, especially in crosswinds. A quiet vehicle feels more refined so attracts more buyers who carry out their own pre-purchase road test.
Ford will offer three engines in the new Ranger: a 2.2-litre Duratorq TCDi diesel producing 110 kW of power and 375 Nm of torque; a 3.2-litre Ford Duratorq TCDi engine with 147 kW of power and a 470 Nm of torque. There's also a 2.5-litre Duratec petrol engine that develops 122 kW or power and can be run on E100 (ethanol) flexible fuel or LPG or CNG.
The diesel Ford Rangers will come with the choice of a six-speed manual or automatic transmission, while the 2.5-litre petrol will only have a five-speed manual.
The new Ford Ranger will compete in a harsh market against many competitors, including Toyota HiLux, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max and the soon to be released new Holden Colorado. The latter being built by Chevrolet and having nothing in common with the current Holden Colorado.
All-new Ford Ranger will go on sale Australia wide in the third quarter of 2011.
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