Will the Ford Ranger Super Duty be reliable enough to lure Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series buyers away?

As Ford’s Ranger Big Responsibility mid-size truck lands in Aussie showrooms, there’s a whiff of trade within the air.

It’s the scent of a Blue Oval diesel-ingesting 3.0L V6 wafting over our scorched outback, through mines, rural worksites and farms, the build aside for the longest time it’s been Toyota nation. Specifically, Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series nation, led by the come-unbreakable 79 Series ute.

Ford’s Australia-developed, Thailand-built Ranger Big Responsibility objectives to be disruptor-in-chief, offering a viable alternative to the LC79 Series Cab Chassis pickup, which has for many years been default alternative for these whose work and even life depend upon an continuously-legit automotive.

Acknowledged 79 Series has been in service – with very dinky trade to the tried-and-tested system – since 1984. Aussies aloof sang God Assign The Queen at sports occasions abet then.

The V6 Ranger Big Responsibility with 4500kg towing, 4500kg GVM and 8000Kg GCM lands at an opportune time.

Toyota’s ditched the mighty-beloved 4.5L V8 turbo-diesel (essentially due to emissions woes) and investors can most sensible now fade for the 150kW/500Nm 2.8L four-cylinder turbo-diesel that sees service within the Hilux and Prado.

And quite rather a lot of working the land aren’t chuffed. The 2.8L would possibly doubtless also come-match the V8’s energy and affords 70Nm greater torque, however you do away with an Aussie’s zigzag-eight at your agonize.

Ford’s 3.0L V6 has these two extra cylinders and greater displacement, which would possibly doubtless push disgruntled investors within the Blue Oval’s path.

And it’s a profitable path. Toyota shifted over 11,000 79 Series Cab Chassis pickups in 2024, and at spherical $80,000 a pop, that’s serious trade Ford desires to slit into.

The Big Responsibility has the Toyota licked on numbers, undoubtedly.

A LC79 Series affords most sensible 3500kg towing (-1000kg), 3510kg GVM (-990kg) and 7010kg GCM (-990kg), whereas its easiest payload is 1380kg within the Single Cab Chassis.

The Ranger Big Responsibility goes better: 1982kg payload within the 4×4 Single Cab Chassis physique model; 1885kg in Big Cab Chassis and 1825kg in Double Cab Chassis.

Imprint, too, is comparable. Toyota’s 70 Series Single Cab Chassis begins from $76,800 and Double Cab Chassis from $77,300. Ford’s three bodies are $82,990, $86,490 and $89,990 respectively.

However the million-greenback ask is reliability, namely Ford’s V6 “Lion” turbo-diesel. Owner boards file reasonably a quantity of dramas and failures, whereas Ford Australia recalled over 13,000 Ranger and Everest V6s this April to resolve a manufacturing defect within the left-hand engine camshaft sprocket.

Merchants who depend upon a automotive with the Big Responsibility’s skills will need loads of convincing to beget the Ford shift.

Andrew Birkic, President and CEO of Ford Australia, spoke to Australian media on the Big Responsibility’s launch, championing the Ranger’s success due to customer self belief, whereas acknowledging reliability challenges.

“I believe we’ve learnt some classes from some of these points, and we’ve addressed them within the enviornment,” he said. “We’ll continuously develop the lawful ingredient by that and stare after our possibilities.

“We’ve been selling a quantity of Rangers, it’s Australia’s high selling automotive the final two years and we’re going for three in a row.

“There’s a quantity of Rangers accessible, so we’ve got a quantity of knowledge. The genesis of this (Big Responsibility) truck is work, and so what we know is that sturdiness and quality is a main story, and must be.

“That’s why we’ve had an awfully rigorous checking out regime, and we’ll continue to develop that, because it’s been a cornerstone of the mission.”

The Big Responsibility’s V6 affords 154kW; down from the 184kW in a typical Ranger and Everest V6, due to modifications made to beget the engine EU6-compliant. It’s also necessitated AdBlue to diminish nitrous oxide emissions.

Ford Australia didn’t walk into detail on what else had been modified with the V6, however said it had “irregular transmission and engine calibrations to be sure optimum usage of the torque of the engine,” better suited to crude workloads.

Acknowledged transmission is Ford’s long-serving 10-stride auto, whereas the 600Nm engine torque stays unchanged next to a typical Ranger.

However the diminished energy quantity will seemingly instruct many Big Responsibility investors, particularly these planning on properly exploiting its lugging and towing skills.

The powertrain aside, there’s no ask the arrangement work and enviornment checking out has been exhaustive.

Engineering Supervisor for Ranger Big Responsibility, Drew O’Shannassy, outlined their checking out included pushing the hardcore Ranger to breaking level.

“We favor to bring the greatest GVM, payload, towing, off-avenue capabilities and robustness,” he said. “One among the challenges we got as soon as we went abet to the senior leadership turned into ‘bring us extra damaged parts, push this ingredient extra, walk gain the boundaries on each portion so we are going to repair them.’”

Reassuring stuff. And O’Shannassy said for Big Responsibility they conducted checking out they’d never carried out earlier than, as Ford is aware of this truck will be historical in environments a Ford Ranger hasn’t the truth is long past to earlier than.

The Big Responsibility shares most sensible six p.c of its physique with a typical Ranger; all else has been beefed up. Announce extra sturdy construction, mounting aspects and underbody protection.

There’s a 130L gas tank, plus better front and rear driveshafts, CV joints, rear differential, braking design, springs and shocks. The radiator fan’s now 1000W; 25 per cent above a typical Ranger’s 800W.

“The automotive’s been optimised for neat accountability,” Birkic said. “It’s been through rigorous checking out and we’re assured that the automotive’s highly capable, now not most sensible in its attributes however also in quality.”

When requested how the Ranger Big Responsibility can compete with the long-proven Toyota LC79 Series, Birkic said: “At the stay of the day you’ve got to position them in possibilities’ palms. And we’ll be judged by that.”

We’d want a crystal ball to sight if this mighty Ranger can and will expose as legit, trusty and deeply revered as the Toyota LC79 Series.

Actually, it wants to be. Vehicles built for such harsh environments and work mustn’t let their person down. If it does, there would possibly doubtless now not be a 2nd probability.