Britain’s most popular pick-up truck has finally got an EV option, but the Ford Ranger PHEV plug-in hybrid is only a little bit electric.
That’s because it’s got a range of just 26 miles, but it’s also unique in the pick-up truck segment which has been slow to go zero-emission.
Despite Ford having a full size electric pick-up truck in the USA, the Ford F-150 Lightning it’s not let announced an electric Ranger, leaving it behind competition like Maxus who have launched two electric pick-up trucks, the Maxus eTerron 9 and the Maxus T90EV before that.
Isuzu plans to launch a fully electric D-Max, but that’s still at least a year away. Meanwhile the Toyota Hilux 48v is still stuck in mild-hybrid territory.
Ford is introducing plug-in hybrid technology to their mid-size pick-up to give its many Ford Ranger customers at least a partial zero-emission option.
Power for the Ranger PHEV comes from a combination of an engine and an electric motor.
The engine is a 2.3-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engine, while the hybrid part is a 75kW EV motor. Ford says it is integrated as part of the Modular Hybrid Transmission which will enable the Ranger PHEV to perform all the tasks a diesel engined pick-up truck can.
The new powertrain is not quite the most powerful in the Ranger lineup - that accolade must go to the Ford Ranger Raptor.
However, the Ranger PHEV is not far off being the most powerful pick-truck Ford sells thanks to its 276hp output. That’s a pretty decent amount, but it’s not the most impressive number in the PHEV’s arsenal.
The Ranger PHEV delivers a stonking 690Nm of torque, comfortably the most of any production Ranger model.
The Ranger PHEV gets an 11.8kWh battery capacity - that’s the equivalent of the batteries in two Citroen Ami Cargos, in case you were wondering.
The modest sized battery and the massive weight of the hybrid Ranger means that you’re not going to get very far on EV-only power. The Ranger PHEV has a 26 mile electric range (45km).
Yes. load bed floor has been raised by 31mm to make room for the High Voltage Battery, so although technically it is reduced, it’s so small you’d barely even notice.
The Ranger PHEV gets the same payload as any other Ford Ranger. That means it can carry slightly over one-tonne - currently 1043kg prior to official homologation. That means it’s classed as a commercial vehicle for the VAT man.
Official weights vary depending on the trim, but as a benchmark the kerb weight of the Ranger PHEV is 2450kg. The Ranger PHEV also has a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of 3,500kg, which is slightly more than a diesel-engined version which have a 3,350kg vehicle mass. This is because of the slightly higher kerb weight and because of the need to make it carry one tonne.
Speaking of trims, the Ranger PHEV will be available with a choice of three at launch. There’s the entry-level XLT, a Wildtrak, and a special launch edition of the Stormtrak trim.
Oh yes it can, in fact the Ranger PHEV is pretty much the perfect towing vehicle.
The Ford Ranger PHEV towing capacity is up to 3,500 kg when in EV Auto, EV Later and EV Charge modes, and all that early torque from the electric motor means it’s an ideal companion for towing.
That’s the big question. The answer is we don’t know, but not for a while. Ford says that the Ranger PHEV represents the “best of both worlds” giving customers the option of zero-emission driving capability but retaining all the core abilities of a Ranger like its towing, off-roading capabilities and its payload capacity.
The 2.3-litre Ford EcoBoost petrol engine is also an established drivetrain found in the Kuga passenger car, and more reliable than developing a diesel hybrid which would be very costly. Instead, Ford has managed to keep the price of the Ranger PHEV down compared to its other premium models.
The starting price for the Ranger PHEV line-up is £39,500 for the XLT trim. Ranger PHEV Wildtrak models will start from £44,900 and the Stormtrak Launch Edition will be £49,800.
The Ranger PHEV Stormtrak Launch Edition is essentially a Ranger Wildtrak, which like the diesel Ranger Stormtrak gets some special equipment. In the case of the PHEV, the paintwork is the standout feature with a choice of either an Agate Black or Chill Grey body colours.
There’s also 18-inch alloy wheels and Stormtrak PHEV badges inside and out.
Yes, customers can have Ford’s Pro Power on board as an option, with the choice of two different power outputs – 2.3kW or 6.9kW.
Ranger PHEV gets three power outlets – two in the load box and one in the cabin, and on the 6.9kW version, a maximum of 3.45kW can be drawn from a single load box socket or the full 6.9kW across both loadbox sockets. The cabin socket output is limited to 2.3kW.
Yes. The Ranger PHEV gets 4 different EV drive modes - EV Auto, EV Now, EV Later and EV Charge.
Here’s a brief outline of what they do:
Yes, Ford Pro will give customers a range of charging solutions suitable for home or work charging. It will also work with the existing Ford Pro ecosystem, so fleets can monitor the usage of the batteries and keep an eye on their vehicles and get alerts about location or unauthorised access.
The Ranger PHEV will be made at Ford’s Silverton Plant in South Africa alongside other Ranger variants destined for Europe.
All UK Rangers come from this plant, except the Ranger Raptor which is made in Thailand as it is a Ford Performance product and not part of the regular Ranger line-up.
It was launched at the Hannover motor show in 2024, but you’re probably wondering when it will be coming out.
Well, orders opened in most European countries towards the end of 2024 or in some cases in early 2025.
Deliveries of the first units is expected midway through 2025.
