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 yet 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.
Fast. Torquey. Quiet. Very different to your normal pick-up truck experience.
Ford says it has kept using the word “uncompromised” during the development of the Ranger PHEV, and it seems like they’ve really hit the brief.
Push the start button, and assuming you’ve got enough charge in the battery, you’ll get virtually no response, except for the dash coming to life. Slip the hybrid Ranger into gear using the usual stubby gear selector and you’ll get instantaneous torque that pulls the PHEV off the line.
If you bury the throttle, the engine usually springs into life - although this would seem to depend on the state of charge of the battery - but otherwise it’s a pretty standard EV-like experience.
The ride comfort is perhaps marginally better than a standard Ranger, possibly due to the fractionally higher kerbweight, and comfort levels are pretty much exactly what we’ve come to expect.
The handling is just as responsive as the diesel, and it has little in the way of body roll or that sometimes bouncy effect you get from an unladen truck.
The Ranger PHEV has four EV modes, which we’ll explain more in detail about shortly.
For anyone that is familiar with the Ford Transit Custom PHEV, the different modes do the same job with the ability to use, regenerate or store the battery charge, as well as allowing the system to automatically decide.
Ford claims an overall MPG figure of 95mpg when using the battery and driving in Auto, which although hard to confirm without clocking up thousands of test miles, does seem to be fairly realistic. The EV range of 43km or 26 miles is said to be enough to satisfy the giant range of around 50% of customers, however, without charging the battery you’re going to pay a heavy price.
The entry-level 2-litre engine will easily notch up a fuel consumption in the mid-30s, however, running on petrol alone and charging the battery will likely see the fuel consumption in the Ranger PHEV hover around or below 30mpg.
We’re pleased to see that the Ranger has the ability to EV Charge - this is something missing from the Volkswagen-made Ford Transit Connect PHEV. The Ford hybrid system also feels a lot more refined. You’ll barely notice the engine kicking in, with no torque interruption or change in the driveline and very little noise.
Most people’s reservations will be around whether or not a petrol engine can do the job off road. We’ve become so accustomed to diesel power in pick-ups it’s easy to forget that petrol can play its part. You only have to look at or read the Ford Ranger Raptor review to realise that.
The Ranger PHEV gets the same drive selection wheel as the standard Ford trucks. There are seven drive modes to choose from, plus e-4WD. The PHEV is a genuine four wheel drive pickup, and is very much as capable as the rest of the range. The ample torque, which is available instantaneously is also really well suited to off roading. There’s never a need to over-rev to get over an obstacle, just keep gently squeezing the accelerator.
Each of driving modes adjust the throttle responsiveness to the terrain mode you’re in, and when you need to go into low-range there’s still no difference in performance.
Uncompromised performance. Remember that word. Well, if you can’t tow, it’s not really a pickup truck. Fortunately the PHEV can, and it does it exceptionally well too.
There’s the ability to tow up to 3,100kg with an overall gross train mass GTM of 6,600kg.
Better still is the new Towing Assist function that uses the very same driving modes selector to steer the trailer in reverse.
If you’re familiar to towing, it requires you to think differently, as it simple steers the trailer - or rather steers the truck in the opposite direction as you normally would.
If you’re new to towing, it’s a very easy system to use, and like the Volkswagen Crafter (where we first saw this system many years ago) it’s quite intuitive.
We managed to back a trailer into a parking bay with no fuss, lining it up close enough to a corresponding trailer so that the items could be easily and safely passed between the two. It also probably took half the time it would normally have taken us to back in.
As mentioned we managed around 30mpg while charging the battery.
Perhaps more importantly, though, we also came pretty close to the claimed 26 mile range.
In the right conditions, with plenty of stop and start, we’re confident you’ll regularly be getting the full usage of the battery.
What about the running costs, and the BIK? Will this cost me a fortune to run?
The maths involved in figuring out if the Ranger PHEV is right for you, and will actually save you money are quite complex, but as a general rule Ford is claiming that it will deliver a €800 saving in Germany. For the UK it should be even cheaper if you have access to one of the very cheap overnight charging tariffs. We’re told that figure could be around £1000.
There’s of course a slight catch. It’s likely to be more costly to service, so although there are savings, you’re not going to reap the same rewards as full EV ownership.
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 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.
It also gets Pro Power Onboard as standard (more on that in a minute) and it is also fitted with Ford's Sliding Load Rack to let you carry longer lengths more easily.
The XLT is just another trim level that is part of the Ranger line-up. The diesel engines get many more including Ford Ranger Tremor and Ford Ranger Platinum, as well as Limited and XL, but for now the Ranger PHEV only comes with entry-level XLT and Wildtrak. The Stromtrak is a limited launch edition model.
With the 2-litre diesel being discontinued, we expect XL and Limited to eventually make an appearance on the PHEV models.
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.
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.
There’s no doubting that the Ranger PHEV is just as capable as a regular diesel model, so if you have any reservations about performance, set those aside. This is a supremely capable truck. Ford has hit the uncompromised brief.
Whether or not it will work for you financially will largely depend on you.
If you are able to maximise the use of the battery, and especially if you have a cheap electricity tariff, it will pay back in buckets.
Finally, if you’ve been used to having your pickup truck as a company car with personal usage, and paying the BIK, the Ranger PHEV is a more financially prudent option.
It will still cost you far more under the new post-April 2025 taxation rules than previously but thanks to its 70g/km CO2 rating, it is a saving over the diesel Ranger.
Times are changing and while a full EV pickup truck is still some time away, the Ranger PHEV is a brilliant blend of combustion and electricity.
With the 2-litre diesel engine dropping off the price list by next year, we don’t feel like customers will be left wanting.
