Ford Ranger Super Duty early details and analysis
The 2026 Ranger Super Duty promises bigger towing and an even bigger price. But exactly what will that mean for you in terms of value, the ownership experience and general functionality?
The Ford Ranger Super Duty has grabbed your attention because it promises to be an even more capable dual-cab ute than the Wildtrak and Platinum you’ve been eyeing off since 2021.
Sure, the towing, carrying and breadth of performance will all be improved - but what does that mean for you, in the real world? How can Ford promise bigger figures from the same basic Ranger platform if it wasn’t available before?
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Ford Ranger Super Duty in 2026 - and here is the first of many teaser images they’ve released.
Thinking about how carmakers design their next new flagship vehicle, the one that’s going to carrying your company’s logo and financial future for the next ten years, is an exercise in inductive logic. Starting with a premise and using observed patterns to draw reasonable conclusions.
Ford makes pick-up trucks, utes and vans. That’s pretty much all they do now. So when it came time to design the new Ranger, with lots of input from Ford Australia, Ford had to decide the trajectory of various product grades and variants and special editions to stem from the platform.
Lots of ‘What are we going to do with this new Ranger?’ and ‘Should we make a Super Duty, a Raptor and a Tremor edition?’ type of questions were asked, clearly with firm yesses to all three. So this Ranger platform was never going to just be the regular 5-tier dual-cab ute and some single-cab/super-cab type spin-offs. This platform needed to do more.
The reason it gets called a platform is because it’s the base product to which everything is bolted to. With Ranger launched in 2021, you wouldn’t be unreasonable to anticipate the product planning began way back in 2018-ish; ballpark.
The product planning teams would etch out plans for the Sport and Tremor mid-tier variants (and what equipment they would get for what pricepoint). They would do the Platinum model grade above the Wildtrak, how they would branch out to do the Everest as a separate model, they would also be planning the plug-in hybrid and electric version as well.
Somewhere in this product planning schedule you can guarantee the Ranger Super Duty idea was also put into motion, even if it was floated and remained a possibility in the event early Ranger sales success was high - the homework still has to be done and all the requirements to make that a reality. If sales were average, you can argue there would be less budget flexibility to make (and market hunger to devour) an even more expensive, more specialised Ranger Super Duty.
In early 2024 when the sales results came in, Ford Ranger was the #1 best-selling vehicle in Australia for the first time in years. Even more encouraging to Ford has, no doubt, been the popularity of the dual-cab 4X4 in particular. Because that’s where the disposable income is for working families, tradies and small-medium business with the need for a comfortable, capable multi-role vehicle.
Ford has also stated it will target fleets with the Super Duty, where trade-pack type accessory kits will be bolted on, specialist equipment and possibly with a more upmarket style pack for private buyers who also want the headline towing/GVM figures.
The Ranger Super Duty has been in the works for a while, logic would suggest, without having confirmed this with Ford Australia. It’s a reasonable conclusion to make. Carmakers don’t blow millions just on a whimsical ideal for a pumped up ute that wouldn’t sell. But 2024 sales are telling Ford that even during these so-called ‘tough economic times’, people have the budget for $70,000+ dual-cab utes.
Early product planning decisions to eventually spin off Ranger into a Super Duty would suggest to you they’ve designed into the platform the ability to carry that increased payload.
A Ranger Wildtrak, with all its comfort features, is effectively the same size as a Triton or BT-50, the towing capacity is the same and the payloads are all pretty close. And yet the kerb weight is a massive 2.3 tonnes - damn-near 2.4 tonnes. Why would you allow your ute, with all the same carry capacities as the competition, to be 10 per cent heavier (and also more expensive)?
Presumably because you need the platform to have a 4500kg gross vehicle mass limit to be capable of a 4500kg towing capacity, with an 8000kg gross combination limit. Meaning, a carmaker has to fix what are called the hardpoints. These cannot be changed and are designed to the specific design brief.
You cannot design a ute for X-many kilos of payload and towing, and then in the first quarter of its lifecycle decide to make it capable of greater load-carrying and towing - not without re-certifying the platform. You account for this in the original design.
Otherwise you simply couldn’t build a Ranger Super Duty if the regular Ranger was a lightweight.
What this means for you is that, most likely, the Ranger Super Duty will be a well-executed, highly functional, and (hopefully) quite reliable workhorse for anybody needing a greater, safer load limit. This is because it was baked into the platform.
Whether or not Ford can make the Super Duty a viable proposition for you depends on what you need it to do. Once you’ve just got to digest the pricetag, of course.
FEATURES & PRICING
Given the price of a Ranger Platinum is effectively $90,000 driveaway these days, you should absolutely expect the Super Duty to be a $100,000 proposition.
This would put it up there with LandCruiser 300 and Nissan Patrol, the RAM 1500 and Chevy SIlverado ranges, as well as its own-brand F-150 pick-up - all of which are north of $100K purchases.
One alternative to this is that in order to perhaps make it a slightly more affordable option (as ironic as that notion is in this price bracket) is to offer it as an alternative to the Platinum in exchange for some luxury equipment to keep the price around the $95,000 mark.
Think: Wildtrak equipment levels plus the increased capability for $95,000, and then $100K for Platinum tier equipment and the brawn-factor for $100K. Or it could be just be a single new tier above the Wildtrak, but below the Platinum.
Or the Super Duty might simply be pitched as the ‘work’ alternative to the Raptor. Super Duty for the light truck, heavy hauling, big-towing buyer, or the Raptor for ‘play’, namely the rock-hopping, bicep-flexing boss who likes to head into the bush at every opportunity.
Time will tell.
Ranger Raptor is currently a $90,000 proposition. The F-150 starts at $107,000 for the short wheelbase XLT and maxes out at $141,000 for the long wheelbase Lariat.
ENGINE
Without doubt, the engine choice for the Super Duty will be the venerable turbocharged V6 diesel we know from the rest of the Ranger line-up. It’s proven that 184kW is plenty of grunt for the majority of towing and load-carrying applications, and that 600 Newton-metres is ample for getting a notional 3350kg off the line.
You might consider this a polite way of letting you know not to expect any big V8s like in the States.
What’s important to understand here is that Ford is pushing very closely for light commercial fleet sales. That’s not ‘light commercial’ in the way the media and carmakers like to mis-use the term; it’s light commercial in terms of trucks like the Isuzu NPR, Hino 300 Series and Iveco Daily. Proper ‘light rigid’ trucks.
The advantage with a Super Duty is going to be a softer-sprung front end for passenger comfort compared with conventional trucks. And of course keeping the GVM at 4500kg means you won’t need to upgrade your regular driver’s licence.
If you subtract the current Wildtrak’s kerb weight of 2388kg from the Ranger Super Duty’s GVM of 4500kg leaves 2112kg. SO let’s presume that with new hardware going into the Ranger SD that it weighs an extra 100kg, hypothetically.
It’s confirmed to get an eight-stud wheel hub with 18-inch steel wheels, in addition to (without doubt, although unconfirmed) bigger capacity dampers and revised rear leaf springs - all designed to cope with an additional 1000kg. Speculatively, anyway.
That extra 1000kg is in addition to the 900-plus kilograms of payload already accounted for in the ordinary Ranger. Doubling the mass, essentially, is a very tall order for the powertrain.
That’s more work, more fuel, more heat, increased wear rates and additional stress on the powertrain, the driveline and you’ve got to ask yourself if that is designed into the existing platform.
A cynical person might declare Ford’s historical record of reliability, with this kind of increased workload, is a case of writing cheques that aren’t going to cash.
TRANSMISSION
Like engines, transmissions work very hard, get very hot, and are critical to the long-term viability of any drivetrain. With the Ranger Super Duty, two potential transmission options are likely here.
We’ll either see the same 10-speed “SelectShift” epicyclic automatic transmission in the normal Ranger line-up, or it could be the electronically controlled hydraulic 10-speed automatic as used in the US for the F-150’s 3-litre PowerStroke V6 diesel (which gets that 7-8-tonne gross combination mass rating).
If Ford’s 10-speeds have been designed and developed from the beginning to cope with the increased payload and towing expectations of the Super Duty, they should prove reliable and capable.
But there were gremlins in the shift logic of the 10-speed where it would hunt constantly for the right gear at moderate road speeds. Then there was the vibrating driveshaft itself which was out of phase with the tailshaft.
On the other hand, if Ford is going with the same transmission which was only ever designed for the standard Ranger model line-up, and they’re simply going to beef up everything else and hope for the best with regard to the transmission, there could be problems down the line.
Attaching and hauling a trailer, that weighs roughly twice as much as the prime mover, and then overtaking trucks, climbing steep hills, stopping and starting in busy city traffic during 35-degree heat - it could all prove too much for a transmission not adequately engineered for those harsh operating conditions.
And Ford has a track record (and reputation) for rushing its R&D.
TOWING
The numbers are impressive. A 4500kg towing capacity does suggest you’ll be able to upgrade to a bigger horse float, scrap the cold, rickety old Hino truck, and bring your 3.5-tonne mini excavator on site with one vehicle.
That means no more running the truck in the freezing rain with no heater. No more forgetting to renew the rego every year. You can streamline the business and use one ute for everything. Right?
Well, maybe, yeah. But if you do max out that towing capacity, you’ll need to watch the payload, as usual, however the safe working limit will be higher. And it’ll be much more appropriate for doing the more civilised duties that exist in the periphery of all the mud and dust.
Things like out-of-office site inspections where you need to bring Heavy Piece of Equipment-X to destination A, while also taking clients to survey progress of your tunnel or bridge or nuclear fallout bunker - whatever.
FUNCTIONALITY
There are plenty of features in the F-150 Super Duty range in the US that we might see adapted for the Ranger Super Duty.
Things like the in-cabin rotating work desk which doubles as the centre console lid, the tailgate top lip camera system and sensors, and the extended rock-rail side steps and box step.
There’s also a dual power outlet in the bed, a series of chunky tiedown points, and the obligatory gigantic towing mirrors. These are all possibilities for the Ranger Super Duty.
The point here is not to expect some revolutionary new pick-up truck borne from the Ranger platform.
Generally speaking, Ford’s marketing will sell you on 100 different reasons why their Super Duty is the greatest ute ever, without actually acknowledging they’re going to give it a few tokenistic novelties and call it a day.
Often the novelty ideas they come up with, like a tailgate top lip mounted camera and sensor system (on an F-250 Super Duty), might seem brilliant for reversing up to your trailer with the tailgate open. But it’ll fill with water because the sensors and camera lens are concave, meaning - guaranteed - it’ll eventually get full of dirt and bird poo and mud and will eventually stop working.
And unfortunately, Ford Australia’s customer support is lacklustre at best.
I'll help you save thousands on a Ford Ranger
Just fill in this form.
No more car dealership rip-offs.
Greater transparency.
Less stress.
DRAWBACKS
Physics says that the more kinetic energy you apply to a system, the more opposing force is required to stop it. Trucks travelling at 80km/h hold more kinetic energy, are bigger and heavier than passenger vehicles, and require more opposing force, greater distance and more time to stop. But they also behave differently to regular vehicles, particularly because of their mass and overall shape.
One would hope Ford has increased the braking performance, revised the stability and traction control systems, as well as designed beefier suspension to handle the additional bulk, fitted bigger, chunkier wheels and tyres, and uprated the cooling system to handle the additional work/heat generated by notionally towing eight tonnes.
Say that again: eight tonnes.
The prospect of an 8-tonne pig trailer-Ranger combination is unlike anything most ute drivers have driven before. We’ve seen the results of overzealous owners of Ranger Wildtraks, Hiluxes and D-Maxes who’ve lost control without even being at their gross combination limit. And the Ranger Super Duty is going to be given a 25 per cent GCM increase. With a regular car licence.
The fact a young apprentice can start their driving career in a clapped out old PK Ranger from the early 2010s with a tired old 3-litre 4-cylinder diesel engine and a kerb weight of 2000kg, and then be handed the keys to the boss’s spanking new 2.4-tonne Ranger Super Duty - with no additional driver training - is bizarre.
Particularly in terms of the towing and load-carrying potential of such a vehicle that you can guarantee will be marketed as being good to drive on a car licence, without any formal education about how a possible 8-tonne combination drives differently, it’s dangerous.
Lots of terrible drivers, who’ve picked up all the wrong driving habits from their mates and their parents over the years, are notionally going to be given access to more weight travelling at speed, sharing the roads with mums dropping their kids at school, grandparents, and other probationary drivers, pedestrians, motorcyclists etc. should be a concern.
Truck drivers who intend to get their Heavy Rigid (HD) licence are required to start with their Light Rigid, then step up to Medium Rigid (MR) before reaching the top tier.
Putting someone untrained in how to drive a truck, in charge of what is just 1kg shy of needing a light truck licence, is a recipe for a roadside memorial or two - perhaps at the foot of a tree or some big concrete powerpole.
A Ranger Super Duty weighing 2.4 tonnes being expected to keep a pig trailer under control that weighs 2100kg more than it, is inviting the Grim Reaper for dinner on the wrong kind of dodgy backroad, at night, in the pouring rain, where skippy jumps out in front.
Hypothetically, you can fill up the Ranger Super Duty to weigh exactly 4499kg, without having to be taught how to drive a truck. Do you see the point here? You’re notionally just a 2kg bag of sugar away from needing to be taught how to control a proper truck, with its extra weight, size, its sluggish speed, how it handles, techniques for emergency stops - etc.
But you could potentially step out of mum’s old Camry straight into a 4499kg Ranger Super Duty will of concrete and steel and timber and sugar.
INTERIOR
Given the additional cost it would take to re-tool the factory to make entirely new major interior components, it’s highly unlikely we’re going to see a clean slate interior.
You can expect some sexier, more inviting touches to things like stitching, door panels, floor mats, embroidery headrest logos, mood lighting, maybe even a sunroof.
But you’ll see the same 10-inch touchscreen, the same steering wheel, buttons and switchgear, and broadly the same centre console layout.
Almost certain guarantees are things like new leather, because that’s a pretty simple change to make at the factory in terms of what you supply, as a carmaker.
What’s also a pretty safe bet is more software. Things like towing-related camera and reversing software to help you line up the towball with the hitch, and that’s generally where that’ll end.
You might see a refrigerated centre console for your iced coffee, dual wireless charging and dual smartphone Bluetooth connectivity, as well as ventilated seats to keep your arse cool on those heat-soaked leather seats.
Speaking of, in the US F-250 Super Duty the front seats have the ability to lay back completely flat, like a bed, which would be pretty useful for slacking off on the building site while the young chippies do the work.
MAIN COMPETITORS
FORD F-150
The 2024 Ford F-150 is an impressive addition to the Australian market, blending power, capability and practicality in a full-size ute. It's ideal for those who need a capable workhorse and a comfortable long-distance cruiser.
While the price and size may deter some buyers, those who can accommodate its dimensions and budget will find it a formidable and versatile vehicle.
Big interior thanks to a massive 3.7 metre wheelbase (that’s in the short-wheelbase version, by the way), and that mini monster truck ride height is courtesy of 225mm of ground clearance. Long wheelbase is effectively 4 metres (3999mm), making it a nightmare for most Australian shopping centre carparks.
But that’s okay, because a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost petrol engine solves most problems when it comes to towing, carrying, overtaking or simply intimidating other road users (which you shouldn’t do, obviously).
Compared with the Ranger Super Duty, F-150’s GVM is 3265kg (-37%), the GCM is 7765kg (-3%) and the payload is 710kg (TBC, possibly -180%).
But the braked towing capacity is the same 4500kg which, in the context of the F-150 also weighing 2555kg, makes it about the same in terms of overall dynamic stability under those towing conditions.
TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 70 SERIES
They’re impossible not to love. For all the polish and refinement the likes of Ford, Chevy and the rest of the dual-cab brands put into making their utes more comfortable and less agricultural inside - Toyota does Toyota best.
The 70 Series refuses to get with the times, except for ditching the thirsty old 4.5L V8 for the 2.8-litre 4-cylinder diesel for emissions’ sake. The interior is spartan, hard in all the places (not just the right or wrong places), and it is an off-roader’s wet dream in terms of its simplistic design that begs you to add accessories.
Obviously the towing capacity is capped at 3500kg while weighing just 2185kg. If you absolutely do not want any creature comforts apart from a radio, air-con and Bluetooth, you’ve probably already bought one at around $88,000 a pop.
You can, of course, have it in a glorious 5-speed manual with that iconic long gearstick protruding from the cave-like vinyl floor - which is just the way some people like it, it must be acknowledged. Or you can go against the grain and opt for the 6-speed auto which will achieves a 9.6 litres per 100km combined fuel economy claim, just in case you care about that one iota.
CHEVROLET SILVERADO
Silverado (and RAM) party trick is, of course, 4.5 tonnes of alleged tow capacity - except it’s not the only one pulling this move.
This macho towing premise is going to attract some people, because it just rolls off the tongue. In Silverado’s case this is possible only if you fit a 70mm ball, and limit yourself to 422kg of towball download.
In purely performance terms, the Silverado might have the biggest capacity at 6.2 litres, producing 313kW at 5600 revs, but its kerb weight of 2.54 tonnes in the 1500 LTZ variant (essentially the base model) gives it a power-weight ratio of 126kW per tonne. That’s only 6kW (3%) more than the F-150 Lariat (SWB), and it’s 8kW (6%) more than the Ram 1500 Big Horn.
Yet it drinks the same amount of fuel at 12 litres per 100km, and costs about $14,000 more than the RAM, and is about $6000 cheaper than the F-150.
Do consider all this before spending $140,000 on a Silverado. In 2023, over 3300 people made this consideration and bought a Silverado. Point being, it’s not going to be significantly better than either of its main rivals. Although, the upcoming Toyota Tundra promises 326kW from its twin-turbo V6 in 2025…
RAM 1500
The RAM pick-up trucks were the first to arrive locally and have increased in sales volume considerably since 2017. The 1500 reached just shy of 6000 units by the end of 2023, which is an approximate increase of 500 per cent compared with 2019. And a RAM does ooze masculinity, so it’s understandable why so many people are wooed by their appeal.
Certainly the main advantage with the RAM is it’s about $14,000 cheaper than the Silverado and about $18,000 cheaper than the F-150 and yet guzzles the same amount of premium unleaded and makes a similar 291 kW of power. albeit slightly lower in the revs - 5600 that is.
Onshore parts availability should be a bit better than it was back in 2017 when it first arrived, although that’s a low bar to clear. RAM Trucks was a massive (literally and figuratively) roll of the dice for Ateco Automotive and Walkinshaw Group back in 2015-17, which seems to have paid off, somewhat. But Ateco has a shaky reputation for customer support, it must be said.
Click here for more on MONSTER TRUCKS: RAM vs CHEVY SILVERADO >>
CONCLUSION
Almost all of this is pure speculation until Ford Australia confirms it, and you can absolutely expect that confirmation of details will be drip-fed to us in the manner of the 8-stud steel wheels.
Bits of information will be slowly fed down to the populace, until the thing is finally revealed in late 2025. Hold on for a tedious, unexciting anti-climax as many of these predictions are either confirmed with rapturous golf-claps, or vague indifference. That’s just how marketing departments work, unfortunately.
More reports
The all-new Kia Tasman 4X4 dual-cab ute is finally coming to Australia in mid-2025. The covers are off, too. Here’s everything we know so far