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Originally Posted by naddis01
I was following on from my previous post saying that it would be the perfect vehicle for those with large caravans and do a lot of touring. If Ford can't see that then they are leaving a substantial piece of the market on the table. You see it all the time from all brands, where people buy a dual cab and load it up with the tray, fridge, batteries, 2 spares hanging off the back, bullbar, scrub bars, bash plates, winch etc etc. Then hang a 3.5T caravan on the back and wonder why they are overweight. Or even worse, they obviously to the fact.
Those people don't want an XL (assuming it is specced the same as the normal Ranger).
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Oh, I will leave it to the in-house product development folk at Ford to pick and choose (and defend) what they think the company can sell. They have been the ones talking to the fleet managers and fleet sales; and one would have to assume they have better access to data on customer trends and intentions. However, I will say that when I look at the concept of selling a Super Duty to fleets, it makes a lot of sense to me.
This article appeared in The Australian Mining Review a few days ago.
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“Ranger Super Duty further strengthens our commercial vehicle portfolio, with an offering for all kinds of work,” he said.
“As we move closer to launch, we will continue to work closely with fleets and vehicle modifiers across Australia to be sure that Ranger Super Duty does everything they expect it to, and so much more.”
The Super Duty concept originated in 2019 and, over the years, Ford actively sought feedback from extensive visits to Ranger customers, including Australian mining companies.
“The Ranger Super Duty has been specially engineered and designed to support the needs of heavy-duty fleet customers who need higher levels of payload, towing and off-road capability – backed by OEM levels of engineering, durability and warranty,” a Ford spokesperson said.
“Its mid-size design makes it ideal for navigating tighter spaces while still delivering the capability needed for demanding tasks.
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As for the difference between an XLT and, say, a Platinum; one has to ask oneself what essential kit is missing from the XLT that would put a private buyer (who is chasing all available load carrying capacity) off the purchase? It has all of the essential safety kit, so it cannot be that. Would the lack of electric powered and ventilated seats kill the deal? Lack of expensive sound system? Vinyl floor covering (which is brilliant when camping)? Lack of heated steering wheel? Cup holders? LED auto headlights?
Thinking about the Ranger's development road map a bit more and making a few wild guesses ... it makes me wonder if the Super Duty is a subtle way to avoid some of the flak from the current ALP/Greens/Teal/YourABC about "SUV" size and emissions. One would assume that the Ranger PHEV (which will be premium priced) will take some of the demand off the V6 production. Assuming that a Super Duty pinches some sales from Toyota, with a GCM of 8,000 kg, it would be a nice way of keeping the V6 production line at full steam in what is clearly a highly specialised work vehicle (as opposed to an F150 as an urban runabout).