Ranger Super Duty Confirmed for 2026

[csi20]

'2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty confirmed
All-new heavy-duty Ranger will be in a class of one with unheard of capabilities
Ford Australia has announced a Ranger Super Duty is nearing the end of its development and will arrive in 2026 as a mega-capable workhorse designed to cater to extreme-duty industries.

It will be the first time the ‘Super Duty’ name has been applied to anything other than an F-truck, and Blue Oval has insisted the 2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty will be much more than a ‘sticker tuning’ exercise or bolt-on special.

Full specifications are being kept under wrap for the time being, however, a few hard numbers have been let slip and look primed to rewrite the mid-sized ute rulebook.

Ford has thus far confirmed a 4500kg braked towing capacity, a 4500kg gross vehicle mass (GVM) and a massive 8000kg gross combination mass.


Ford Ranger XL Cab Chassis

Ford F-150 XL
For reference, a standard Ranger XL double-cab 2.0-litre 4x4 automatic has a maximum towing capacity of 3500kg, a GVM of 3250kg and a GCM of 6350kg.

It’s hard to find anything that comes close to touching those numbers, even in the full-sized ute class populated by the Chevrolet Silverado, Ram 1500, Toyota Tundra and, indeed, Ford’s own F-150.

Those Yank tanks can tow more in their native North America, but in Australia they’re limited to 4500kg to keep them car-license friendly.

Their GCMs are mostly in the 7000-8000kg range with the exception of heavy-duty models like the Silverado HD and Ram 3500 ($160k+ propositions), but payloads are usually substantially lower than what most mid-sized utes can carry.

The Ranger Super Duty, somehow, manages to outgun all those non-HD full-sizers in those three critical metrics, not to mention all of its midsize segment rivals.



Ford’s brief press release announcing the Ranger Super Duty didn’t detail exactly how it managed to muscle-up the Ranger platform to such levels, but it did say the Ranger Super Duty will, like its namesake cousins in the USA, be primarily pitched at fleet customers – particularly those in the farming, utilities, forestry, mining and emergency services sectors, industries Ford consulted throughout the Super Duty’s development.

“Ranger Super Duty blends the smart features and advanced safety of … Ranger with heavy-duty capability and delivers what our buyers told us they needed but couldn’t get anywhere else,” Ford global truck boss Sondra Sutton Phung said.

And as with the Ranger itself, Australia was largely responsible for bringing the Ranger Super Duty from concept to reality.

The bulk of design, engineering and development was conducted in Australia by around 1500 Ford staffers, so while the Super Duty name might be intrinsically connected to America, the Ranger Super Duty should have a profoundly local flavour.




Ford has only released a single shadowy image of the Ranger Super Duty showing it from a front-on angle, but we can immediately see that it will wear wider bodywork than standard, with wider quarter panels and add-on black plastic wheelarches.

What’s more, that bodywork appears to be specific to the Super Duty, with a prominent bevel around the leading edges of the quarter panels and a bonnet that isn’t present on the current Ranger Raptor’s widebody.

With more than a year to go before the Ranger Super Duty rolls into Ford showrooms, we should see and hear about it in more detail throughout 2025.

What’s clear right now, though, is that Ford is headed toward attaining an almost unassailable advantage in the mid-sized ute segment."
https://www.carsales.com.au/editoria...cGat4psCBLmg3A

[jgmdat]

Oh dear, Franco is going to have kittens.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by jgmdat

Oh dear, Franco is going to have kittens.

I am genuinely impressed - 4500kg GVM is Jappo truck competitor, this is firing a shot at Isuzu Truck and their N series sales, those things are around $60K DA mark for their base model tray 'ready to work' range.

Fordman1 was the first one on AFF with this news before it was announced,

Somewhat curious to see whats under the bonnet, what the chassis rails are like compared to regular Ranger and if its priced competitively with Isuzu N series light trucks.

Puts the Ranger on the list for an actual work vehicle, rather than private buyer special where they sell more high spec dual cabs for that cohort.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

I am genuinely impressed - 4500kg GVM is Jappo truck competitor, this is firing a shot at Isuzu Truck and their N series sales, those things are around $60K DA mark for their base model tray 'ready to work' range.

Fordman1 was the first one on AFF with this news before it was announced,

Somewhat curious to see whats under the bonnet, what the chassis rails are like compared to regular Ranger and if its priced competitively with Isuzu N series light trucks.

Puts the Ranger on the list for an actual work vehicle, rather than private buyer special where they sell more high spec dual cabs for that cohort.

The advantage with the Ranger is you can place and order and it might take a few months at most.
Order a Jap truck and it could be 18 months.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by XR Martin

The advantage with the Ranger is you can place and order and it might take a few months at most.
Order a Jap truck and it could be 18 months.

You can still get Jap trucks, there's a bit of stock floating around of Isuzu N series Servicepack X at a dealership level at the moment, which is aimed squarely at tradies

[rare ss]

looks like the Gnome is out of the bag

[swamp]

hi
There is no real diesel work ute on the market in ozzy . Unfortunately it will probably turn out to be over featured ,over priced , under powered ,generally under done .

Probably priced high as there is profit to be made by just slightly undercutting the import USA utes .

[jpd80]

A couple of years back, a comment was made to me regarding Ford questing what buyers saw in Full Sized Pickups.
Was it the sheer size and room available or was it the higher tow and haul figures or was it all of that?

Step one was providing the 3.5 EB crew cab F150 to Aussie buyers, the next step is seeing
whether buyers would pay for a Ranger with greater tow and hauling ability.

I’m wondering if Ranger SD will have dual wheel rear axle….

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by jpd80

A couple of years back, a comment was made to me regarding Ford questing what buyers saw in Full Sized Pickups.
Was it the sheer size and room available or was it the higher tow and haul figures or was it all of that?

Step one was providing the 3.5 EB crew cab F150 to Aussie buyers, the next step is seeing
whether buyers would pay for a Ranger with greater tow and hauling ability.

I’m wondering if Ranger SD will have dual wheel rear axle….

I had a GMC Sierra 3500 which had a 4500kg GVM and a single wheel rear axle so it's possible to have those kind of figures without duallies, the problem there probably starts at 5500kg GVM which all those Jappo trucks can be updated to out the box.

[simon varley]

it also fills a gap for all the grey nomads who want a GVM upgrade for their vans

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by simon varley

it also fills a gap for all the grey nomads who want a GVM upgrade for their vans

Is the Super Duty single cab only?

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Is the Super Duty single cab only?

Wouldn't make sense to make it single cab only, IVECO Daily/Isuzu NLS 4X4 competitor in dual cab form and you capitalise on gray nomads and lifestyle brigade with a dual cab.

I don't think they can lose with this new super duty, I wonder if it's going to be counted as Ranger sales or it'll go into the same truck sales stats as the others.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Wouldn't make sense to make it single cab only, IVECO Daily/Isuzu NLS 4X4 competitor in dual cab form and you capitalise on gray nomads and lifestyle brigade with a dual cab.

I don't think they can lose with this new super duty, I wonder if it's going to be counted as Ranger sales or it'll go into the same truck sales stats as the others.

It's just that there seems no reference for dual cab in the info I have seen.

[smoo]

Originally Posted by simon varley

it also fills a gap for all the grey nomads who want a GVM upgrade for their vans

Which is a scary prospect, considering most of them in their thai specials or SUV derivatives in a hurry to get no where act as a rolling 90kmh road block oblivious to what’s behind them as the **** end of what they’re driving is dragging on the ground while the head lights are blinding oncoming motorists.

Simply put, there needs to be another license class for towing this much weight and authorities should be treating them the same as heavy commercial vehicles (scales).

It be good if Ford could really set this apart from the rest - an option of coyote or Godzilla V8.

[PooDog]

Originally Posted by smoo

Which is a scary prospect, considering most of them in their thai specials or SUV derivatives in a hurry to get no where act as a rolling 90kmh road block oblivious to what’s behind them as the **** end of what they’re driving is dragging on the ground while the head lights are blinding oncoming motorists.

Simply put, there needs to be another license class for towing this much weight and authorities should be treating them the same as heavy commercial vehicles (scales).

It be good if Ford could really set this apart from the rest - an option of coyote or Godzilla V8.

Amen to the license class, and make them get training, things like mirrors serve a purpose they're not decoration , and if there's horses in thee back.... Compulsory training regardless of weight limit

[csv8]

Originally Posted by smoo

Which is a scary prospect, considering most of them in their thai specials or SUV derivatives in a hurry to get no where act as a rolling 90kmh road block oblivious to what’s behind them as the **** end of what they’re driving is dragging on the ground while the head lights are blinding oncoming motorists.

Simply put, there needs to be another license class for towing this much weight and authorities should be treating them the same as heavy commercial vehicles (scales).

It be good if Ford could really set this apart from the rest - an option of coyote or Godzilla V8.

So, you dont like caravanners? What you wrote is a load of rubbish

[Smoke Pursuit]

Originally Posted by csv8

So, you dont like caravanners? What you wrote is a load of rubbish

No hes actually pretty spot on. I also believe he has the licence to back his claim up too.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Smoke Pursuit

No hes actually pretty spot on. I also believe he has the licence to back his claim up too.

I'm in the same camp. I'm not a caravan fan, but I can see why people enjoy this sort of thing. As such, this post is not a caravan bashing exercise, rather me expressing concern for other road users.

I get the feeling a lot of people retire, buy a huge caravan, and vehicle to tow it with. Fine, go for your life. But I suspect a lot of those people have never towed anything more than a garden trailer, let alone the combined weight of the massive caravans and vehicles these days. That you are able to do so without any prerequisite is concerning.

One of my clients recently bought a very large caravan, which needed a very expensive GVM upgrade on their 200-series Landcruiser. Because he has failing eyesight, his wife is doing the driving. Credit to her though, she went and completed a towing course before their first trip. To me, something like that should be mandatory for vans over a certain size and combined weight. You need a license to operate a boat, which is arguably less risky than traveling with a huge caravan.

As I said, I'm not knocking caravans, but the way they have evolved over the last decade, things are very different to when you would hook up a small van to the back of your Falcon and off you went. There is so much extra at play these days.

[kevino]

Originally Posted by csv8

So, you dont like caravanners? What you wrote is a load of rubbish

lol
This guy has more miles on the road in super heavy vehicles than you have had dinners
It’s not a case of not liking the caravaners
It’s a case of trying to lift their driving skills

[tbro4123]

Originally Posted by smoo

Which is a scary prospect, considering most of them in their thai specials or SUV derivatives in a hurry to get no where act as a rolling 90kmh road block oblivious to what’s behind them as the **** end of what they’re driving is dragging on the ground while the head lights are blinding oncoming motorists.

Simply put, there needs to be another license class for towing this much weight and authorities should be treating them the same as heavy commercial vehicles (scales).

It be good if Ford could really set this apart from the rest - an option of coyote or Godzilla V8.

Your obviously not from QLD, 100kph is a suggested speed limit and is +- 15% on any main highway. Mirrors, who needs mirrors, I drive a v8 Cruiser so I'm bulletproof!!! and the van is supposed to sway like that, geez does no-one know how to drive?

And as a side note, never ever turn on your lights in the rain especially heavy rain, the truck coming up behind you might actually see ya!

Guess who did a change-over up the Bruce with it pi**ing down!

Terry

[Smoke Pursuit]

https://www.drive.com.au/news/2026-f...er-duty-spied/

See attached link with some pics. Rear chassis looks different, bigger mirrors, new front bumper clip similar to Raptor, new factory rear bar for Bliss and sensors to accommodate a tray, 8 lug hubs etc.

LED headlights standard on XL variant. I personally think that this will only come in the V6 Diesel at first, bi turbo won't cut the mustard. Given its extra GVM I wonder what effect this has on their ESG reporting? All things said its a shame ford have to release a info on a product over 12 months out.

[naddis01]

[Franco Cozzo]

I'm somewhat excited for this, wonder if you can have 4500kg GVM in standard ride height rather than hi-rider and if they'll come with steel tray rather than alloy ones

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Iwonder if you can have 4500kg GVM in standard ride height rather than hi-rider

from memory, I don't think any next gen ranger, anywhere, now comes in a low rider variant. I know we had some during development, but I don't think they ever made it to production

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by simon varley

from memory, I don't think any next gen ranger, anywhere, now comes in a low rider variant. I know we had some during development, but I don't think they ever made it to production

Which is why I haven't traded up to the latest model, I don't want/need high rider.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by simon varley

from memory, I don't think any next gen ranger, anywhere, now comes in a low rider variant. I know we had some during development, but I don't think they ever made it to production

Its a bit of a pain in the ***, makes it a bit harder to load/unload tray by hand having hi-rider.

I prefer normal ride height single cab ute, happy to trade off ground clearance as I use the tray a lot more than needing that extra ground clearance.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Its a bit of a pain in the ***, makes it a bit harder to load/unload tray by hand having hi-rider.

I prefer normal ride height single cab ute, happy to trade off ground clearance as I use the tray a lot more than needing that extra ground clearance.

I have a hard enough time pushing my 50 kg lawn mower up ramps onto my low-ride Ranger, let alone the now mandatory high-rider. Classic case of a company telling their customers what they want, not listening to what they want. And it's not just Ford doing this either.

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Classic case of a company telling their customers what they want, not listening to what they want. And it's not just Ford doing this either.

kinda, but if the number of people asking for this is low, then the development costs outweigh the profit. PX3 sales probably determined just how few low rider cars were ever sold, and someone did the sums :(

[jpd80]

Just on the single cab offerings,
Use 2.3 EB for basic XL/XLT single cab models to do battle with Hilux Tradie

Second idea, low rider RWD single and Super cab with 2.7/3.0 EB, call it XR6 Turbo

[CyberWasp]

The other thing I keep harping on about is the market for tradies that do service and install work, who put ladders on the roof and need to get into underground car parks in the cities / apartments ect.

There has to be demand for a Lo-Rider Vehicle if it was set up properly to cater for this market.