Geneva 2009: Euro Ford Ranger taunts American light-truck buyers
by Chris Shunk on Mar 4th 2009 at 6:41PM 
Click above for high-res gallery of the Euro Ford Ranger
The U.S. edition of the Ford Ranger has gotten by with little more than cosmetic changes and minor mechanical upgrades since its last redesign in 1993. In Europe, there is another Ford Ranger all together with four full-sized doors, a choice of 2.5L or 3.0L Duratorq diesel engines and styling that comes from the 21st century. We caught a glimpse of the Winning Blue Ranger four-door at the Geneva Motor Show, and we're guessing this mid-size pickup would look much better in a Ford showroom than what we have today. Fortunately, Ford is looking to introduce an all-new U.S. market Ford Ranger in 2011 and the Euro model could be an indicator of things to come.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
BigMcLargeHuge 6:57PM (3/04/2009)
Yes please.
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Nick 12:50AM (3/05/2009)
No rear bumper??
GOT 7:11AM (3/05/2009)
I'll take a 2-door! And bring it to the USA!
With the current conditions here in the USA it amazes me that they won't bring over their better looking euro counterparts. Guess that's why they are failing.
Randy 1:01PM (3/05/2009)
I love Ford and all but the Ranger Max concept blows this away! It's the details like the hood, the door door (as mentioned) and styling queues that make the difference!
It's time to make everything a halo car and make all the competition look dated! Heck it worked for Chrysler! I'm a Ford guy driving a Charger R/T... I got it because of the (the deal actually) but the styling was very cool. Do I think it has the quality of a Ford, no! But It's still okay quality!
So hey Ford. Stop playing games with our eye candy and deliver! Pick up the pace too! I'm getting impatient with the new car launches! :)
Here's some cars ford should still make
Ford F-150 Tonka
Mustang Mach III (just edge it up a bit to refresh with the times)
Ranger Max (as is)
Iosis Max (as is)
Ford SynUS (thats just totally cool) AND would be a small utility / business owners dream.
Ford Indigo (that was so cool)
Even though I love Ford their concepts are so cool that I feel like i'm on date with a girl that has huge tatas (no pun intended with the sale of PAG brands) but later in the night find out it's a push up bra... Grrrrr Ya know?
And to the ladies yes, I'm sorry for being such a "guy"... :)
nighthawk_cp 7:18PM (3/04/2009)
One nice thing about such a long refresh is that my fairly shiny original paint job 1994 Ford Ranger with 248k miles certainly doesn't look like its 15 years old and 3 generations back.
That said, when this one dies I will be very interested in picking up a slightly used 2011, but hopefully it will be at least 5 years from now.
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Ian 7:26PM (3/04/2009)
This is a really nice looking truck for sure. I don't think I'll ever buy a brand new car again, but I'd consider one of these.
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tomguptill 7:43PM (3/04/2009)
Ummm...how is this mid-sized truck a replacement for the Ranger, which is a small truck?
If I wanted a mid-sized truck, I would buy one.
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Helmsley 8:05PM (3/04/2009)
The dimensions of a European Ranger Supercab:
68.5 inches in width
197.2 inches in length
The dimensions of a North American Ranger Supercab:
69.4 inches in width
203.6 inches in length
So, actually the European Ranger is smaller.
kballs 11:19PM (3/04/2009)
This one looks about the same as an Explorer SportTrac (210 inches long, 73 inches wide), granted I'm comparing this Euro 4-door Ranger and the US 4-door SportTrac... the Euro supercab Ranger can still be considered a small pickup, this 4-door landing in the mid-size category.
The current US Ranger is the smallest pickup sold in the US with the best MPG (a good thing IMO since every other option is bigger and thirstier), but it's pretty old... the biggest thing I see wrong are the safety features and crash safety of the body (which can't be updated as easily as the drivetrain)... so when the replacement comes hopefully it won't grow much (at least not in weight).
Andy 12:12AM (3/05/2009)
I agree, i could see this being more of a replacement for the sport trac
Gregg 12:04PM (3/05/2009)
This is not a mid-size. It is actually smaller than the current American Ranger.
Ken 7:51PM (3/04/2009)
I've driven the previous generation European Ranger and while it was a very different truck than the US Ranger, beyond the 4cylinder diesel engine I can't really say there was anything better about that model. While the current US Ranger has deign cues that may have been present in the late 90s Explorer, the interior of the European one seemed lifted out of the early 90s Explorer. This redesign is pretty sharp and I'll agree the Ranger's a bit long in tooth, but hopefully they keep it reasonably sized and reasonably efficient. The Ranger we have now can do everything 90% of people that buy pickups ever ask of a truck.
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Jake B 8:19PM (3/04/2009)
Not sure about the mullet.
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Randy 8:35PM (3/04/2009)
Word to Ford, enough of the front quarter panel insert. BMW's the only manufacture that seems to keep it fresh. You (and others) should have stopped long ago.
How about creating a unique trend: Don't offer it.
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Fodder650 8:41PM (3/04/2009)
I thought I saw that the F-100 got killed over not having enough tow rating or some such. So moving the Ranger up to midsize Dakota territory would make a little sense.
Although since there really isnt any competiton in this size class anymore in the US. Why not leave it there. Plus Ford got a lot of mileage out of the fact that the Ranger had the best mileage of any truck on the market during the gas crisis.
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Gregg 12:02PM (3/05/2009)
This would be a move down. This truck is smaller than the American Ranger.
Farmboy 2:56PM (3/05/2009)
This looks great. I love the WildTrak and Thunder packages. Personally they would also sound great on the Sport Trac truck. I still like the current US Ranger though. They are tough, economic, and actually can be fun to drive. :) Although, it is probably time for an update.
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Alan 9:15PM (3/04/2009)
Who are you kidding FORD? Its an Explorer Sporttrak. Or Nissan Frontired... A little more independent design please.
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Nathan 9:51PM (3/04/2009)
Am I the only one that thinks this truck looks like a pimped out previous generation Nissan Frontier?
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Jason G. 10:02PM (3/04/2009)
Give it to us, Ford! But only if you can keep it value-priced like the current Ranger.
We don't need another (overpriced) $25K truck to choose from.
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