First Ford Ranger Super Duty units arrive in New Zealand

The countdown is on for one of Ford’s most anticipated pick-ups, following the first local sighting of the new flagship Ranger — the Super Duty.

CarExpert NZ spotted a new Ranger Super Duty at CTB Performance & Accessories in Manukau. Along with being a parts supplier to the Ford New Zealand network, many of Ford’s latest models filter through CTB when they arrive in the country.

Ford has yet to confirm a hard local launch date for the Ranger Super Duty, and it also has yet to reveal the hardcore double-cab’s local pricing, or when customer deliveries will commence. 

Local pricing is expected to echo Australia’s, where the Ranger Super Duty is priced from AU$82,990 in single-cab-chassis form, extending to AU$89,990 for the double cab. Directly converted to New Zealand currency, that would indicate a $101,300–$109,850 spread.

First revealed just over a year ago, the Ranger Super Duty is the most capable pick-up to ever wear the Ranger nameplate. 

Thanks to comprehensive platform upgrades, it offers a 4500kg towing capacity and 8000kg gross combined mass rating — placing it in a league of its own relative to its traditional Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi Triton rivals.

Power comes from a heavy duty (but less powerful) version of the Ranger’s established 3.0-litre V6 diesel, putting out 154kW of power and 600Nm of torque, and paired to a 10-speed automatic transmission. 

As far as its platform is concerned, the Super Duty gets a thicker frame than a standard Ranger, as well as new front and rear driveshafts, suspension mounts, tow bar mounts, and reinforced box mount bracket. 

There’s also a taller ride height, locking front and rear differentials, 8-stud wheel hubs, a wider track (note the extended guards), armoured steel bash plates for improved underbody protection, an integrated front bumper, and plenty more.

The Ford New Zealand website lists four body style options for the Super Duty; Single Cab cab-chassis, Super Cab cab-chassis, Double Cab cab-chassis, and Double Cab wellside. It also lists that an XLT version of both Double Cab grades will come in the future.

Quizzed by CarExpert NZ earlier this year on whether the Ford F-150 is still ‘off the table’ for local customers, Ford New Zealand managing director Annaliese Atina said that the brand expects more local customers to be interested in the Ranger Super Duty instead.

“We’re always looking to see how a vehicle’s performing and accessing really what is the demand in the market,” said Atina.

“The [Ranger] Super Duty is the key focus for us this year, that’s a really big play that delivers a whole level of capability that no other vehicle can deliver in New Zealand.

“We don’t think it competes with F-150, but we do think the buyer pool is definitely more inclined to Ranger Super Duty than F-150.”