Loading the Ford Ranger Super Duty for the off-road test with close to a tonne on the tray was an interesting exercise. It was a very specific test, because there are only a handful of vehicles we could have done it with. 

The Ranger is still technically a midsize pick-up despite its heavy-duty underpinnings and taller stature, and there’s no other ute in the midsize category that could have done it while remaining on the right side of its rated payload and GVM capacities. In fact, I reckon the test would have broken any other midsize 4×4 ute.

We did the same drive with a LandCruiser 79 when the 2.8 auto models first came out and it did it with relative ease, although we only had two 325kg concrete blocks in the back for that test. For the Super Duty we carried three of them for 975kg on the tray. When you add the weight of the steel tray and other accessories fitted to this Ranger, there was well over a tonne on it. The Ineos Quartermaster would probably carry it, but you’d be exceeding its payload limit – and it’s the same story with most full-size American pick-ups.

When you consider the alternative, the fact the Super Duty did the drive and off-road climb relatively easily makes it all the more impressive. Ford Australia has done an incredible job creating the Ranger Super Duty. Sure, Ford makes Super Duty F-Trucks in the USA, but there’s nothing like the Ranger SD in the midsize category that’s so popular in Australia.

Like it did with the Ranger Raptor, Ford has created a vehicle that is – and remains – a unique product. Even after all these years, the Ranger Raptor still hasn’t been matched by any other showroom-stock vehicle. Having the capacity of the Ranger SD isn’t just about loading stuff on the tray. Anyone who tows heavy trailers and doesn’t want a full-size US pick-up will be attracted to the Ranger SD’s 8000kg GCM. That’s anyone towing a race car trailer, big horse float, large boat or oversized caravan – they’d all be interested in Ford’s latest creation.

Ford Australia might not be manufacturing cars in this country anymore, but the fact it’s still conceiving, developing and creating unique vehicles like the Ranger Super Duty and Raptor right here is enough to make me think it’s still building vehicles for Australian drivers.

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