A small tweak to Australia's top-selling new vehicle has made it more difficult to brag to your mates about what's under the bonnet of your shiny new ute.
Subtle changes to the popular Ford Ranger have removed the only visual cue differentiating turbo-diesel V6 versions from their cheaper four-cylinder, four-wheel-drive range-mates.
While the removal of a few badges may only be noticeable to eagle-eyed Ranger fans, they are the latest in a line of features Ford has deleted from its popular ute to cut costs as the vehicle nears its mid-life update.
Ranger four-wheel-drive diesel utes built from Model Year 2024.5 onwards go without engine badges on the front wheel arches, either 'V6', 'BI-TURBO' or, for cheaper single-turbo variants, simply 'TURBO'.
Also deleted are the '4WD' and '4x4' badges on the tailgate – fitted to V6 and four-wheel-drive, four-cylinders respectively – which allowed the most diehard fans to tell Rangers apart from the rear.
The changes are far from significant, but it means there is now no way to tell a V6 Ranger apart from a four-cylinder diesel version of the same equipment grade without climbing behind the wheel.
They represent the latest features confirmed to be removed from the top-selling ute, as Ford saves every dollar it can on the production line – and to offset a fraction of the cost of adding new technology.
Ford has also confirmed "minor changes to interior trim, materials, and appearance," though it has not provided details on what these entail.
Earlier Model Year 2024.5 production announced in January 2024 deleted the MyKey programming safety feature and, in XL, XLS, XLT, Sport, and Wildtrak grades, auto high-beam assist technology.
"Changes to our vehicle specifications are made with customer usage front of mind," a Ford Australia spokesperson said.
"Our product and design teams review real-world data and first-hand customer feedback to refine our model year offerings to ensure we are providing customers the vehicle specification that best meets their needs."
Equipment such as a 400-watt power inverter has been added to the Ranger alongside the feature deletions, however.
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
