Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa has confirmed the peak outputs of the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel that will power the new Ranger and Everest…

When Ford revealed the new Ranger late in 2021, it confirmed plans to add a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel to the range. Now the South African subsidiary of the Blue Oval brand has finally announced the peak outputs of this oil-burning 6-cylinder engine, ahead of the new Ranger’s launch later in 2022.

The V6, which will also be offered at the summit of the new Everest line-up, produces healthy peak outputs of184 kW and 600 Nm. Ford claims the compacted graphite iron from which the block is fashioned is “around 75% stronger and 75% stiffer” than the iron used in traditional arrangements. The turbodiesel 6-pot will be paired with Ford’s familiar 10-speed automatic transmission.

“We’re offering this engine specifically because some customers told us they wanted more power and torque for towing and extreme off-roading,” said Pritika Maharaj, Ranger and Everest program manager.

“The 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel delivers. When you drive a Ranger with the V6 turbodiesel, it feels like a much bigger truck. And it feels strong in the sense that it’s got plenty of power and torque, which is exactly what our customers told us they wanted.”

Of course, this engine shouldn’t be confused with the 3.0-litre V6 EcoBoost turbo-petrol lump reserved for the flagship Ranger Raptor.

Rejigged engines and gearboxes

So, what about the rest of the engine line-up? Well, the long-in-the-tooth 3.2-litre, five-cylinder turbodiesel, as well as the entry-level 2.2-litre four-pot, will seemingly fall away, with the single-turbo version of the 2.0-litre turbodiesel set to be offered in two states of tune (both down on the current version’s 132 kW and 420 Nm).

The first will make 110 kW and 350 Nm, while the higher-output version will generate 125 kW and 405 Nm. Interestingly, these engines will be available with either a 6-speed automatic transmission or a new 5- and 6-speed manual gearbox.

The 2.0-litre bi-turbo oil-burner (familiar from high-spec versions of the current Ranger, including the outgoing Raptor), meanwhile, will also carry over to the new range, but its peak power will fall slightly to 155 kW (down two units), with maximum torque remaining at 500 Nm. Like the V6, this powerplant will ship standard with a 10-speed automatic transmission.

R600m investment in Struandale engine plant

The Ford Ranger is one of South Africa’s automotive industry success stories. And in anticipation of the new version, Ford has been investing massively in its local production assets.

FMCSAruns an interesting production system for the Ranger, withfinal assembly in Pretoria and engines being builtat the Struandale plant, in Gqeberha. Although it seems strange to build engines so far away from a core final assembly plant, Ford has made it work. And it is spending R600-million to ensure that the new Ranger, with its greater powertrain complexity, remains a local assembly success.

The new Ranger will present a total of 13 engine and gearbox choices – four more than the current bakkie product portfolio. To ensure that FMCSA has ample supply of each, tooling at the Struandale plant is being radically updated. It is an exciting project, with Struandale switching from producing only in-line engines, to adding a V6. The most significant engine update for the new Ranger is the 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel, which is where most of the investment is going.

The Struandale plant will add the V6 to its production matrix while discontinuing the 3.2-litre five-cylinder engine. How many engines will the upgraded Struandale plant produce for the new Ranger? Capacity is scheduled to increase from 320 to 445 engines per day, allowing for a maximum build inventory of 120000 diesel engines per year.

At the reveal of the new Ranger in late November, it was unclear which engines would be available to South African buyers when it officially launches in Q2 2022. This localisedengine build of the V6 clears things up slightly and all but confirms that SA will get a V6 Ranger in some form or other (it may just be for the Raptor, however).

This announcement will also please current Amarok V6 owners, who were uncertain whether a V6 would be available in the upcoming T6.2 model.

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