Vox Populi: How Ford took your feedback and built the Next-Gen Ranger

Ford listened to customers to develop Next-Gen Ranger

Customer feedback is a valuable thing.

When a patron of your products or services gives you honest feedback based on their experiences, it's always a great practice to note it all down and use it all to improve. That's how any business grows, and gets better.

With the Next-Generation Ranger, Ford just took that to an entirely new level. The Blue Oval has decades of experience in trucks, but they built the new Ranger based on the feedback from their customers from all over the world.

How did they do it? What did they make better? Let us count the ways.

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POWERFUL STYLE

What draws customers to any truck is the strength it represents. A truck is supposed to be tall and muscular, giving the impression that it can power through any challenge even while sitting still. That was the collective insight that Ford got from their customers, and that's how they designed the Next-Generation Ranger.

The squared-off nature of the Next-Gen Ranger is exactly what customers wanted. They desired a truck that looks tough and beefy with those fenders. It's also why Ford gave it a tall stance with 235mm of clearance minimum so you can tower over anything in your path.

The face smolders with strength, and that's most evident in the Wildtrak. The C-clamp headlamps and the big, wide grille are proof positive of that. Those headlights actually have a neat trick: when that LED matrix activates, it does so with the ability to pierce the night and follow the road as you turn.

Whether customers are on the highway, in the city, or on a trail, the curb appeal of the Ranger is strong.

COMFORTABLE CABIN

While customers want a truck that looks great, what they also want is a truck that's stylish inside, functional, and more importantly comfortable.

The new dashboard is what greets customers when they enter the Next-Generation Ranger, especially the Wildtrak variants with soft touch leather all around. But what really welcomes customers are the enhanced comfort of the new leather seats, both front, and rear. In the Wildtrak variants, customers can enjoy the convenience of motorized adjustment and the convenience of dual-zone climate control.

For drivers, the intuitive layout of the dashboard and controls will make it easy to get in and go wherever they want to. But it is the added functionality of the interior that will be enjoyable on the daily drive. There are proper places for everything from drinks that need to stay cool on the dash-mounted cupholders, pocket items that can go on the pad between the upper and lower glove compartments, and even a wireless charging pad for a phone just below the climate control panel.

Whether it's sitting in traffic or going on a long drive, the Ranger is ready to provide the comfort and functionality customers need.

RELIABLE POWER

Good looks and comfort are great, but what matters to a lot of truckers is reliability, and on that front, the Ranger is ready to meet the challenge.

Ford is giving customers two options depending on the variant. 7 of the variants come with the already proven 2.0L Turbo diesel engine of Ford. This compact diesel has 170 PS and 405 Newton-meters, meaning customers have all the power and torque they need with every step of the throttle.

Most of the variants come with a 6-speed automatic and are in 4x2 and one in 4x4, but for those that want to do the shifting themselves, then there are variants available with a 6-speed manual including a 4x4 model that hardcore off-roaders will like.

If more is desired, then the Wildtrak 4x4 is the one. That version has the outstanding and class-leading 2.0L Bi-Turbo diesel engine that makes 210 PS and 500 Nm of torque. This pound-for-pound king of compact turbodiesels is mated to another class-leading feature: a 10-speed automatic gearbox with four-wheel drive.

What's amazing is the new warranty package of the Ranger: 5 years (or 150,000 km, whichever comes first). With this new truck from Ford, customers want to drive something that can lead, not follow. That's exactly what they'll get.

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CAPABILITY THAT WORKS

Customers desire more capability out of their trucks, and that's something that Ford has been delivering for decades with the Ranger platform. Whether it's about on-road driving in the Ranger 4x2 models, going on a trail adventure in the Ranger 4x4, or tackling a flood up to 800mm deep to get home, customers can enjoy the Built Ford Tough way.

What sets the Next-Generation Ranger apart, however, is that they're not just defining capability by where a customer can go with the truck, but what they can do with it. Ford did that by focusing on the functionality of the bed or the cargo box.

The bed is now bigger, and can actually fit a European-sized pallet; that means customers can actually use a forklift. For smaller cargo, accessing the bed is easier because not only can customers climb up using the rear bumper, but they can also do so with the integrated side steps. The tailgate also has a helper spring, making it easier to close.

Need to tie down cargo? There are tie-down points on the bed that is built right in, and for certain variants, there is a tie-down bar on top of the rails to make it even easier.

But what sets the Ranger apart is the tailgate: it has built-in clamp pockets so customers can use your Ranger's bed as a makeshift workbench if they're on a job site. And if charging is needed for cordless power tools, then customers will like that there are integrated power outlets in the back: 12-volt and 230-volt.

This is a truck that not only can go where customers want to but can also work with them.

TECH OF TOMORROW

The big ask from customers, however, is more technology, more connectivity, and more safety, and that's where Ford truly delivered with the Next-Generation Ranger.

Ford equipped the Ranger with a lot of tech, and customers can experience these features with the digital multi-information instrument screen and the main infotainment screen up to 12 inches in size that has the newest version of SYNC. Available are functions like Bluetooth, USB, and USB-C ports. Wireless though is the wave of tomorrow, and that's why this Ranger can be had with wireless charging as well as the wireless versions of Apple Carplay and Android Auto; the first truck in its class to have these features available.

With safety, the Ranger sets the new standard by having ABS, EBD, stability and traction control, hill descent control, sensors, and even cruise control across the board. All the Wildtrak variants get an electronic parking brake and rear camera, but it is in the Wildtrak 4x4 that they go above and beyond.

In the range-topping model, customers can experience the safety advantage of auto emergency braking, lane centering and lane departure warning, a 360-degree camera system, and even adaptive cruise control with stop and go capability.

There are many more things that have been engineered and developed into the Next-Gen Ford Ranger lineup in the Philippines. All of these improvements are based on the feedback that you -the customer- have always wanted in a can-do tough truck, and now you can experience it all.

To know more about the Next-Generation Ford Ranger, you may visit www.ford.com.ph or your nearest Ford dealership so you can try it out for yourself and see if the Ranger is a truck that you've always wanted.