2025 Ranger PHEV to offer no compromise to ability that Australian drivers expect

While we at 4x4 Australia have always believed that it’s no use owning a 4-wheel drive vehicle if you don’t use it to its full potential to get out and explore the great outdoors, it seems that buyers looking at the available options of off road capable EVs are also thinking the same thing.

According to recent survey by Ford Motor Company, 47-percent of respondents told the manufacturer that they were looking for something with off-road capability from their EV purchase and 60-percent said they’d be more likely to buy one if it offers real towing ability. Conveniently, Ford says it has the vehicle for them arriving soon.

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“When the Ranger PHEV arrives here in 2025, buyers can rest assured it has been developed with their needs in mind, providing the full Ranger experience, including 3500kg towing and off-road capability, along with the added benefit of electric-only driving and off-grid power via Pro Power Onboard,” said Ambrose Henderson, marketing director, Ford Australia.

The Ford Ranger was the first vehicle in the mid-size ute class to introduce trailer set up technology that is accessed via the multimedia screen and we’d tip that this will carry on to the PHEV variant. The tech offers users a checklist to use when attaching your trailer and allows owners to set up multiple trailers in the system with various lengths. This then allows the drivers aids like BLIS and lane warning to be calibrated to the different lengths of your horse float, boat or box trailer.

The Ford F-150’s nifty Pro trailer back up system has also found it way in to some Ranger variants and looking at the supplied images, it looks as though it makes it in to the Ranger PHEV as well.

Driving the Ranger PHEV will be a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine with an electric motor and rechargeable battery system. The system employs a 11.8kWh rechargeable battery which Ford says will meet the needs of most drivers without forcing them to make sacrifices when it came to key attributes, like towing and driving off road. It will also offer owners the ability to operate power tools and appliances using the Pro Power Onboard system.

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The Ranger is the best selling 4x4 in Australia and we know that users take them off road, tow and work out of their 4x4 utes. Data from Ford’s survey backs this up with 59-percent of owners saying they drive in 4 Auto for all-road performance while 45-percent engaged 4H with 11-percent taking on more difficult terrain requiring low range 4x4. A further 45-percent of owners said that they engaged the rear locking-differential.

“The team studied how Ranger drivers used their vehicles and the average daily distances they drove. We also studied the charging habits of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle owners and used this information to inform the electrification of Ranger’s drivetrain,” said Henderson.

The data attained from more than 10,000 Rangers, covering more than five million journeys revealed that 30-percent of users towed heavy loads with their Rangers and used the integrated electric brake controller.

“Real-world customer usage, combined with Ford’s own research that customers are looking for an electrified vehicle with off-road and towing capability is proof that Ranger PHEV is the right kind of electrified ute for Australia,” said Henderson.

Full specification and pricing of the 2025 Ranger PHEV will become available closer to launch date.