Ford Australia’s dedicated team of development engineers has left no stone unturned in ensuring the next-generation Ranger is suitably tough and durable to excel across 180 markets worldwide. Built from the ground up to be the toughest, smartest, most versatile and most capable Ranger ever, next-gen Ranger is reportedly being subjected to more physical and virtual testing than any of its predecessors.
“Earning a ‘Built Ford Tough’ status is not something we take lightly,” said Ford Ranger Chief Program Engineer, John Willems. “Every part of the next-generation Ranger was tested to the same standards that we demand of every Ford vehicle.”
The next-gen Ford Ranger is being rigorously tested across some of the toughest terrain on the globe to validate its capabilities.
“It’s important that our customers are able to rely on Ranger to deliver years of dependable service,” said Willems. “So we’ve gone to great lengths to subject it to extreme testing – stressing it much more than a typical owner would – to help ensure it is ready to face everything life throws at it.
“Whether it’s tackling muddy bush tracks, coping with the rigours of extreme tropical weather, towing over alpine passes, or enduring temperatures of more than 50° Celsius, Ranger has to do it all.”
Next-Generation Ranger testing has reportedly included around 10,000km of desert driving – said to be the equivalent of 1,250,000km of customer driving – and the equivalent of 625,000km of rugged off-road durability testing while loaded to maximum capacity.
Even before the first prototypes hit the road, Ford’s engineers subjected next-gen Ranger to thousands of hours of computer simulations and thousands more of real-world simulations in labs, covering everything from aerodynamics to component and structural durability.
According to Ford, Ranger customers expect their vehicles to go above and beyond, so this extreme testing mimics a variety of real-world scenarios customers might put their vehicles through.
For example, extreme cold weather testing in North America and New Zealand deliberately exaggerates ice and snow conditions to ultimately test systems such as stability control, while hot weather testing in Australia, North America and the Middle East ensures durability in ambient temperatures north of 500C.
Ford Australia’s world-class You Yangs proving ground east of Geelong along with its Research and Development Centre at Geelong are also pivotal facilities in the development of the new generation Ranger.
“Computer simulations have helped us speed up development, while lab testing has enabled us to refine and test specific components,” said Willems. “However, real-world testing at the proving ground and other locations around the globe remain crucial in order to fully evaluate over a short period how a vehicle will stand up to years of customer use.”
Some of these tests are deemed too rigorous for humans to endure, so computer simulations and robotics are used to replace humans in cases like the extreme ‘squeak and rattle’ rig where the pickup’s suspension and whole body is exposed to punishing test cycles that are repeated 24/7.
“Our job as engineers is to translate the customer experience insights into a clear product definition brief for the engineering group, which becomes the absolute reference for engineers. This is particularly important for the Ranger, given we are developing it to be sold across the globe,” said Willems.