2025 Ford Ranger PHEV review: Australian first drive

When it rains, it pours. The rule of threes, a ménage à trois or good old-fashioned love triangle. Choose your favourite trifecta-related phraseology, and apply it to the world of plug-in hybrid utes.

The 2025 Ford Ranger PHEV – a plug-in hybrid take on Australia's most popular 4x4 ute – has finally arrived, after a drawn-out drip-feed of information from Ford in Australia. But against the other two offerings in this niche, is the Ranger PHEV going to feel like a third wheel?

It was the BYD Shark 6 as the first offering in Australia that combined plug-in hybrid power with a dual-cab utility body. It had a monopoly for a few months, but was joined soon after by the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV ute.

Without the fringe benefits tax (FBT) that helped boost the appeal of the Shark 6 in those early days, these plug-in hybrids will now need to put their nose to the grindstone in order to compete against the status quo of dominant diesel power.

At the outset, the Ranger is at a clear disadvantage over the Shark 6 and Cannon Alpha PHEVs.

It's the most expensive of the trio by a long margin, and packs the smallest battery and lowest electric-only driving range. The least electric of the three, in other words.

But at the same time, the idea of a plug-in hybrid variant of Australia's most popular 4x4 ute – and decorated Drive Car of the Year winner – certainly has its appeal.

The Ranger PHEV range starts at $71,990 plus on-road costs for XLT specification. This is a big impost over the GWM Cannon Alpha, which starts at $59,990 plus on-road costs for the Lux starting point.

Even more so for the BYD Shark, which has only one grade available at $57,900 plus on-road costs.

However, the Ranger PHEV XLT is more of a mid-spec offering, with a much more modest range of equipment compared to the Cannon Alpha and Shark 6 PHEV utes. Halogen headlamps on this trim level seem a bit cheap, especially when compared to an LED-equipped Ranger XLT with diesel power.

This trim level also gets cloth seats with manual adjustment, 17-inch alloy wheels, steel underbody protection, LED tail-lamps, a 12.0-inch infotainment display and six-zone climate control.

From there, Ranger PHEV Sport gets reflector-style LED headlights, 18-inch wheels and heated leather-accented seats with electric adjustment. Adaptive cruise control upgrades include stop-and-go technology, along with traffic sign recognition and lane centring.

Wildtrak gets matrix LED headlights, roof rails and a moulded sailplane sports bar, along with aluminium tie-down rails and an electric roller shutter. On the inside, you get an upgraded 10-speaker B&O sound system, ambient lighting and upgraded seating with extra adjustment.

On the top of the range, Stormtrak gets a range of unique aesthetic changes, along with Ford's innovative Flexible Rack System and adjustable load rails.

When you compare price-for-price in terms of what you get, the Ranger is no doubt trailing behind the two Chinese offerings. Both of these other utes have more equipment and more electric capacity in the driveline, all at a lower price.

Where the Ranger claws back a bit of kudos is in the workhorse-related details. It matches the 3500kg braked towing capacity of the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV, and betters the 2500kg figure for the Shark 6. But at the same time, it offers a more ute-like payload of up to 973kg.

However, specifications listed by Ford show some degree of skullduggery in this regard. That figure is only achievable for the base XLT-spec PHEV Ranger, when it's optioned without a spare wheel. Opt for the no-cost option of a spare – like what the Shark 6 and Cannon Alpha PHEV have – and that figure will drop down to as low as 830kg (including other details).

It's still a good figure (for a PHEV ute, at least) and better than the 790kg and 670kg figures quoted for the Shark 6 and Cannon Alpha PHEV respectively.

Climb higher up the specification ladder, and you're looking at a payload of 795kg for the Ranger Stormtrak, which has things like the weighty electric roller cover, Flexible Rack System and dust sealing that the other utes don't have.

It's worth pointing out here as well that all three of the utes have a 3500kg gross vehicle mass (give or take), and the lower kerb weight of the Ranger PHEV brings the benefit of a greater payload.

How have they done it? There isn't any clever or exploratory engineering going on here, they just fitted a smaller battery.

Compared to the others, the Ranger PHEV's smaller battery carries 11.8kWh of usable capacity and a claimed electric-only driving range of 45km (on NEDC testing). The BYD Shark has a 29.58kWh battery for 80km of electric driving range (and only allowing the battery to drop to 25 per cent), while the GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV has a 37.1kWh battery – split between two packs – for 115km of EV driving range.

That being said, let's give Ford props for having the smallest level of compromise within the available payload, through keeping the towing capacity high and the kerb weight (relatively) low.

Combine a 2.3-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine – similar hardware to what you'll find in a Volkswagen Amarok or Ford Mustang – and a 70-litre fuel tank, and Ford doesn't quote an overall claimed driving range when your battery and fuel tank are full. We reckon you'd be looking at around 700km between refills and recharges.

While this engine can punch out up to 232kW and 475Nm in a Mustang, we've got some restrictions here. Peak outputs from the fuel-burning side of things are capped at 138kW and 411Nm, but hybrid power boosts this up to total outputs of 207kW and 697Nm.

This is done through a modular hybrid electric motor, which is effectively bolted onto the front of the transmission – in between the engine output shaft and gearbox torque converter. This motor develops 75kW, but a standalone torque figure is not proffered by Ford. We reckon you'd get around 700-750km, depending on what kind of driving you are doing.

In terms of fuel economy, Ford says the Ranger PHEV will use 2.9 litres per 100 kilometres, but that's dependent upon the level of charge in the battery. When the battery is discharged, expect to use around 9–10L/100km in regular around-town driving.

Squeezing the nickel cobalt manganese battery under the back of the Ranger did require a slight raising of the tub floor, and some slight sloping down to the tailgate to help make it all work. So, your load height isn't as generous as it used to be, dropping from 525mm of height down to 498mm.

But to make up for the loss, there is a bit of extra length built into the tub at the headboard end. The 1464mm of length for a regular Ranger grows to 1638mm, which could be a handy improvement for some users.

The big difference here, of course, is the 'Pro Power On-Board' power outlets, which sit on the passenger side towards the rear. This taps into the battery pack, and can provide up to 6.9kW of output via three 240V plugs. There's on 10-amp outlet inside the cabin, which has 2.3kW of output, and twin 15-amp points in the tray that can punch out 3.45kW each.

It's an interesting premise, giving a virtual generator built-in (minus the noise and fumes) for powering things like tools, batteries, camping gear and caravans. However, the lack of a 12V outlet in the tub could be frustrating for some who don't need a household plug for all power duties. And of course, you're paying a fairly significant bump in price to have this technology available.

Whereas a V6-powered Ranger Wildtrak asks for $74,840 plus on-road costs, you're looking at a little more than $5000 extra to get the plug-in hybrid powertrain. That gap grows to more than $10,000 when you compare the four-cylinder Wildtrak at $69,640 plus on-road costs.

The interesting thing about the driving experience of the Ranger is that not a lot has changed overall. Many of the elements that we already know and love about the Ranger – in terms of being one of the most polished and refined utes out there – carries over here, despite the increase in weight and complexity.

The petrol engine is a little smoother and quieter than what you might expect from a diesel donk, even though the 2.0-litre four and 3.0-litre six are pretty good in this regard. It's well calibrated in terms of blending power sources, without any real jerkiness or flatulence in the gear shifts to note.

It's interesting to note that because of the location of the electric motor in this Ranger PHEV, driving in EV-only mode still includes gear changes. There's enough electric punch to do your regular driving duties up to highway speeds when unladen – we haven't tested this out yet with a load on board.

Outright performance is par for the course, feeling similar to what's on offer in a V6-powered Ranger from the seat-of-pants. That 697Nm torque figure looks impressive in paper, and is a clear step up over the 600Nm in the V6 diesel. However, it's not necessarily felt as strongly as you might expect through the pedal. It's not as punchy a drive experience as what you get with the rapid-feeling Shark 6, but it does feel smoother and more cohesive than the GWM Cannon Alpha.

Ride quality is good, only feeling a tinge stiffer than a diesel-powered Ranger as the retuned suspension (including stiffer rear leaf springs) deals with the additional weight of this model. The vehicle steers sweetly for a ute and holds up surprisingly well through corners.

In the launch drive of the Ranger plug-in hybrid, we did get to undertake a bit of off-road driving in Sport and Stormtrak variants. And similarly to the mostly familiar on-road driving experience, the needle hasn't really been moved too far off-road as well.

And that's a good thing. While the Ranger isn't necessarily a standout performer within the range in terms of off-road performance, it's solid and the PHEV variant continues this trend. There's extra weight to contend with, yes. So theoretically at least, the diesel-powered Ranger is a holistically better bet off-road.

But with good suspension travel available, a locking rear differential and decent off-road traction control, the Ranger hybrid is able to pack a solid punch off-road. The smaller battery pack doesn't impinge upon ground clearance so much – something that you get with the larger battery capacity of the GWM Cannon Alpha hybrid.

Electric-only driving is possible in 4H, but going into low-range forces the petrol engine on to help with providing a consistent and more predictable throttle response. However, having electric-only off-road driving with the locking rear differential and some driving modes available in four-wheel drive high-range is a cool party trick that still feels quite capable off-road.

There is more to explore in this regard in terms of how much more capable this Ranger could be. This first drive was a good entree, but we'll tuck into a more wholesome main course when we get one through the office soon.

I'm skeptical about how much benefit this new Ranger hybrid can bring to buyers, who are likely to also be looking at a regular non-hybrid ute as their next dual-purpose work and family vehicle.

First adopters of technology will be jazzed regardless, and keen to get behind the wheel of the latest and greatest regardless. But for the more pragmatic (or skeptical) amongst us, you really need to weigh up the plug-in hybrid Ranger against a lighter, cheaper and less complex diesel-powered Ranger.

In other words, you'd need to be really using that onboard power set-up as much as humanly possible, as well as charging the battery as often as possible to reduce your running costs in order to make this work.

There are potential benefits to be had for electric-only driving for the average-length daily commute, especially for those in more urban settings. And for caravanners, remote-area campers and professional users, having that onboard power bank could open up new possibilities.

But it comes at a higher price and with reduced payload capabilities, and can only better a diesel ute for efficiency and performance when the battery is charged up. When that initial amount runs out, the appeal of performance needs to be dialled back accordingly.

When you look at the Ranger PHEV versus the other two options, the combination of higher prices, lower trim levels and smallest battery capacity puts it at a disadvantage.

It's arguably got the least amount of compromises when you consider the important value of utes, especially around off-road ability, towing capacity and load lugging. But you're paying a premium for such things, and buyers will need to put a price on that kind of thing for their own uses.

For those who don't need any real off-road or towing ability in their daily usage, then the BYD Shark 6 is hard to go past overall. It's not as polished in some respects as the Ranger, but it's significantly cheaper and gives an electric-first driving experience that is quite different.

While the GWM Cannon Alpha is more expensive, it's closer to the Ranger in terms of off-road ability and the combination of petrol and electric power through the driveline. It's also particularly well equipped and spacious, along with having the biggest electric-only driving range.

This puts the Ranger in a funny position, because out of the three plug-in hybrids available, it's the least 'hybrid-y' of them all. That's beneficial in some regards, but also makes no sense in others.

But of course, if you're unsure about all of this newfangled technology, diesel power is still available at a lower price... For now.

Sam Purcell has been writing about cars, four-wheel driving and camping since 2013, and obsessed with anything that goes brum-brum longer than he can remember. Sam joined the team at CarAdvice/Drive as the off-road Editor in 2018, after cutting his teeth at Unsealed 4X4 and Pat Callinan’s 4X4 Adventures. Off-road writer of the Year, Winner - Sam Purcell

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