2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty review: Australian first drive

There’s yet another Ford Ranger variant for Australians to choose from with the introduction of the 2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty. And it’s a serious bit of gear.

I’ve gone a long time talking about four-wheel-drives, and I’ve gone to great lengths to avoid the term ‘game changer’. It’s been around 15 years, and I can’t remember using the term in a serious, non-jesting manner.

But now, I’m looking to break that rule.

Borrowing the ‘Super Duty’ moniker from the Ford F-250 (and beyond) in the United States, the Ford Ranger Super Duty is not just an exercise in marketing and aesthetics.

With a boosted towing capacity, payloads nudging two tonnes and much better off-road credentials, there is a whole lot different under the skin of the Super Duty compared to the regular Ranger.

It took some time for the Ford engineers and managers to explain the scope and extent of the changes that went into this Super Duty program. Because there is a lot to go through, all the while we stood around a ladder chassis with the body off.

Sometimes, motoring journalists are forced to sit through long diatribes of waffle. Marketing tripe big on strong words but short on specific detail. Our job is to sort the wheat from the chaff in order to find the real story.

For this car, it's a different story.

Boosting the gross vehicle mass to 4500kg (up from 3350kg with the Ranger Wildtrak V6), while also jacking the braked towing capacity to 4500kg from the usual 3500kg benchmark, requires some significant changes.

Not to mention, the increase of the gross combination mass from 6400kg (Wildtrak V6) to 8000kg is another big deal.

Firstly, let’s start with the chassis. While the same wheelbase of 3270mm carries over from the regular Ranger, we’ve got a lot more steel under the sheetmetal.

Wall thickness goes up throughout the box section of the chassis, crossmembers are strengthened, and new suspension mounting points are used.

In fact, the measly 6 per cent of chassis that carries over from the regular Ranger exists around the tray mounts at the rear. Everything else has been overhauled or upgraded.

The general layout is largely the same, but everything is now thicker. 

On the suspension side, we don’t get the big, fancy dampers of a Ranger Raptor in the Super Duty, with fairly regular-looking monotubes employed instead. They are a little bigger than standard, and are matched to bespoke suspension components at the front and rear.

I assumed the front control arms were pinched from a Ranger Raptor, along with the flared guards… I was wrong.

Heavier cast aluminium pieces are used for upper and lower front control arms, and the rear leaf suspension is a longer two-stage setup that aims to keep a bit of unladen ride comfort intact. From these parts hang 33-inch all-terrain light truck tyres mounted onto 18-inch steel wheels.

Before you ask, 18-inch wheels are the lowest diameter you can go, owing to increased size in brake parts.

The engine – Ford’s 3.0-litre diesel V6 – has changed for the Super Duty as well, but not necessarily for the better. Purists will rail against the inclusion of AdBlue – with 20 litres worth of diesel exhaust fluid sitting above the rear differential – and many others will mourn the loss of maximum power from 184kW to 154kW.

However, these changes were all necessary to future-proof the Ranger Super Duty, where EU6 emissions standards forced the changes.

Its torque figure at 600Nm holds steady, however, and will be good news for those who value load-lugging over outright acceleration aims.

This engine is matched to a familiar 10-speed automatic transmission, but the two-speed transfer case has been upgraded. It’s a larger unit, with stronger chains to help with the possibly onerous life ahead.

Front and rear differentials – both with locking centres – are bigger: the front unit is stolen from the Bronco Raptor, while the 9.75-inch fully floating rear comes from the big Transit van. Both are locking units that are supported by eight-lug hubs for a more heavy-duty clamping force.

And for those playing along at home, that’s bigger than the Nissan H223 in Patrols and what you find in the rear of an 80 Series LandCruiser, but not as big as the gigantic, less-common Nissan H260. 

The Super Duty matches the ring gear diameter of the highly regarded Dana 60 (or Land Rover Salisbury), a size that is often used as a ‘one tonne’ conversion for rock crawlers in the United States. So, it's a good size.

Before we rip into price, a few more details: The fuel tank is 130L, the standard snorkel is fully sealed, there is chamfering on the cast recovery points (to help with soft shackles), and bolts secure the wheel-arch liners instead of plastic clips for durability.

Upgraded bash plates have lipped edges – to allow for better sliding over obstacles – and there's room for a second battery under the bonnet.

Right. Now, you're probably expecting all of these upgrades and developments to come at a cost, and you'd be right.

The pricing starts from $82,990 plus on-roads for the 2026 Ford Ranger Super Duty, and buyers will initially only need to worry about what body style they want. The single-cab is the cheapest, and the extra-cab variant pushes the price up to $86,490 plus on-roads.

The dual-cab is priced from $89,990 plus on-roads, but all of these prices are for a cab-chassis vehicle with a bare back end. Buyers will need to stump up for some kind of tray, canopy or service body to suit their own needs.

Ford will have its own range of trays available, but there will also be a huge amount from some of the biggest and best names from the Australian aftermarket.

From there, and putting aside all of the mechanical and chassis upgrades, the Ranger Super Duty is somewhat akin to what you would get in a regular Ranger XL.

There are cloth seats with manual adjustment, for example. But the infotainment measures in at the larger 12.0 inches, there's a 360-degree camera on the outside, an integrated device-mounting system on the inside, and innovative on-board scales that can indicate your approximate vehicle weight and downball weight.

There are also LED headlights, and 18-inch steel wheels, rounding out the fact that the Super Duty is really its own trim level, rather than copying straight from another Ranger.

The Ford Ranger Super Duty is brand-spanking new, but those who want a four-wheel-drive ute (there are a lot of you) should check out what is available on Drive Marketplace.

While so much under the skin of the Ranger Super Duty has changed, the cabin is more of a carryover affair. It's a more basic take on the Ranger in terms of features and materials, but I do like to see the inclusion of extra cupholders and a second glove box.

Practicality is pretty good overall, with the small shelf in front of the passenger, a good-sized centre console, a little front storage bin and aforementioned equipment inclusions.

Seat comfort and ergonomic adjustment are good, and I found the single-cab model to provide enough space to get comfortable from behind the wheel.

You just have to keep reminding yourself that in the case of the Super Duty, you're paying extra for the things you cannot see or touch. There are other utes that provide significantly more bang-for-buck on the interior and equipment lists, but that's also kind of missing the point here.

Compared to things like the Isuzu N-Series Truck or Toyota 70 Series LandCruiser, this car feels modern, thought through, and even a bit sophisticated.

The second row of the double-cab Ranger Super Duty is standard fare as well. It's pretty good for space and comfort, but has been usurped recently by the likes of the Kia Tasman. LDV's Terron 9 and the MG U9 both offer more interior space, along with the likes of GWM's Cannon Alpha and the BYD Shark 6.

Behind the front seats of the extra cab is something that you could technically refer to as a seat, but it's more of a space with seatbelts and some padding. Regardless, this body style is appealing for those who want to sacrifice a little bit of tray space for some extra cabin storage. I imagine a shelf setup will be beneficial, with a fridge and dedicated storage.

The same 12.0-inch SYNC 4 infotainment display from the broader Ranger and Everest models carries over to the Super Duty, which is overall a good system. It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with native navigation, digital radio and a few other party tricks (like sketching and zone lighting).

The portrait orientation of the system works well for navigation, but some parts of the screen are dedicated to climate and navigation buttons. The extra physical controls are welcome to have for easy adjustments (along with a volume knob).

The significant changes to the Ranger Super Duty mean this is a vehicle that cannot share a five-star ANCAP safety rating from the regular Ranger.

So that means, like the Ranger Raptor and Ranger PHEV, this Ford Ranger Super Duty is effectively untested for safety.

The heavy-duty nature of the Ford Ranger Super Duty doesn't mean the ute misses out on the usual range of safety technology and equipment. There is a good range of tech like adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, and autonomous emergency braking.

This is one area – along with the interior – where the Ranger Super Duty has a distinctive advantage over the LandCruiser 70 Series. It's has more of this kind of equipment as standard kit, and some similar things are better integrated and more sophisticated.

And for someone buying a vehicle (or fleet of vehicles) for work usage, this is an important element to consider.

Making the Super Duty taller, wider, and heavier was never going to do wonders for the vehicle's efficiency, and the increased rolling resistance of light-truck all-terrain tyres is the icing on the cake.

While there isn't a claimed fuel consumption figure to quote, our initial test drive showed a figure hovering around 11 or 12 litres per 100 kilometres after a range of highway, rural, and off-road driving.

That should net you a 1000km range quite comfortably, but be prepared for that driving range to drop lower when being put to work with a big load or heavy trailer.

For reference, our last review of a V6-powered Ford Ranger saw an indicated figure of 11.6L/100km compared to a claim of 8.4L/100km.

The most startling thing about driving the Ranger Super Duty is the impressive level of ride comfort, body control, and steering composition that you get for such a heavy-duty vehicle.

I was ready to give it a pass in this regard, with a stiff and jouncing ride quality simply the price one needs to pay for such payloads. 

I didn’t need to.

Yes, it’s firmer. It’s heavier, taller, and wider. But not challengingly so.

Dual-stage rear springs allow the initial travel phase of the suspension to stay surprisingly compliant – firm, but not stiff. Fair, not unforgiving.

Of course, once you start loading the vehicle up with weight at the back, you'll earn a little bit of compliance.

The steering is another strange delight, which has (unsurprisingly) been upgraded to handle the job. The car turns into corners with a happy stability, responding neatly to inputs. It tracks through a corner better than it really has any right to do, with tyres squealing in protest at the demands on lateral grip. But up to that point, it's responsive and steady.

The drop in engine output is noticeable, however. The Super Duty is a heavier car, and its acceleration feels noticeably more restrained. There’s no sharp response to a throttle jab. Rather, there's a gentle increase in revs and momentum as the speedometer eases upwards.

A V6 Ranger would leave it for dead, and I reckon the base single-turbo Rangers would have the Super Duty worried as well.

So, if straight-line grunt is a big priority for you, then the Super Duty perhaps isn’t the pick. If only there were a performance offering in the ute market that had nearly 300kW of turbocharged-petrol power? Let me think…

Oh yeah. Ranger Raptor. Also, don't forget about the BYD Shark 6.

It's perhaps a concern for those who want to tow 3.5 tonnes at the posted speed limit, on any hill, at any time. The Ranger Super Duty might be fine, but I'm not 100 per cent certain.

We need to do more testing to find out, but you get the sense the powertrain doesn't have a whole lot left in reserve when towing (we had around 6.6 tonnes of combined mass on our test).

Off-road, things are much more impressive. It's no surprise really, with bigger and better tyres, locking differentials, raised suspension and better clearance.

The Super Duty's body has gone out, as well as up, with bespoke suspension (longer control arms and longer rear leaves) giving a good sense of stability and surefootedness off-road.

Our initial test was good, but I know there is a whole lot more to explore here. The fully sealed snorkel gives you confidence in water crossings, the front and rear locking differentials can both be operated independently, and there are some good off-road smarts on top of all of that.

The off-road cruise control (which can go as low as 2km/h and can go in 0.5km/h increments) is great and supplements purposeful engine braking.

Tyres, suspension, lockers, clearance, snorkel. It's the same matrix that so many Australian off-roaders do to their own vehicles via aftermarket means. The only difference here is that it's a full-factory offering.

Going up to 4500kg of braked towing capacity puts the Ranger Super Duty up against the likes of the Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Ford F-150 (awkward).

It's above the mainstream 3.5-tonne limit now, and is backed up by an impressive 8000kg gross combination mass.

Factor in a kerb weight of 2518kg to 2675kg (as a cab chassis, don't forget), and you've got a payload as good as 1982kg in the single-cab variant. Lose a few hundred kilograms with a tray, and you've still got around 1500kg in payload to dip into.

This makes the most sense for those who want to tow a big 3500kg trailer (legally) thanks to the head room in capacities.

That imaginary trailer leaves the owner with 4500kg of weight for the vehicle to use, and more than enough scope to handle 350kg of downball weight.

This car is not for everyone. For most, it’s overkill. It’s quite expensive, heavy, thirsty, and has a firm ride quality.

If you don’t need the more extreme load-carrying and towing capacity, go elsewhere. Look at the Ranger or the broader range of four-wheel-drive utes that are available.

But for some, this is the perfect antidote to being overloaded and under-equipped. The heavy-duty four-wheel drivers amongst us will be excited, as will heavy caravanners and remote-area travellers.

And I count myself amongst those people. 

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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