The great 2025 Ford Ranger features Australia misses out on, for now, including advanced safety, comfort, convenience and powertrain tech readily available elsewhere

Did you know not all Ford Rangers are alike?

Even though this country's bestselling vehicle is not made here of course, Australia is the home to the last two generations of the midsized ute, having been designed and engineered here.

Uniquely suited to our demanding local conditions, that’s probably also why the Ranger is widely regarded as best-in-class.

Markets outside of Australia have different requirements as well as varying consumer tastes, meaning that, despite looking largely the same as our versions, their Rangers and Everests differ in some key details.

Early this year we outlined how in China the latest version unveiled (and made) there since late 2023 offers the coil-sprung rear end (similar to that found on the Raptor) on some higher-end models like the Wildtrak. Comfort is paramount and consumers do not need the full payload capabilities that our leaf-sprung suspension equivalents provide.

Similarly, 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo engines in Puma diesel and EcoBoost petrol choices are offered, in lieu of the 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre V6 items Australians have in our Thai-sourced Rangers and Everest.

Not only is the auto a ZF eight-speed with a broader array of driving modes, instead of a Ford/GM 10-speed, but a six-speed manual remains on offer. Lucky them.

Perhaps the most surprising departure, however, is in the area of advanced driver assist safety (ADAS), where a higher level of semi-autonomous driving tech is available on some grades.

In China, a feature called (or at least translated by Google as) ‘Smart Navigation Driving Assistance’ is offered: when adaptive cruise control (ACC) is activated and it is safe to do so, it has the ability to automatically overtake a slower-moving vehicle with reduced driver input.

“Equipped with intelligent pilot driving assistance system… it can realise high-precision map navigation, automatic on and off ramps, automatic overtaking, automatic lane changing, and intelligent curve speed adjustment,” according to the Ford China website.

Not to be confused with Ford’s Blue Cruise handsfree driving system offered in 420,000-plus vehicles over 17 countries since 2020 but not in Australia, it is understood that a certain level of highway and mapping detail upgrades are required for this tech to be made available in Australia.

Another is Remote Control Parking, that allows the driver using the appropriate app to manoeuvre the vehicle in or out of parking spaces from outside the car. This is similar tech as offered in some Hyundai and Kia models for some time now in Australia, but a usefully unique point of difference in the ute market.

China-market Rangers with ACC operating also have ‘Lever Lane Change’ capability; a prolonged light press on the indicator stalk will have the vehicle smoothly change lane automatically, complete with automatic steering inputs. Among other manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz has offered this convenience in Australia for around a decade now.

Of course, some or all of this new tech might find their way onto future iterations, perhaps beginning with the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) Ranger expected to hit Australian dealers sometime in the second half of next year.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the Chinese Ranger is manufactured with local partner Jiangling Motors Corporation – also known as JMC – in Nanchang as part of a joint-venture program, adding to the different flavour of the vehicle. Other Ford models JMC makes include the big Transit, Territory (not the Australian one) and Equator.

Is there any chance that the Australian-bound Ranger and/or Everest will adopt at least some of the technologies outlined above?

Watch this space.