The Ford Ranger Super Duty adds heavy duty load carrying and rock crushing off-road ability to an already capable package. But there’s a lot more to the ute that wants to steal sales from the Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series.
The Ford Ranger Super Duty ushers in a new era for utes in Australia.
It combines the tech and trinkets of the country’s top selling ute with the muscle of a workhorse engineered to be loaded and punished like no regular rival.
Little wonder Ford thinks it could shake up the market – and in particular the market sub-set dominated by the Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series.
READ MORE: Ford Ranger Super Duty is ready to fight with the big boys
READ MORE: Ford Ranger and Ranger Raptor: Full details
READ MORE: Ute payloads aren’t what they seem: Why you need to dig deeper into the numbers
Ford is gunning for mining fleets, farmers, forest workers and tradies that have long prioritised capability and load carrying over comfort and technology.
But by blending in those last two attributes Ford thinks it could infiltrate long-held loyalties.
Key to the Super Duty’s appeal is vastly improved off-road capability as well as the ability to tow up to 4500kg and carry up to 1982kg.
Its light truck vehicle classification brings fresh challenges – including design and engineering tweaks – but also still allows it to be driven on a regular car licence.
Ranger Super Duty priced to compete
By Ranger standards the Super Duty is not cheap, but you get plenty for your money.
The new addition to the Ranger line-up is for now only available as an entry-level model.
It’s priced from $82,990 as a Single-cab chassis, $86,490 as a Super-cab chassis and $89,990 as a Double-cab chassis, each before on-road costs.
That basic model comes with 18-inch steel wheels wrapped in 33-inch all-terrain tyres, vinyl floors, smart key entry, an eight-inch digital instrument cluster and 12-inch central infotainment screen incorporating wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
An embedded modem and associated smartphone app allow owners to monitor the car remotely and lock or unlock the doors.
There’s also the same suite of safety gear fitted to regular Rangers.
That includes a 360-degree camera, autonomous emergency braking, blind spot warning, active cruise control, steering assistance, speed sign recognition and driver monitoring.
Plus, the Super Duty gets a heap of gear typically either left to the options list or aftermarket suppliers.
We’re talking things such as rated recovery hooks, snorkel, the steel front bumper bar, serious underbody protection, tow kit and six auxiliary in the roof to make it easier to wire accessories such as lights, an air compressor or fridge.
Option packs: Work, Farm and Adventure
There’s no shortage of accessories for the Super Duty and Ford has packaged some into three option packs.
All add a heavy duty steel tray underneath, rubber floor mats as well as an integrated 25-litre water tank and toolbox (they slot under the tray behind the back wheels).
The Work Pack (from $10,479) also adds yellow wheel nut indicators, a device mounting bar to the left of the centre console and mounting bracket above the instrument panel.
The Farm Pack (from $14,629) adds an ARB Summit bullbar.
And the Adventure Pack (from $20,161) gets that same ARB bullbar, rock sliders and a winch integrated behind the front numberplate.
Prices for those kits – and all other accessories – increase on April 1, 2026.
Target: Toyota LandCruiser 70-Series
Ford clearly has the crosshairs trained on Toyota, in particular the LandCruiser 70-Series.
The venerable off-roader that still shares its basic body with a car that first hit the market in 1985 is an immensely capable workhorse that partly sells on its retro coolness.
But the still-loved LandCruiser is showing its age and has been dragged into the modern era with safety tech to ensure it meets regulations.
The focus for Toyota has long been about getting the core of the car right and allowing aftermarket suppliers to provide a steady stream of upgrades, fixes and accessories to ensure the car meets customer requirements.
Ford, on the other hand, has worked on not only getting the core right – will it be as reliable as the LandCruiser? Only time will tell – but also fitting technology and extras that have typically not been standard on these sorts of vehicles.
Bringing new levels of safety is something that will be appreciated by big fleets from mining giants to government departments, among others.
It will be an epic battle.
The LandCruiser hasn’t been selling on comfort and technology, with its focus instead capability and durability.
The Ranger Super Duty steps up the everyday liveability but arrives with a less-then-stellar reputation for reliability.
The Ranger Super Duty uses a regular Ranger body
The Ranger Super Duty uses much of the regular Ranger’s body.
The doors, windows and most of the interior are common between the two.
But there are key changes.
The plastic front bumper has been replaced with a steel unit that not only offers better protection but also improves the approach angle.
The grille is unique, in keeping with the more muscular look.
The track has been widened and the flared wheel arches housing them squared off.
Riding higher adds to the chunky, purposeful aesthetic.
Larger mirrors and new side indicator repeater lenses were fitted to meet the regulations required of a light truck.
It’s topped off with a new bonnet embossed with “Super Duty”.
For now the Ranger Super Duty is only available as a cab-chassis, but in mid-2026 the regular ute body – what Ford calls Style Side Box – will be available in dual-cab guise.
But underneath it’s very different
Delve beneath the skin, though, and the Super Duty is a very different beast to a garden variety Ranger.
That’s the main reason it weighs a few hundred kilograms more.
It starts with the chassis, which has been beefed up to cope with the extra forces that carrying heavy loads places on the vehicle.
Redesigned suspension includes bigger control arms up front and longer leaf springs in the rear.
There’s also an additional cross member to help support the 130-litre fuel tank that extends driving range.
Ford claims the chassis is 94 per cent unique to the Super Duty.
Underbody protection is akin to what you’d typically find from aftermarket suppliers; Ford says it designed the fuel tank guard to be able to hold the entire car’s weight with almost two tonnes of weight on board – the full 4.5-tonne GVM.
Super Duty can carry a lot more
Key to the Ranger Super Duty’s appeal is a significantly increased load carrying ability.
It starts with the tow capacity, which at 4500kg is a tonne more than most utes, including the standard Ranger.
And, yes, it has a 450kg tow ball download limit.
Of course, to tow that much you need to fit a 70mm towball, rather than the more common 50mm unit.
The payload on the Super Duty ranges from 1825kg for the double cab chassis to 1982kg for the single cab chassis. The Super Cab that slots between the two can carry 1885kg.
We should point out that those payloads are calculated without a tray on the back, so you need to subtract that from the equation.
Still, it’s a mighty payload that allows owners to not only carry a lot of gear but also load up on accessories.
That’s one of the challenges regular utes have long had; by the time you add a bullbar, underbody protection, a slide-on camper or roof top tent, a winch and other bits and pieces your payload can easily be down to half a tonne or less. Load up the family and all their gear and you can be at risk of breaching the GVM.
Another big tick for the Super Duty is its GCM, or gross combination mass.
Whereas regular utes typically have a GCM hovering between 6000kg and 6500kg (the regular Ranger is up to 6400kg and the new Hilux up to 6300kg) the Ranger Super Duty stretches that to a hefty 8000kg.
Yep, eight tonnes!
That means you can tow up to 4.5 tonnes and still have up 982kg of payload.
If you’re towing a 3.5-tonne trailer – the sort of thing that can challenge regular utes – you’ve still got between 1475kg and 1632kg of payload to play with.
In short, it means the Super Duty allows for heavy duty towing to be done in conjunction with the heavy duty load carrying.
| Single cab | Super cab | Double cab | |
| Gross combined mass (GCM) | 8000kg | 8000kg | 8000kg |
| Gross vehicle mass (GVM) | 4500kg | 4500kg | 4500kg |
| Front gross axle weight rating | 1900kg | 1900kg | 1900kg |
| Rear gross axle weight rating | 2800kg | 2800kg | 2800kg |
| Minimum kerb weight (excludes tray) | 2518kg | 2615kg | 2675kg |
| Payload | 1982kg | 1885kg | 1825kg |
Super Duty helps keep your load under control
The Ranger Super Duty also has some smart tech, thanks to Smart Hitch and Onboard Scales.
On each corner of the car is a scissor-like setup comprising two metal rods that connect to the suspension system and the chassis.
That system is designed to detect the droop in the suspension, which is then used to calculate how much weight is on board.
The payload is displayed on a readout on the screen that clearly shows you when you’re overloaded by a bar graph transitioning from green to red.
The system is calibrated when the car comes off the production line and checked each time the car is serviced (the Super Duty has the same 12-month, 15,000km service intervals as other Rangers).
It’s not perfect: Ford engineers say Onboard Scales is accurate to within about 100kg.
To ensure it’s measuring accurately the vehicle also needs to be on a flat surface.
But it at least lets you know when you need to investigate further.
Onboard Scales is ideal for caravanners and adventurers trying to establish whether they’re correctly loaded.
And for businesses concerned about OHS breaches it’ll no doubt be a valuable tool that allows a quick assessment of the vehicle’s load.
Then there’s Smart Hitch, which is an extension of the same system.
It uses the same hardware to determine the towball download.
Go into the centre screen and reset the system. Then hitch up the trailer and it’ll determine roughly how much is pushing down on the rear of the car.
Again, it’s not kilogram-accurate, but it’ll let you know when you need to check further.
Super Duty drops outright power, not pulling power
The Super Duty uses Ford’s 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel, albeit with tweaks.
Those tweaks are because the engine must meet tougher Euro 6 emissions standards due to its light truck classification.
Power has dropped from 184kW to 154kW, predominantly because it has to meet stricter emissions standards.
Torque remains a stout 600Nm, although Ford says there are improvements to the way it’s delivered as part of the unique-to-Super Duty calibration.
Engineers say it’s producing up to 25 per cent more torque lower in the rev range in the first three of its 10 gear ratios.
That’s due to the uprated drivetrain that is part of the Super Duty package.
That includes a more powerful thermo fan; in regular Rangers it’s an 800W unit, in the Super Duty it’s 1000W.
To meet those EU6 emissions the Super Duty requires AdBlue, so a 20-litre tank has been fitted above the rear axle.
As for how much fuel it uses, only Ford engineers know that.
Like the LandCruiser 70-Series its light truck classification means it doesn’t need to quote an official fuel figure because NB1 classification vehicles sidestep those requirements.
Safe to say, though, that it’ll be comfortably more than the 8.4 litres per 100km claim of a regular Ranger V6.
We’d expect closer to 10L/100km when tested to the same Australian test as regular vehicles.
And expect something north of that in real-world driving.
Still, with a 130-litre fuel tank the Super Duty should get close to 1000km between refills (and less, obviously, depending on what you’re carrying and how you’re driving it).
High and wide
Ford engineers often refer to going up and out with the Ranger Super Duty.
In other words, because the suspension was raised, the track was widened accordingly to aid stability, both on- and off-road.
The 1710mm track (distance between the left and right wheels) is 90mm more than normal Rangers.
The ride height of the Super Duty is 295mm for the Double Cab variants, 297mm for the Super Cab and 299mm for the Single Cab (the difference is due to the weights of the body).
That’s around 60mm more than a regular Ranger, so delivers more than the garden variety 50mm (two-inch) lifts common Down Under.
Ranger Super duty: Off-road statistics
| Single cab | Super cab | Double cab | |
| Ground clearance | 299mm | 297mm | 295mm |
| Wading depth | 850mm | 850mm | 850mm |
| Approach angle | 36.3 degrees | 36.2 degrees | 36.1 degrees |
| Departure angle | 29.3 degrees | 29.0 degrees | 28.6 degrees |
| Ramp over angle | 26.9 degrees | 26.5 degrees | 26.3 degrees |
Going deep
The 850mm wading depth of the Super Duty matches the Ranger Raptor and is 50mm more than other Rangers.
But Ford said it tested in deeper water, often driving into it faster than it recommends – all in the name of durability.
In short, engineers looked at how some Aussies use their trucks and decided to go above and beyond.
So why not quote a higher wading depth?
In part because in anything deeper there are concerns the car will start floating.
The Super Duty also comes standard with a Safari snorkel. And, yes, it is a proper sealed unit rather than the raised air intakes on some cars.
The snorkel can be deleted at no cost; engineers are anticipating some will want to fit something sexier, such as a stainless steel intake.
More serious off-road hardware
There’s less reason to turn to the aftermarket with the Ranger Super Duty.
As well as the additional underbody protection, steel front bar, snorkel, stronger chassis, raised suspension and all-terrain light truck rubber there are also rated front and rear recovery points.
Plus the Super Duty comes standard with front and rear locking differentials; they can be locked independently, so you can just lock the front if you want.
There’s also a full-time four-wheel drive system that includes a 4L mode to send 50 per cent of drive to the front wheels and the other 50 per cent to the rear.
So in 4L with both diffs locked all four wheels will turn at the same speed, providing ultimate traction.
Steel wheels, AT rubber
The Ranger Super Duty comes with steel wheels for repairability.
If they’re damaged when you’re in the middle of nowhere a hammer or rock can help coax them back into shape, whereas an alloy would crack.
That said, Ford is offering alloys as an option, something that will come with an XT model arriving mid-2026.
They’re the same 18-inch units, chosen to allow for a bigger braking system, which is again designed to deal with additional weight.
The only tyres offered are light-truck units from General Grabber, the off-road brand from Continental.
The tyres are 275mm wide and a have a nice, tall 70-series profile.
There’s an identical full size spare.
The wheels are held on with eight studs rather than six, all in the name of dealing with heavier loads.
