New Ford Ranger Platinum pricing and specs revealed

Ford on Monday announced the imminent arrival of its luxurious new Ranger Platinum. 

As the flagship of the Ranger line-up, the Platinum double cab distinguishes itself from its siblings with exterior enhancements including a unique front grille design incorporating accented mesh and a classy silk chrome finish for the horizontal bars and surround. This is complemented by distinctive “platinum” badging across the leading edge of the bonnet and on the lower sections of the front doors. The same silk chrome finish is applied to the side steps, side vents, window linings and rear bumper. Five paint colours are available: Iconic Silver, Frozen White, Carbonized Grey, Lucid Red and Agate Black.

The front bumper, mirror caps and door handles are colour coded while the wheel arches are home to a set of attractive 20-inch alloy wheels emblazoned with striking ebony accents. Other neat touches fitted as standard include a fixed sports hoop and side rails, functional roof rails and Ford's Cargo Management System, designed to make loading a breeze. Buyers can have the nifty powered roller shutter fitted as an added cost option.

As on the Ranger Raptor, the Ranger Platinum is equipped with a fully adaptive Matrix LED lighting system offering notable benefits such as glare-free high beam functionality, high beam boost and dynamic bending that swivels the headlamps into a bend by up to 15º.

The cabin of the Ranger Platinum has been upgraded with unique front and rear seats upholstered in quilted and perforated high-grade leather. Accent stitching features throughout while bold “platinum” badges appear on the front seatbacks and floor mats. The front seats are not only heated and ventilated but also offer 10-way power adjustment with memory function. A heated steering wheel further sweetens the deal as does a soft-touch dashboard trim, Black Maple and Satin Aluminium trim strips, fully customisable interior mood lighting and the addition of an upper glovebox for enhanced practicality. 

Also borrowed from the Ranger Raptor is a full-width 12.4-inch LCD instrument cluster offering a high scope of personalisation to suit any driver’s preference. This standout feature is paired to a 12-inch centre touchscreen display incorporating Ford's latest-generation Sync 4A infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, a Sync Off-road screen, 360º camera and premium B&O sound system.

Those who spend a lot of time on the road will be no doubt be pleased by the presence of a built-in 400W inverter with 240-volt and 12-volt power outlets positioned on the rear of the centre console and in the load bay. This is bolstered by dual front/rear USB ports. 

First introduced on the Ranger Tremor, the Ranger Platinum receives Ford Pro Trailer Backup Assist with Trailer Reverse Guidance, an innovative system that helps take the guesswork out of reversing the vehicle with a trailer attached. This is bolstered by advanced driver aids including adaptive cruise control (with stop and go and lane centring), active park assist with autonomous parallel and perpendicular parking, a tyre pressure monitoring system and seven selectable Drive Modes: Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Slippery, Mud/Ruts, Sand and Rock Crawl. Customer can also look forward to hill descent control, hill launch assist and dynamic stability control (which includes load adaptive control, rollover mitigation, traction control and trailer sway control).

On the safety front the Ranger Platinum is the first Ranger model to be fitted with far side airbags positioned between the front seats. This prevents the occupants colliding with each other in an impact, thereby reducing the risk and severity of resulting injuries. Dual front, side and curtain airbags, along with the driver’s knee airbag, are also included.

The Ranger Platinum is available exclusively with Ford's potent 184kW/600Nm 3.0l V6 turbodiesel engine. It's meshed to a 10-speed automatic transmission that distributes power to all four paws via a full-time four-wheel system with four settings: 4 Auto (4A), rear-wheel drive (2H), 4x4 high-range (4H) and 4x4 low-range (4L) for gnarly terrains. 

Available at Ford dealerships at the end of the first quarter, the new Ranger Platinum is priced at R1,119,000. This includes a four-year/120,000km warranty, four-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance and five-year/unlimited distance corrosion warranty. 

Customers have the option of purchasing a service or maintenance plans up to eight years or 135,000km. The warranty can be extended up to seven years or 200,000km, while the Roadside Assistance can be extended for an additional one or two years.