2019 Ford Ranger spied testing in America

Image Courtesy: Brian Williams/Spiedbilde

The latest rumors about the upcoming Ford Bronco, especially on a possible solid front axle made by Dana, got us pretty excited about competitor Jeep Wrangler. But let's not forget the Ford Ranger, which will be unveiled next year under the name of Model 2019. Our spy photographer spotted this one in Dearborn, Michigan, driving with a camouflaged package but missing the coatings Heavy style curtain that you see on vehicles where the manufacturer wants to keep the main hidden style elements.

That means one of two things. Either this is representative of what our American Ranger will look like - largely similar to the van sold in other parts of the world - or that the sheet metal is just temporarily used to hide the components of the US market that are tested below, and Our Ranger will get unique style. Either is a plausible explanation, but the body of the rest of the world could be too underestimated for US consumers. Maybe Ford will spread the difference and give the Ranger a smaller scale version of the front and rear ends of the F-150, keeping the side moldings largely identical. It is certainly too early to say, but do not be surprised if our Ranger 2019 adopts at least C-shaped headlights and a three-bar grid.

There's still no solid information on powertrains, but smart money is on nothing bigger than a V6 finding a home under the hood. Abroad, the Ranger is available with a range of diesel engines, but there are only two likely candidates for our market. One of them is the 3.0-liter Lion unit heading to the F-150 for 2018. It is also available on the land rover in the US, where it makes about 254 horsepower and 440 lb -pi of torque. This sounds great for a medium sized pickup, but it could be detuned. The other is the five-liter, five-liter diesel that Ford sells here in the Transit van, which is available in the Ranger in some markets - it's good for 185 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque, 'Perfectly integrates and closely matches the Chevrolet Colorado 2.8-liter Duramax 181 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. And an online-four EcoBoost as a base engine is also likely.

Whatever engines find their way underhood, we expect the new Ford-GM 10-speed automatic to appear. We keep our ear on the sidewalk on the Ranger and the Bronco, so if we can shake more loose info we'll pass it.