While India is still so obsessed with SUVs, there are other lifestyle vehicles such as pickup trucks which are greatly practical and could potentially do very well in the Indian market. And the popularity of lifestyle vehicles are on the rise in India as has been proved by the new-gen Mahindra Thar. We even had the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross on sale in India, but that unfortunately got discontinued as we stepped into the BS6 era. The Isuzu D-Max will return to India in its next-gen guise and could even see competition for the first time in the Ford Ranger.
Ford has already been caught testing the Ranger pickup truck in India quite a few times. Now, yet another spy shot of the Ford Ranger has come up on the internet wearing temporary Haryana number plates. This is a MY2020 vehicle and seems to be production-spec as opposed to the prototypes that were spied testing earlier. This could also be a component study for Ford' manufacturing facility in India. Even if Ford is planning to start manufacturing the Ranger pickup in India for export, an India launch too could very well be on the cards.
Also Read : Mahindra XUV500-Based Ford SUV Spotted For the First Time!
The rumours about Ford launching the Ranger pickup in India has been afloat for quite some time now and these latest images only add fuel to the fire. The Ford Ranger also shares its platform and underpinnings with the Ford Endeavor (or Everest as its known abroad) and that is why, it will be particularly easy for Ford to integrate the manufacturing of the Ranger in India. If its at all launched in India, it could even be sharing its powertrain options with the India-spec Endeavor.
That means the Ranger could be powered by a Ford's new 2.0 Litre turbo diesel engine that produces 167 PS and 420 Nm of peak torque. The motor comes paired with a 10-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. The Ranger could also be using a lot of interior trim and features from the Endeavour. Internationally however, the Ranger is available with a wider range of diesel and even petrol engines along with more choices for manual and automatic gearboxes.
There are also reports of Toyota planning to launch the Hilux pickup truck in India, which incidentally is again based on the Fortuner SUV. If the Ford launches the Ranger in India at all, and when the Isuzu D-max makes its return in its next-gen guise, we could actually be looking at a vibrant pickup truck segment, something we've never had in India.
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