Ford’s All-New Ranger Hits the Indonesian Road

Nandra Galang Anissa

Ford Motor Indonesia launched its newest pickup, the All-New Ranger, on Thursday in Ancol, North Jakarta.

The new Ranger is available in single cabin, double cabin and RAS cabin models, and has been tested on tough terrain in the Australian outback.

Ford says the pickup was built to drive through flooded streets, with the ability to charge through up to 80 centimeters of water.

The Ranger’s exterior is slim but muscular, in a look that its designers call “21st century tough.” Its frame is larger than its predecessor, at 5.27 meters long and 1.85 meters wide. Still, Ford says the pickup can maneuver easily through narrow city streets.

Bagus Susanto, managing director of Ford Motor Indonesia, said the pickup was “a truck offering quality, fuel efficiency, safety and sophisticated technology, all in one package.”

The Ranger is equipped with a Diesel Duratorq TDCi Hi-Power engine, with a 2.2-liter capacity and a six-speed manual transmission.

The pickup also offers entertainment features including a CD player and an auxiliary socket for an MP3 player. The most luxurious model, the Ranger XLT, also offers a USB and iPod hub, Bluetooth integration and a voice control system for the radio, CD player, iPod player and cellphones.

The Ranger’s safety features include dynamic stability control and hill descent control.

“As of the end of June, we had received more that 1,500 orders from Ford dealerships around the country, and about 900 of them have already been shipped for delivery,” Bagus said.

Indonesia’s pickup market is dominated by fleet consumers, such as those from mining or plantation companies.

Bagus said more than 40 percent of orders for the new Ranger were for the luxury Ranger XLT double cabin model.

“We don’t have any figures yet on fleet and retail sales at this point, but data shows that Ford’s smart technology is attracting retail consumers in the Indonesian pickup market,” Bagus said.

The retail price for the All-New Ranger ranges from Rp 254 million to Rp 353 million ($27,000 to $37,000). The pickup will be available in 10 colors.