► Bestselling pickup embraces the plug
► Without compromising its main capabilities
► Pro Power Onboard an awesome asset
Meet the UK and Europe’s first plug-in hybrid pick-up – the Ford Ranger PHEV. More than just a novelty, recent tax changes and some clever tech mean this might just be the best way to carry on lifestyling with a go anywhere, do anything truck in 2025.
Priced competitively against the diesel alternatives, it is largely uncompromised by the addition of a chunky lithium-ion battery pack, offering plenty of power and more torque than any other Ranger – including the high-performance Ranger Raptor. And it still has 3.5-tonne towing and 1.0-tonne payload capacity.
That you can also use the drive battery as a mobile power station means extra versatility, too. I’ve been driving it. In Iceland. On a volcano. As you do.
At a glance
Pros: Powerful hybrid system, fully capable off-road, cheaper to tax, great mobile workshop potential
Cons: Electric driving range is short, slightly less load space
What’s new?
Up until now, the regular Ranger has been a 2.0-litre or 3.0-litre diesel affair. Here you get a 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol engine combined with a 75kW (100bhp) electric motor tucked into the 10-speed automatic transmission.
The motor is juiced by an 11.8kWh battery pack that sits under the load bed. That doesn’t sound very big by modern standards, but incorporating it still required changes to the rear chassis rails and puts a 20mm power bulge into the load floor.
Modified suspension corrects for the inevitable shift in unladen weight distribution. But since the Ranger was already set up for heavy rear payload requirements, this isn’t a significant difference from the driver’s perspective.
More exciting is the new Ford Pro Power Onboard capability. This gives you three plug sockets – one in the cab, two in the load box – that can draw on all those lithium ions to provide silent power for tools, camping equipment and almost anything else you can think of that might need turning on away from the national grid.
Stick a roof tent on the top and you’re set for the next Armageddon. And no matter if the battery goes flat, because you can still run the outlets using the petrol engine (though maybe not overnight at the caravan park).
What are the specs?
The hybrid system delivers a combined max of 277bhp and 514lb ft of torque – quite a bit more than the 237bhp and 442lb ft the 3.0-litre diesel Ranger musters. It’s not super-relevant in a pick-up, but that means the Ranger hybrid does 0-62mph in 9.2sec – 0.5sec faster than the big diesel.
Electric only driving range is 25.5 miles at best, according to the WLTP figures. Nothing to get too excited about, but the resulting 70-72g/km CO2 means much lower benefit-in-kind tax – important now that double-cab pick-up trucks are no longer considered commercial vehicles in this way. With gross payload ratings in excess of 1,000kg, however, the Ranger PHEV still qualifies for VAT exemption.
With charging restricted to AC you’ll need four hours to fully top-up from the mains. You can also charge while you drive – a handy feature for such a multipurpose vehicle – but this will put a dent your fuel economy. Officially this is 88-90mpg on the WLTP combined cycle. With a flat battery it’s more like 30mpg in the real world, where the EV driving range was 21 miles in my hands.
Even so, if you can regularly charge it on an electric-car friendly tariff at home, this should still be a cheap pick-up to run.
How does it drive?
The on-road driving experience is very much like that of any other Ranger – which is to say impressive for a pick-up but a little more shuddery and robust than you’d expect from a comparatively priced SUV or car.
By truck standards, it really does ride remarkably well. Ford’s got the steering neatly dialled-in, too, and although you’ll never forget how big it is, you can hustle it along pretty nicely. This is achieved in comparative quiet, since active noise cancellation suppresses intrusions from the engine whenever it kicks in.
Ford’s 10-speed gearbox isn’t always a charm, but it works well enough here that I really only noticed its clunkier traits when using the low-range setting off-road. Perhaps the integrated e-motor makes it smoother. A series of clutches mean all-four wheels can be driven by the e-motor, the engine or a combination of the two.
Clambering about the Icelandic scenery – in an area where this was permitted – the plug-in Ranger makes short work of slopes of volcanic shingle, demonstrates decent axle articulation, and has no fear of river crossings up to 800mm deep. A whole host of driving modes are available via the Terrain Management System, and there are four settings for the all-wheel drive – plus a rear diff lock and hill descent control.
Frankly, it felt like it was barely breaking sweat in such a controlled environment. Same when towing a two-tonne trailer, something a multitude of cameras and other tech makes relatively straightforward, even for a novice.
What about the interior?
It’s basically the same as any other current Ranger inside, aside from the addition of an EV mode button that gives you control over the use of the battery power. This is hardly a bad thing, as the Ranger is much more car-like than most commercial vehicles.
There’s plenty of space, the driving position is adjustable enough, and visibility is good in every direction. A 12.0-inch touch screen makes it feel modern, but there are still plenty of buttons – including for the climate control. Material and build quality are well up to whatever task or family member you might throw at it.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
You can have the Ranger PHEV is three trim levels: XLT, Wildtrak and Stormtrak.
All are well equipped, but XLT is decidedly the most work-like of the three. Wildtrak is the standard Ranger lifestyle choice, while the Stormtrak builds on this with bespoke graphics and additional accessories – including not only the basic Pro Power Onboard system but also a trick moving sportsbar on the load bed that’s designed to solve the problem of carrying longer items.
There are no other plug-in hybrid pick-ups on the market, so it’s either this, a diesel from within the Ranger line-up or the usual rivals Izusu and Toyota, or a full-electric model from Maxus. Don’t bother with the latter. And though diesel is no-nonsense and well-proven in this sector, the Pro Power versatility and BIK advantages of the Ranger PHEV surely deserve some serious attention.
Verdict
The UK’s bestselling pick-up adds yet another string to its bow with this comprehensively well-thought-out plug-in hybrid model. Yes, you could complain that the EV driving range is pitiful and point out that £4k over the 2.0-litre diesel is a hefty amount to pay. But for me the pros far outweigh the cons here, taking some of the guilt away from the pleasure of plugging about in a pick-up at the same time.
This could well be the ultimate lifestyle vehicle available to buyers in the UK. Zero emissions on the school run, powerful and flexible enough to tackle serious work, and then ready to head into the hills at the weekend. I want one – more than I’ve wanted any other test car in quite some time.
Spec below are for the Ford Ranger PHEV Stormtrak