New Ford Ranger Thunder Ready to Rumble

I like trucks, whether it’s the cowboy in me, the lure of far-away hills or something more ingrained. I care little - I like trucks. Last year I got to share some time and space with Ford’s Ranger Raptor, a truck that can turn dirt tracks to motorways and your licence to confetti with little effort.

New to the forecourt is Ford’s new Ranger Thunder, deliveries beginning in late summer. Limited to just 4,500 examples across Europe, the Ranger Thunder adds exclusive interior and exterior design, as well as popular practical options as standard, to deliver SUV-like style and comfort alongside generous load carrying and towing capability.

Powered by Ford’s Bi-Turbo 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel engine offering 213 PS and 500 Nm of torque, Ranger Thunder also features as standard Ford’s 10-speed automatic gearbox for smooth shifting and effortless performance on- and off-road.

Derived from the highly popular Ranger Wildtrak series, the Ranger Thunder combines high specification with optimised load hauling and tough four-wheel drive capability.

Tough and distinctive design

The Ranger Thunder is offered in a single specification featuring design details that highlight the model’s exclusivity and accentuate its “ready-to-rumble” character. 

Finished in Sea Grey, the model adds exclusive 18-inch black alloy wheels and Ebony Black executions for the front grille, rear bumper, skid plates, fog light surrounds, load bay sports hoop and door handles. Bold red accents on the grille and sports hoop highlight the key details and are complemented by three-dimensional-effect “Thunder” badges for the driver and front passenger doors and tailgate, with the “Ranger” logo finished in matte black.

LED headlights with darkened bezels are also standard, with darkened taillight bezels at the rear. The Ranger Thunder includes a load bay bedliner and Black Mountain Top powder-coated roller shutter – both popular options with Ranger customers. A practical new load bay divider is also featured for the first time.

The comfortable and characterful interior delivers full Ebony leather seats with distinctive “Thunder” red embroidery and matching stitching across the steering wheel, seats, instrument panel and key touch points throughout the cabin. Black floor mats are also standard and contrast with bespoke red-illuminated sill plates.

Proven powertrain

The Ranger Thunder’s Bi-turbo 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel engine uses twin turbochargers in series at lower engine speeds for enhanced torque and responsiveness, bypassing the smaller turbocharger at higher engine speeds to provide maximum boost from the larger turbocharger for peak power.

Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission offers performance and durability found in the Ford F-150 pick-up and Ford Mustang. The transmission features a wide spread of ratios and real-time adaptive shift-scheduling that adapts to changing conditions, enabling the optimal gear to be selected for performance, fuel efficiency or refinement in any driving scenario.

The Ford Ranger Thunder feature Ranger’s proven four-wheel drive system for off-road capability and according to Ford figures, will deliver fuel efficiency from 7.8 l/100 km and CO2 emissions from 205 g/km (NEDC), or 9.1 l/100km and 239 g/km (WLTP).