Article by KIRENNESH NAIR
WITH its rustic appeal along with lush greenery and rugged terrain, Thailand’s Chon Buri seems to an ideal location for testing 4x4s.
At our beck and call was a fleet of Ford Ranger Super Duty pick-up trucks, specially reinforced over its regular siblings for sustained heavy-duty work in harsh conditions.
The challenge before us were an eight-station off-road course built to push the Super Duty to its limits, finishing with a climb to the hilltop of Khao Raboet as well as testing steep ascents, uneven terrain, and hauling extreme payloads.
Designed, engineered, and tested in Melbourne at the Ford Australia Design Centre, the Ranger Super Duty fills the gap left by the Land Rover Defender’s shift into luxury territory, targeting the rugged “workhorse” segment dominated by the Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series.
It is manufactured in Thailand at AutoAlliance Thailand (AAT), a joint venture between Ford and Mazda in Rayong province.
Rugged styling, reinforced chassis
From the outside, the Super Duty shares the Ranger’s silhouette but stands taller, with a wider track, stamped bonnet, and modular steel bumpers mounted to the frame.
While around 60% of its parts are carried over from the standard Ranger, Ford spent roughly 80% of its development cost on the reinforced chassis.
The result is a vehicle engineered for extremes, with a 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM), 4.5 tonnes towing capacity, and eight tonnes gross combination mass (GCM).
For comparison, the Toyota Land Cruiser 79 Series has a factory GVM of about 3.5 tonnes, a 3.5 tonnes tow capacity and a GCM of about seven tonnes.
And, typically, achieving a 4.5-tonne GVM requires aftermarket upgrades – but the Ranger Super Duty delivers it straight from the factory, under warranty.
Powertrain and Off-Road Tech
Under the hood is a 3.0-litre V6 diesel producing 207bhp and 600Nm of torque, paired with a 10-speed automatic and electronic 4x4 system with selectable modes.
The off-road aids include front and rear differential locks, trail control (off-road cruise control at speeds from 2kph to 15kph) and trail turn assist (tight-turn maneuvering).
These features make driving extreme terrain easy, even with one wheel off the ground.
Built to handle extremes
The Ranger Super Duty rides on 33-inch all-terrain tyres, offers up to 299mm of ground clearance, a 1,710mm track, and 850mm wading depth – easy to cross streams simply by turning off the air-conditioner.
Fuel capacity is 130 litres, extending its range to around 1,000km with 4x4 engaged – far beyond the standard Ranger’s 80-litre tank.
In Southeast Asia, where full-size pickup trucks such as the Ford F-250 Super Duty are rare.
The Ranger Super Duty steps in and provides a mid-size factory-built solution for heavy-duty work while removing the need for costly aftermarket modifications.
Fleet and its various applications
From a business perspective, the Ranger Super Duty’s appeal goes far beyond private buyers.
Ford Global Fleet Sales (GFS), a wholly owned subsidiary of RMA Group based in Thailand, serves as the exclusive global distributor for Ford Motor Company’s fleet products.
Through GFS, factory-backed heavy-duty pick-up trucks, including the Ranger Super Duty, are supplied to government agencies, non-governmental organisations, emergency services, construction firms, farms, and military operations worldwide.
Beyond GFS, RMA Group also handles vehicle modifications, covering every vertical from emergency and health applications to military use.
The company has also converted ambulances equipped with CT scanners in collaboration with health ministries and academic institutions, supplied military trucks for governments globally, and developed a wide range of custom fleet solutions.
While RMA is a qualified vehicle modifier (QVM) for many major automotive brands, it is also a distributor for brands including Ford, Mitsubishi, Jaguar, and Land Rover.
The group sells over 18,000 vehicles annually and has modified more than one million vehicles globally.
It is also responsible for converting F-150 pick-up trucks from left-hand drive to right-hand drive, fully warranted by Ford in Australia.
Globally, RMA operates in 16 countries, with 46 dealerships, 47 service centres, three assembly plants, and five modification facilities.
Its operations are concentrated in Southeast Asia and Australia, with additional facilities in the UAE, Turkey, South Africa, and a sales office in the United States under GFS.
More than just a distributor, RMA Group is a full-spectrum automotive solutions provider, capable of taking vehicles from factory specification to highly specialized, mission-ready machines for customers across the globe.
Building on RMA Group’s extensive fleet and modification capabilities, the Ranger Super Duty is offered in configurations tailored for specialised applications.
It comes in single cab chassis for upfits and double cab pickup versions, with militarised options that include blackout lighting and aviation fuel compatibility, making it ready for government, emergency and industrial use.
High-tech meets heavy-duty
Despite its ruggedness, the Super Duty is a modern machine, featuring electric power steering, SYNC 4 infotainment with a 12-inch touchscreen that controls features such as differential locks, and advanced off-road technology.
According to automotive experts, the increasing reliance on electronic systems can be a concern in harsh or remote conditions, where mechanical simplicity has traditionally been preferred.
Still, the pick-up truck’s impressive payload and towing capacity ensure it remains a capable workhorse for demanding applications.
For law enforcement and SWAT units, these capabilities open opportunities for armored personnel carriers and specialised response vehicles.
Overall, from Chon Buri to the summit of Khao Rabeot, the Ranger Super Duty proves itself: not a show truck, but a factory-built heavy-duty pick-up truck ready for the toughest work.
For now, the Ranger Super Duty is only available in Thailand (double cab - RM198,000), Australia and New Zealand (single cab - RM231,000; double cab - RM251,000).
Unlikely to be seen widely on Malaysian roads, the Ranger Super Duty may still be accessible to fleet operators.
