It’s as if American buyers have been waiting forever for the arrival of the new Ford Ranger. Meanwhile, truck fans in Australia have the mid-size truck in a variety of flavors to sample right now, including the hot Raptor. This new video from Automotive expert takes three builds to a chassis dyno for power testing.
It’s been nearly a year since the 2023 Ranger debuted to global audiences, so let’s go through a quick refresher. Powertrains will vary by region, with diesel power being prevalent outside of the United States. For Australia, that means a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 making 247 horsepower (184 kilowatts) and a twin-turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder good for 207 hp (154 kW). More interesting is the Ranger Raptor, which uses a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 gas burner. European emissions regulations limit power to 288 bhp (214 kW), but in Australia it’s good for 392 bhp (292 kW). We expect a similar note for North America.
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Before discussing dyno numbers, it’s important to note that these numbers can vary widely depending on all sorts of factors. We’ve certainly seen some crazy numbers resulting from incorrect dyno settings; atmospheric conditions and transmission types can also play a role. We’re pointing this out because the numbers shared in this video are quite startling, with the diesels showing much more power than expected at the wheels. Meanwhile, the Raptor registers with less.
First, the diesels. The four-cylinder Ranger boasted 170 hp (127 kW) to the wheels. That’s an 18% power loss, which is generally considered above average for a vehicle with an automatic transmission. The diesel V6 does even better, delivering 212 hp (158 kW). Doing the math, we see that there is only a 14% power loss between the engine and the ground. That’s well above average, even for a manual transmission vehicle. However, Ford has discontinued the manual Ranger for 2023 in Australia, so all trucks here use a 10-speed automatic.
Now on to the Ranger Raptor, and this is where things get weird. The off-road-focused truck put out 274 hp (204 kW) to the rear wheels, which is a whopping 30 percent power loss from the engine. Losses of 20-25% with a traditional automatic transmission are common, so we are left with a dilemma. Are Ford’s diesel Rangers underrated? Is the Ranger Raptor overrated? Are we dealing with errors in the dyno settings? Or is something else going on here?
With next-gen Ranger pickups still missing in most of the world, we’ll likely have more time to wait before we see more dyno testing. The results of this race at least give us something to consider as more and more trucks find their way into the hands of owners.
