The 4WD landscape is changing fast. New Zealand finally has an electric 4WD ute, Ford has evolved the Ranger family of 4WDs, and it seems as if every Chinese brand in existence is building an SUV of some sort.

Nissan has just revealed the new Navara, and has its Y63 patrol in the works. Isuzu has facelifted the MU-X and has more in the works for 2026.

Toyota, too is getting in on the upgrade act. Its Hilux gets a fairly comprehensive upgrade for the coming year.

But the most significant ute debut of the year for many is the tough-as-nails Ford Ranger Super Duty.

This latest new addition to the Ranger family is all business, and it’s all about working hard.

The Ranger Super Duty was launched - to the world – in November, and it profoundly ramps up the capability of the Ranger range. It is the only mid-size ute with a massive 4,500kg braked towing capacity. Until now, those who need to tow big stuff for work or play have had to buy a full-size American pickup – Ram or Chev – to get that level of ability.

This ute fills a market niche Ford has not yet targeted, and brings 21st century driving dynamics to those seeking tough, durable utes that will work as hard as their owners do.

Built heavy-duty to handle work on farms, in mines and on big work sites, Super Duty retains the easy-driving character of other Rangers and will likely find a home in many medium-large fleets and commercial operations.

In Australia, we reckon it will indeed be popular in the big mines and massive outback sheep and cattle stations. That’s a huge market for Ford, one where they’ve needed a strong offering for years. Due to its physical size, the F150 doesn’t seem to cut the mustard in such roles as well as a mid-size ute can. Fire trails, skid roads, bush tracks on both sides of the Tasman are all generally suited to mid-size utes. Fire response crews, forestry teams, telecoms crews all stand to do well out of the Super Duty.

It will also win mates among the country's massive 4WD adventure and adventure towing fraternity. Anybody who's spent any time on roads in the lucky country will know Aussies love to 'go bush'. They'll hook up a double-axle offroad caravan and disappears for days at a time.

In New Zealand, the mix may well skew slightly more toward the recreation and lifestyle users, simply because we have very few gigantic farm stations and even fewer mines. At launch we drove it in single cab, extra cab and in its likely favourite format, double cab with a flat deck tray. Coming later is a wellside we reckon will go well among New Zealand buyers.

So what's it made of?

The Super Duty uses the same V6 turbodiesel engine as other Rangers. It makes peak power of 154kW, but more importantly retains the V6 engine's 600Nm, though the torque profile is slightly different.

Super Duty also uses the Ranger's ten-speed auto transmission, and its 4WD system is broadly similar to other top-end Rangers. Though there's 4-Auto, 4WD-hi and 4WD lo. The 2-hi option is deleted in recognition of the Super Duty's likely focus on towing or load carrying work.

The front hubs are from the much bigger F250 (not sold down-under) and the brakes are massive – discs front and rear.

The chassis is built of heavy-gauge steel, and has seven cross-members. Two are lighter ones to support the under-tray spare wheel; the other five are heavier. One of the latter was added specifically to deal with the weight of the larger 130-litre fuel tank that tucks down the left side of the truck. There are heavy-gauge bash plates protecting all the essential gear including the fuel tank, which is the balance point for the truck. The front plate incorporates mounting points for the standard recovery hooks.

The rear suspension is leaf sprung, to deal with the big loads Super Duty will carry and tow, but the spring units are longer than stock Ranger units, which helps smooth out the truck’s ride.

Wading depth is 850mm, and we did one creek crossing on the final day that didn’t hit that depth but was deep enough to prove the door seals are watertight. Diff and transmission breathers run high up at cab level to avoid water contamination.

All this work is done within the stock dimensions of the Ranger chassis, meaning the heavy gauge Super Duty chassis can be built on the regular Ranger’s production line. Some of the body mounts carry over from Ranger.

Super Duty’s bonnet is unique, and carries the truck name embossed on its front edge.

Towing is one of the Super Duty’s core roles. As mentioned, it has an across-the-range braked towing capacity of 4500kg and a payload of up to a tonne. We put it to the test at the launch event, towing a triple-axle farm trailer loaded with silage bales and fencing gear and an excavator and trailer right at the towable maximum. The engine’s torque profile made onramp runs easy, and the tow software fed us all the information we needed about data like engine and transmission temperatures.

By clustering payload, towing capability, and sheer 4WD toughness in a mid-size ute with modern (civilised) driving dynamics, Ford has slotted its toughest Ranger into a unique niche in the market.

The Super Duty resets the benchmark for mid-size, hardworking 4WD utes.