Top of the Ranger! New premium Ford Ranger Platinum variant revealed for 2023

Ford Australia has put a new variant at the pointy end of the 2023 Ford Ranger line-up, with a luxury focused Platinum grade slotting in with the recently updated range.

The Ford Ranger Platinum, borrowing its variant badge from its Everest SUV sibling with which it shares a platform, is now the top specification in terms of luxury and comfort in the Ford Ranger family, topped only by the performance-bent twin-turbo V6 Ranger Raptor.

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Starting from $76,990 before on-road costs, the Platinum brings with it a slew of features over the rest of the range including a specific grille and set of 20-inch alloys, chrome trim, matrix LED headlights, and a ‘damped’ soft-open tailgate.

Inside, a 12.4-inch instrument screen and 12.0-inch multimedia touchscreen are found upfront, while heated and cooled front leather seats with 10-way power adjustment provide the comfort, and a Bang & Olufsen speaker system provides the beats.

The Ranger Platinum’s pricing puts it less than $5000 above the Ranger Wildtrak V6, which costs $71,190, but well short of the $86,790 Ranger Raptor.

Ford Australia CEO Andrew Birkic said demand for higher-end variants of the Ford Ranger has been high, so another variant at the top is Ford having “listened hard to customers”.

“We’ve seen growth in high-end variants in this segment over recent years, so we challenged ourselves to create a vehicle that provides all of our customer’s wants and needs,” he said.

Wait times for current Ford Ranger variants do indeed reflect Mr Birkic’s sentiment - the two highest Ford Ranger specifications, Raptor and Wildtrak V6, both currently have wait times up to 12 months.

Even stepping down to Ranger Sport or XLT means a potential wait until March 2023.

For the Ranger Platinum, first arrivals are expected to be seen in April 2023, with order books open now to customers who want to get in early.