Ford Ranger vs Foton T5

What's the difference?

Ford has given its Ranger ute range a mild facelift. And mild is the word. If you look closely, you might notice some small visual changes, but the real news is under the bonnet where a new entry-level powerplant lives.

And however you look at it, this new engine that addresses the ownership issues experienced by some Ranger buyers since the bi-turbo diesel engine was released back in 2018, was probably overdue.

But the new powerplant comes at a cost; in terms of power and torque, even though the vital towing statistics remain for the Ranger.

The other changes that come with this facelift include some new tech, and the availability of the V6 turbo-diesel (which is unchanged) across the entire Ranger 4X4 dual-cab line-up.

For this review, we’ve concentrated on the new engine as being the major point of difference, and we’ve driven it the base-version XL trim specification. That means this is potentially the lightest variant, and heavier specifications might blunt the performance a little. But overall, this is representative of the new powertrain and represents the biggest point of difference in what is otherwise a very minor facelift.

It’s still early days for battery-electric workhorses in Australia but Chinese brand Foton is making a concerted push into the zero-tailpipe-emissions commercial-vehicle market with its T5 EV.

The Beijing-based manufacturer, which has topped commercial-vehicle sales in China for almost two decades, is offering the ‘new energy’ electric T5 cab-chassis with a choice of GVM ratings: 4500kg for car licence operation or 6000kg for Light Rigid truck licence holders.

With a claimed fully-loaded driving range of 180km and unique-for-EV 3500kg braked tow rating, Foton says the T5 EV can also provide fleets with upfront and operational cost reductions of around 20 per cent compared to diesel. And it can be fitted with a wide variety of service bodies, including its own ready-to-work Tipper variant.

Foton is aiming to expand local sales by focusing on customers involved in last-mile logistics, local councils, construction and infrastructure support, for which this vehicle is best suited. We recently trialled a T5 EV to see how it stacks up as an alternative to diesel.