Ford Ranger vs Volkswagen Transporter

What's the difference?

I can definitely see the pitch for the Ranger Super Duty. For fleets, having a vehicle with more modern safety, comfort, and thoughtful technologies is compelling when the alternative is an old Toyota 70 Series or a hardly-suitable-for-Aussie-roads full-size American pick-up.

It is beefed up for whatever the trails can throw at it, and more than work-ready without the need for months of conversion work, but for private buyers, do you really need this? For some niche towing and off-road applications it’s an unbeatable factory offering, but I’d argue it’s expensive overkill for most.

Still, Ford’s customer-centric approach is commendable. It will be interesting to see if it can simply create a 4.5T GVM sub-segment for the dual-cab market in the same way Raptor did for performance variants.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

So has Volkswagen done enough with this new Transporter to win back buyers in what has become a highly-competitive van market?

Based on our initial test drive of the Transporter, it’s safe to say Volkswagen has a good chance of regaining some lost ground. But it won’t be easy because there isn’t any particular area where the Transporter really sets itself apart from the competition.

It’s a pleasant van to drive, with a roomy, modern cabin and a competitive cargo area, at least with the diesel engine. The electric Transporter provides an alternative choice for a small audience, but the huge price premium and limited range will mean it won’t suit the vast majority of buyers.

The real opportunity for VW will come when the PHEV arrives in 2026. That has the potential to help create some difference between itself and the likes of Toyota and Hyundai.

It’s noticeable that the brands dominating the commercial van market are the big name ones, rather than the cheaper Chinese competition, which suggests buyers are looking for a trusted name rather than the lowest price.

So from that perspective, Volkswagen has a decent chance of regaining lost ground given its heritage in the van segment.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer with meals provided.

The Super Duty dwarfs a standard Ranger on the road. The track is as wide as a Raptor, while the height has increased significantly. It looks almost as though someone dropped a Ranger in Photoshop and told it to increase everything by 15 per cent.

The chunky grille, re-designed blocky fenders to accommodate the extra width, intentionally squared-off wheel arches, and beefed-up ride height with correspondingly larger wheels make the Super Duty imposing on the road.

Like its relatives overseas, the Super Duty logo is three-dimensionally imprinted on the bonnet, and the factory tray being available in a range of finishes (steel, matt black, or colour matching) either adds to the ruggedness or street appeal depending on what the buyer is after.

All of this is not just to make the car look tough, but also to accommodate the depth of changes underneath, because the Super Duty is so fundamentally different from a standard Ranger it’s almost an entirely new vehicle.

Even things as core as the chassis rails have been up-gauged significantly to handle this car’s additional capabilities. Ford has even delved into its Detroit parts catalogue to upgrade almost everything else underneath. It features a front differential from the Bronco Raptor, eight-stud wheel hubs from the F-250, and an upgraded version of the rear axle assembly from a Transit van, although with a unique and up-sized rear differential.

There is also a new transfer case, 130-litre fuel tank, and steel underbody protection which can pivot the entire weight of the vehicle.

Inside looks and feels like a regular Ranger. As mentioned, it comes with all the multimedia amenities and some of the luxuries like soft-touch finishes for anywhere your elbows are going to rest, although the abundance of hard plastics are notable.

Commercial vans are typically not instruments of design, but rather a study in functionality. But credit to the Volkswagen designers because it clearly looks like a Volkswagen from the outside, despite its Ford lineage. While there are obviously some similarities between the Transporter and Transit Custom inside, the front-end design definitely has a visual connection to the previous generation models.

But, of course, functionality is important and by using the Transit Custom underpinnings, Volkswagen has been able to grow the Transporter. It is 150mm longer and the standard wheelbase has been stretched by 100mm, compared to the six-generation, which allows for even more cargo space.

The cabin is well laid out, with a new 12-inch digital instrument display and a 13-inch multimedia touchscreen taking prominence on the dashboard. The multimedia system includes built-in navigation plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as digital radio.

Practicality is what the Super Duty is all about, and it starts with the capacities. As already mentioned, this means a 4500kg GVM, which allows a payload of up to 1982kg (for the lightest single-cab variant), and up to 4500kg of towing capacity, and a total GCM of up to 8000kg.

The factory Cab Chassis tray was also part of the design from the beginning, and has dimensions to make the most of the footprint, measuring in at 2580mm x 1950mm for the Single Cab, 2130mm x 1950mm for the Super Cab, and 1830mm x 1950mm for the double cab.

The off-road dimensions are also strong, with an approach angle of 36.3 degrees, a departure angle of 29.3 degrees, and a breakover angle of 26.9 degrees (for the most capable Single Cab variant). Even the ground clearance is increased to between 295 and 299mm - larger in every direction over the standard model.

Wading depth is 850mm and a fully sealed Safari Snorkel comes standard on every body style. Plus, there are heavy-duty recovery hooks wherever you need them if you do end up getting stuck. The stock tyre is an all-terrain General Grabber, so most buyers won’t have to drive straight to a tyre shop either.

The choice of three body styles is excellent from the factory. One suited to every niche, while there are other commendable additions like the pre-drilled hard points in the dash for the fitment of equipment with a factory finish, as well as modern amenities like a full-size power outlet on the back of the centre console in every body style.

Plus, Ford has already reached out to the aftermarket so a range of accessories for both recreational buyers and its target fleet audience are already catered for at launch.

Perhaps the only detractor from what is otherwise a car that seems to cater to every need is the lack of a de-specified interior. With such tough intentions, I can see scenarios where the 12-inch touchscreen could be a liability, and cloth seats could easily get destroyed where a hard wearing vinyl trim isn’t an option.

This is the really important element for any good commercial van, both the practicality of the cabin (as drivers spend long hours behind the wheel) and the cargo capacity in the back (for the obvious reasons).

Up front there’s a wireless charging pad and seven USB ports spread around the cabin. There are plenty of small item storage spots, and some not so small items, with a large shelf on top of the dashboard and multiple in-door shelves.

Of course, it’s out the back that’s really important and, as mentioned earlier, there is more space thanks to the larger overall dimensions.

Both SWB and LWB vans come with a plastic floor cover as standard, plus there are load rated tied tie down points, a 12V charging port in the D-pillar and LED lights in the roof. 

Thanks to the extra length, the SWB has a 2.6m load length and 5.8 cubic metres of cargo space, while the LWB has 3.0m in length and 6.8 cubic metres. There’s also a steel fixed partition with window, window grille and load through hatch to stretch the usable space even more.

The total payload for the Transporter varies depending on the powertrain. The TDI 2WD can take up to 1062kg (SWB) and 1016kg (LWB), while TDI AWD can manage 963kg (SWB) and 917kg (LWB). The electric Transporter has a significantly lower payload, rated at 806kg (SWB) and 760kg (LWB).

Towing capacity also changes depending on the powertrain, the TDI 2WD can manage 2000kg, TDI AWD up to 2800kg and the electric 2300kg.

In addition to the multiple powertrains, there’s also a variety of body styles to choose from - van in both standard and long wheelbase, Crewvan in both lengths and the long wheelbase Dual Cab.

The Transporter TDI (diesel) SWB van begins the range at $58,590 (all prices exclude on-road costs), while the same size with electric power is priced from $83,590; so the cost of going electric is a big one.

The diesel van LWB is priced from $60,590, and the electric van LWB $85,590, so the extra room is a much cheaper upgrade.

Standard equipment on the Transporter van includes 16-inch steel wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights, keyless ignition, climate control, cloth-trimmed seats, heated front seats and a four-speaker sound system.

Customisation is a key part of the commercial vehicle market, so Volkswagen has done its best to ensure aftermarket suppliers can use the Transporter as a platform to shape it into whatever customers need - delivery van, camper, etc. 

For business operators Volkswagen Australia has done a deal with a company called Sortimo. The so-called Sortimo ‘1-Click’ is a new system, exclusive to Volkswagen, that allows owners to add interval shelving options to any VW commercial van direct from the dealer. This can be added at the time of purchase so it can be included in the financing for the car.

Again, things don’t look too different from a regular Ranger under the bonnet, with the Super Duty maintaining the same 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine and 10-speed automatic transmission, but with some tweaks.

It has less power, producing 154kW (30kW less than the standard V6 Ranger), but maintaining the same 600Nm of torque, and it also has upgraded cooling to support load-lugging, with the front fan upgraded from 800W to 1000W.

The inverter is also 400W to support additional electrics, and mechanically there is a new transfer case, new front and rear differentials, upgraded CV shafts and main drive shaft, as well as an 18-inch brake package.

For emissions compliance, the Super Duty is equipped with both a DPF (diesel particulate filter) and AdBlue. But being conscious of the needs of many heavy-duty users, the brand has added a manual override for the DPF cycle so it doesn’t slow the vehicle down when full power is needed.

The same 4x4 auto system is employed, allowing automatic all-wheel drive to be applied in the standard driving mode. The differentials can be independently locked via the off-road menu in the touchscreen.

The tuning of this engine does make a tangible difference to the drive experience on the road, and while four cylinders are more prolific in the dual-cab space, the 3.0-litre V6 does what it can to bridge the gap between the more standard crop of turbo diesels and bigger V8s in American full-sizers.

As mentioned earlier, Volkswagen has been able to diversify the Transporter for now and into the future, which means the choice of diesel, electric and plug-in hybrid.

Despite the electrified additions, the most popular choice for buyers is overwhelmingly going to be the turbo diesel. The 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit makes 125kW of power and 390Nm of torque and is paired to an eight-speed automatic. It’s available either with front-wheel drive or Volkswagen’s '4Motion' all-wheel drive set-up.

The eTransporter is rear-wheel drive only, and has a single-speed gearbox attached to its 210kW/415Nm electric motor.

The PHEV isn’t here yet, but when it does arrive, Volkswagen has confirmed it will be producing 171kW/205Nm.

As a vehicle that slips into the category above the standard crop of dual-cabs, the Super Duty doesn’t wear an official fuel consumption number.

The story won’t be great. Anecdotally, as we were hopping in and out of several vehicles on this launch test, the computers were all showing over 12L/100km.

To be fair, we spent hours off-roading, towing, and driving in mixed countryside conditions, so hardly merciful, but we were also mostly unladen for the majority of the driving.

With a 130L fuel tank though, the Super Duty should still have plenty of driving range.

Fuel economy for the diesel is rated at 7.9L/100km for the two-wheel drive variant and rises to 8.4L/100km for the 4Motion AWD. 

Our test drive was limited, so we couldn’t get a fair real-world fuel figure, but if you can hit those claims, with its 70-litre fuel tank it has a theoretical driving range of 886km for the 2WD and 833km for the 4Motion - which should be enough to get even the more active delivery drivers through a few days.

As for the eTransporter, VW claims a driving range of 330km, with 125kW DC charging able to replenish the battery from 10-80 per cent in just 38 minutes. Volkswagen is confident that this should be enough to appeal to back-to-base-style operators looking to cut fuel costs and emissions.

A lot of the experience of driving the Super Duty is familiar to the rest of the Ranger line-up. It feels comfortable and refined from behind the wheel, but certainly a size-up from its siblings.

For those who have driven any recent Ranger, this will be very good news. There’s not much about this vehicle that feels properly clattery like some light truck alternatives, and if you’ve driven a Raptor before, the pumped-up width and height will be familiar.

The brand has even managed to maintain an excellent steering tune which balances weight and feel, despite the differences to the hardware underneath. Even the ride quality, something Ranger is so well known for, has carried across to this model, despite significantly beefed-up components.

There is a degree of ladder-chassis jiggle to it, and if you throw some really rough terrain at it, the Super Duty will have the odd harsh moment, but on the whole it’s impressive what Ford has managed to do with such a significantly altered ute.

Over a long day of driving in harsh conditions, the seat quality proved to be comfortable, while ergonomics in the cabin are fairly robust, with a good driving position, physical dials for the climate unit, and easy manual adjustability.

The tweaked V6 engine is an interesting story. Unladen, off-the-road, and at commuter speeds it feels similar to the standard version, but things change when you throw different stress factors at it.

Stomping on the accelerator, for example, elicits a dulled response compared to the relatively athletic performance of the standard engine, with the 0-100km/h sprint (for all the good that will do the commercial audience) significantly impacted. We recorded a (not very scientific) 14.1 seconds.

When a lot is asked of it, either for overtaking scenarios or when laden, the engine creates a fair bit of noise and doesn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to go anywhere (even chugging up a hill at 60km/h with six tonnes combined across tray and trailer). But it’s the consistency and the throughput of the torque that's been focused on for this re-tune, which Ford says should keep the engine capable of doing these sorts of tasks all day.

The transmission isn't too busy or annoying, smoothly shifting through gears.

The Super Duty made light work of the off-road component of our test drive, making the real-world conditions feel easy, and the way it handled the more theoretically challenging staged tests was impressive, too. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such articulation ability from a leaf-sprung rear suspension set-up, while the clearance angles also remained impressive.

Levels of grip on offer are also impressive from the stock tyre, which importantly also offers a hefty amount of sidewall for the more hairy stuff, and the traction systems doesn't seem to miss a beat.

Safety systems are tame on the country roads we took it on, barely skipping a beat, and are thankfully not at all annoying.

It is big though, so I can imagine parking in a city might not be easy (it’s already hard enough in a Raptor), so again, it’s worth asking if you need this kind of capability before you pull the trigger as a private buyer.

Volkswagen is a company that prides itself on its driving dynamics, even when it comes to vans. Even with the Ford influence, the new Transporter unmistakably feels like a Volkswagen in the way it drives.

It's worth noting we drove the Transporter unladen, so it may respond differently when filled with cargo, but the fundamental behaviour should remain the same.

There’s no mistaking you’re behind the wheel of a big van, but the Transporter reacts well to your inputs, so it feels responsive and surprisingly agile for such a sizable vehicle.

The same is true for the turbo-diesel engine, which feels strong enough to pull the big van along with a minimum of fuss (although, again, that was without a full cargo load in the back). What the engine does well is perform quietly. The cabin is well-insulated from the outside world, so it makes for a more relaxed environment, which will be a welcome factor for anyone looking to spend their working day inside the Transporter.

We sampled the electric Transporter and it also performed well. Dynamically it felt very similar, despite being rear-wheel drive, but obviously the bigger difference is under the bonnet. The electric motor does a fine job, but it feels solid rather than being particularly punchy. The TDI feels like it does the work easier, even under acceleration which should be the electric motor’s strength.

This is an area previously overlooked, not just by carmakers but even the safety authorities. Given vans like the Transporter are on the road more than your average family car, it’s important to keep everyone safe.

There is no ANCAP score for the new Transporter yet, and the safety authority hasn’t crash tested the latest Ford Transit Custom, either. So there is clearly still some work to do before commercial vans get the same level of attention as passenger cars.

In terms of equipment, the Transporter comes with a range of active safety items including 'Front Assist' (with cross traffic alert and adaptive cruise control) and a rear view camera. There are also front and curtain airbags to protect the occupants.

Ford offers the same five-year and unlimited kilometre warranty as the rest of its range, and servicing, which is required once every 12 months or 15,000km, is capped price.

It costs $469 per visit for the first five years, which is more expensive than the standard Ranger ($379 per visit for four years, then $430 for the fifth), but it’s still not outrageously expensive (and not priced much differently from a HiLux when you consider that model's six-monthly service visits).

Volkswagen says the Transporter and eTransporter require servicing annually or every 30,000km - whichever comes first.

The diesel is significantly more expensive to service, with even the cheapest visit costing $670 and the most expensive $892. Over the first five years the Transporter will cost $3880 to maintain.

By contrast, the eTransporter costs $410 for every visit, except the 90,000km major check-up which is $496. So over five years it will cost $2136 to service.

While VW has an expansive national network of dealers for servicing, and a history with commercial vehicles, that’s not a big advantage over its key rivals in this market - Toyota, Ford and Hyundai - which all boast the same.