New Ford Ranger PHEV 2025 review: plug-in pick-up sets the standard

The Ford Ranger PHEV manages to deliver lower emissions that will benefit business users while still offering all of the cargo carrying and towing capability that the standard diesel model can offer. For that reason alone the PHEV will be a top choice with buyers, while the Stormtrak trim has some added visual appeal that will draw more customers in. Advertisement - Article continues below
As it stands, there's not much wrong with the Ford Ranger, but changes in legislation mean that this big-selling machine is in need of a revamp to help it keep pace with buyer demands. Emissions are now an important factor when it comes to business taxation, and the arrival of the new Ranger PHEV will be the perfect double-cab pick-up for those keen to keep their contributions to the taxman as low as possible.
From the outside, not a lot looks different, although the new Stormtrak trim is exclusive to the PHEV model (it also comes in XLT and Wildtrak trims), Chill Grey is a cool blue hue that's unique to the Stormtrak (black is also offered), while there are unique wheel designs to mark the petrol-electric model out. The Stormtrak also has the option of a sliding sports bar that allows racks to be attached above the cargo bed, while Ford's Pro Power system allows users to connect any device with a three-pin plug to the truck's drive battery - which could come in handy for anybody wanting to take the Ranger off grid and out into the wilds. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below View Corsa View X3 View I-PACE
The other visual clue to the alternative powertrain is the fact there are two filler flaps on the nearside rear wing. One (the one with a lightning bolt set into it) pops open to reveal the charging port for the drive battery, while the other flap ahead of it is the fuel filler, which is released with the push of a button on the dashboard. Advertisement - Article continues below
These are used to refill an 11.8kWh battery and a 70-litre fuel tank respectively, with the latter supplying petrol to a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder that we've seen previously in the UK in the Ford Focus RS/ST and Mustang. The set-up in the Ranger PHEV makes 277bhp and 697Nm of torque, so the plug-in model is second only to the petrol Ranger Raptor for power, while Ford's familiar 10-speed automatic gearbox is fitted as standard. There's a 0-62mph time of 9.2 seconds, while the Ranger PHEV also boasts a towing weight of 3.5 tonnes and a payload of more than a tonne, so there are no compromises there when compared with the diesel versions.
One area where there is a bit of compromise is with the load bed, because there is a subtle rise in the floor that is designed to help accommodate the drive battery. That means cargo volume isn't quite a match for the diesel Ranger, but it's not far behind. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
This might be a small enough price to pay for business users looking to cut their outgoings. Previously, double cab pick-up trucks faced a flat rate of Benefit-in-Kind taxation (currently set at £3,960pa for vans weighing less than 3.5 tonnes), but now the rates are calculated based upon emissions. Seeing as diesel double cab pick-ups are quite heavy polluters, that places them in the top emissions-based category for BiK at 37 per cent. For top-rate earners, that means tax bills in the region of £7,000 for a diesel Ranger Wildtrak, but the 71g/km emissions of the PHEV mean costs are slashed to £4,600 a year.
So that's the reason for introducing the Ranger PHEV, but what's it like to drive? In brief, pretty much like any other automatic Ranger. The combination of electric motor and petrol engine is good, with the former delivering instant responses while the engine gets up to speed, and the petrol engine is reasonably hushed and distant when it does cut in. The powertrain is decent, with no real shunt between drive sources, and the brakes are positive, too, with plenty of stopping power. Advertisement - Article continues below
In corners the Ranger gives the game away in terms of weight, but while there's some body roll, it's no worse here in the heavier PHEV than in the standard car. The ride is pretty compliant, too, although the slow steering and a slightly bouncy edge at higher speeds means the Ranger could be a bit more comfortable, but then it's no worse than a lot of supposedly family-friendly SUVs. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
The usual suite of drive modes is selectable via the push-button controls down behind the drive selector, including an EV button that allows you to either drive the PHEV in standard hybrid mode – switching between power sources as the electronics see fit – switch to silent EV running, save the charge for later or recharge the battery using the engine while on the move. We wouldn't say the latter is particularly economical, but can give you some extra charge if you need it.
We tried the Ranger PHEV off-road, where it proved to be just as adept as the standard model. That means the long-wheelbase struggles a little with a series of ruts that can see the side steps scrape the ground, but otherwise the Ranger is surprisingly capable. There's something eerie about driving an electric 4x4 in virtual silence, only hearing the surrounding countryside crack and scrunch as you drive through. The Ranger's standard-fit high range 4WD and rear diff lock can function while in EV mode, but low-range sees the engine cut in to assist at all times. Either way, the only other limiting factor might be the petrol engine's exhaust, which points down to the ground behind the rear axle, and looks low enough that it might scrape when exiting a particularly steep transition. Model: Ford Ranger 2.3 EcoBoost PHEV Stormtrak Price: £49,800 (ex.VAT) On sale: Now Powertrain: 2.3-litre turbo petrol PHEV Power/torque: 277bhp/697Nm Transmission: 10-speed automatic, four-wheel drive 0-62mph: 9.2 seconds Top speed: TBC EV range: 25.5 miles Economy/CO2: 94.2mpg/71g/km Size (L/W/H): 5,370/2,015/1,878mm New Volvo EM90 2025 review: the ultimate SUV killer
New Volvo EM90 2025 review: the ultimate SUV killer
Volvo has made an ultra-luxurious van. Intrigued? You should be, but sadly it's for China only Smart Roadster could return as an electric Mazda MX-5 rival
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Reuters

41 minutes ago

• Reuters

Breakingviews - Uncle Sam's stablecoin passion has shaky rationale

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Uncle Sam is going all-in on stablecoins. President Donald Trump backed, opens new tab the privately issued cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar within days of his inauguration in January. Now Congress is poised to legislate, after the Senate this week approved the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins – or GENIUS - Act. The newly supportive regulatory environment has drawn a flood of interest from potential issuers, from major banks, opens new tab to retailers, opens new tab such as Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab and (AMZN.O), opens new tab, according to media reports. Meanwhile stablecoin specialist Circle Internet, opens new tab(CRCL.N), opens new tab, which listed on the New York Stock Exchange this month, has a digital dollar surrogate, USDC, which already has coins worth over $60 billion in circulation, opens new tab. Commercial interest is nothing new. Tech-savvy American corporates have long recognised stablecoins as the one species of digital money with a compelling mainstream use. The first generation of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin offered not just a way of digitally storing and transferring value, but the ability to denominate it in their own standard units. That model caught on with speculative traders but never made much headway in the world of digital payments. Stablecoins, by contrast, combine the novelty of global, real-time availability and programmability with the familiarity of national currency units. That makes them uninteresting as speculative bets – but well suited as methods for payment. A simple comparison shows how the two models serve different purposes. Bitcoin – the original and by far the largest own-standard cryptocurrency – has tokens in circulation worth $2.1 trillion. That's nearly 10 times the value of the two biggest stablecoins, USDT and USDC, combined. Yet when it comes to transactions, the leaderboard is reversed. Less than 3% of those bitcoins change hands in a 24-hour period, compared to nearly 40% of the two stablecoins. The payments business is a big target for disruption. Visa (V.N), opens new tab and Mastercard (MA.N), opens new tab – the two largest processors of fiat currency payments – reported combined revenue of $74 billion last year and enjoy net profit margins of around 50%. That's quite a market at which to take aim. Moreover, stablecoin issuers collect interest on the collateral backing their digital coins as well as harvesting transaction processing fees. That's how Circle made a cool $1.7 billion in revenue last year. It's not hard to see why potential stablecoin issuers have been lining up for years. Nevertheless early projects flopped, notably Facebook owner Meta Platforms' (META.O), opens new tab ill-fated 2017 Libra stablecoin, opens new tab. That's because regulators and central bankers have not been nearly so keen. Three potential gremlins have been uppermost in their minds. The first is what would happen if stablecoins are not backed by sufficient high-quality, liquid collateral to make them redeemable at par on demand. A plague of pseudo-U.S. dollars would then circulate at varying discounts to the real greenback. That would undermine the so-called 'singleness of money, opens new tab' and destroy the co-ordinating role of the U.S. dollar as a unit of account. The regulators' second bugbear is the black economy. They fret that because stablecoins are effectively 'bearer securities', like physical banknotes, they are subject to know-your-customer and anti-money laundering rules only when their users seek to convert them into traditional bank deposits. In the meantime, they can be used to make payments anonymously just like physical cash. Finally, there is the risk that stablecoins erode the effectiveness of monetary policy. Physical greenbacks may be hard to track, but they are still issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve. A stablecoin issued by Amazon or Walmart might settle a macroeconomically significant volume of transactions between its customers and suppliers without ever formally touching the dollar. That could scramble the Fed's attempts to manage inflation by constraining liquidity. Yet none of these objections are new. Prudential risks are already a concern for money market funds and traditional banks. The anonymity of transactions is a feature of physical banknotes. The dilution of monetary policy is a familiar gripe of central bankers in emerging markets, where foreign currencies such as the dollar or euro often circulate alongside the national unit. What spooks regulators in the developed world is less the novelty of the risks than the frightening scale, scope, and speed which digitisation allows. That implies work-arounds can probably be found, especially if a unified clearing and settlement protocol connecting stablecoins to the traditional financial system, such as the ubyx, opens new tab concept announced this week, are adopted. Until this year, the caution of the regulators trumped the commercial interests of potential stablecoin issuers. What has helped to unblock the GENIUS Act is that the U.S. government believes it has spotted a fiscal benefit. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent set out, opens new tab his reasoning immediately after the Senate approved the act. 'A thriving stablecoin ecosystem will drive demand from the private sector for U.S. Treasuries, which back stablecoins,' he wrote: 'This newfound demand could lower government borrowing costs and help rein in the national debt.' What's more, he argued, stablecoins could 'onramp millions of new users – across the globe – to the dollar-based digital asset economy', effectively opening up a new frontier of overseas funding for the U.S. budget deficit. Bessent cited projections that the stablecoin market could top $3.7 trillion by 2030. That's certainly not small change. It would be more than sufficient to soak up the $3 trillion that nonpartisan experts reckon, opens new tab Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act will add to the national debt over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, things are not so simple. The Treasury already effectively enjoys free foreign financing via overseas demand for U.S. dollar banknotes. The Fed estimates, opens new tab that over $1 trillion of them currently circulate abroad. If dollar-backed stablecoins simply replace demand for physical notes, there will be no net fiscal benefit. Another niggle is that while purchases of stablecoins may help finance the national debt, the tokens could facilitate more payments that fly under the radar of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In 2022, the IRS estimated, opens new tab that nearly 12% of U.S. taxes go missing due to underreporting, implying a shortfall of around $600 billion in the most recent fiscal year. A surge in stablecoin usage could easily make that worse. Given the compelling commercial case and the likelihood that regulatory risks can be managed, it is ironic that the potential fiscal dividend that has finally convinced the U.S. government to bank on stablecoins is the shakiest rationale for embracing them. Follow @felixmwmartin, opens new tab on X

Auto Blog

44 minutes ago

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Walmart is selling a ‘sturdy' $71 car trunk organizer for just $36, and it has ‘large compartments that hold a lot'

Autoblog aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission. Car organization is one of those constant battles. Whether it's a matter of keeping your in-car essentials in one place, carrying groceries and other cargo, or simply having a convenient spot to throw things so they won't end up rolling around your floor, a good organizer can go a long way at making your vehicle less chaotic. For a limited time, Walmart is selling the Cshidworld Heavy Duty Car Organizer for almost 50% off. That brings the price down from $71 to $36, making it a bargain you can't pass up. Cshidworld Heavy Duty Car Organizer, $36 (was $71) at Walmart The Cshidworld Heavy Duty Car Organizer is no mere box. With multiple compartments that can be adjusted to suit your needs, it provides plenty of options for keeping everything in its place. Durable, reinforced 160D Oxford polyester material ensures that it can stand up through years of use. It's equipped with a leak-proof, insulated cooler bag that can hold up to 24 cans and retain cold for up to 12 hours. The lid is collapsable and removable, allowing you to cover your items when necessary or keep them exposed when you want easy access. And dual tie-down straps keep the whole thing from moving around while you drive. It measures 10.20 inches long, 31.40 inches wide, and 13.80 inches high, so it can fit in any and all types of vehicles. Previous buyers say it's the 'perfect' organizer, saying it's 'well-constructed,' a 'great buy,' and 'very useful.' One reviewer noted they were 'impressed' with the overall quality and that the organizer has 'large compartments that hold a lot.' Another shopper said, 'This is the best car organizer I've had yet. It's sturdy and I like how it snaps together to make it smaller.' One shopper seemed to sum up the general consensus, saying, 'This storage item is very well-made and I am very pleased with it. I would definitely order it again.' The Cshidworld Heavy Duty Car Organizer is currently on sale at Walmart for just $36, down from $71, so now is the perfect time to order yours and bring improved organization to your trunk. About the Author Nick Hilden View Profile