We could be about to see the long-awaited arrival of AEB on the Ford Ranger.
As covered in our Ford Ranger Raptor news story last week, Ford hasn’t yet confirmed when Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) will land in the popular ute.
But, the Ranger’s sister, the Everest SUV, is just about to get the tech as standard on mid and top-spec variants and that means the ute might also soon boast the crash avoidance system.
Ford Australia today confirming AEB would be available on the updated MY19 Ford Everest.
Landing in Australian dealerships in September (the same time as the Ranger Raptor), the mid-spec and top-spec versions of the Everest also pick-up the same 157kW/500Nm bi-turbo diesel four-cylinder engine as the Raptor.
The new engine is an option in the mid-spec model Trend and standard in the flagship Titanium.
Like in the ute, the new powertrain in the SUV will also feature a ten-speed auto transmission.
But it’s the arrival of the AEB system that could have the biggest impact in the ute market.
“We’ve got a firm plan to introduce AEB across the Ranger line-up, and we’re working on it.” – Trevor Worthington, Ford Asia Pacific vice-president of product development
The potentially life-saving tech is so far only available on the Mercedes-Benz X-Class (where it’s standard right across the range).
That means big-selling models like Ranger, Toyota HiLux, and Mitsubishi Triton still miss out.
While Isuzu D-MAX, Volkswagen Amarok, Holden Colorado and Nissan Navara are also yet to be equipped.
This isn’t the first time though that the SUV/4×4 version of a vehicle has gained AEB first.
The Triton-based Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has AEB on higher-spec variants.
Other ute-based SUVs/4x4s that are yet to get the safety tech include the Holden Trailblazer, Isuzu MU-X and Toyota Fortuner.
“AEB is a proven way to improve safety of all road users.” – RACQ Head of Technical and Safety Policy Steve Spalding
We’ll bring you further details on the Australian utes that have AEB as info is released by the car manufacturers.
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Stay up to date with the latest on the Ford Ranger at uteandvanguide.com.au.