The Ford Ranger Tremor’s ground clearance improvement is incorrect

Ford have released an important new Ranger model which is more than just trim changes. It is the Ranger Tremor, and it has taller tyres, uprated suspension, the all-wheel-drive powertrain from the V6 with the 2.0L engine, and a wider track. I do like to see actual engineering changes in variants, not just sticker engineering.

However, they have made a mistake in the press release.

New springs that, in conjunction with the tyres, deliver 26mm in total additional ground clearance

That should be 13mm. The reason – the standard Ranger runs 265/65/17s, and the Tremor runs 265/70/17, which are 26mm taller, but that only gives you half the diameter in ground clearance, so 13mm.

But what about the new springs?

Doesn’t affect ground clearance as the rear axle is a beam, so you can put whatever suspension you like on the axle and the distance from the diff to the ground won’t ever change, and that’s the lowest point on the Ranger, I know, I own one. Clearance will increase at the front as that’s independently sprung.

Sadly, every media report I’ve read thus far has reported the 26mm figure, because you’d always trust technical details in a press release.

This error doesn’t take away from what appears to be a very good new addition to the Ranger lineup, but it is further proof that manufacturers simply do not comprehend how ground clearance works. Ford claimed the Ranger Raptor had 283mm, confusing running clearance with ground clearance, something I immediately measured at the press launch, and most recently INEOS claimed the wrong figures for the Grenadier, proven wrong with my tape measure.