Ever dreamt of a short-wheelbase (SWB) utility vehicle kitted out with a coil rear end and four-wheel disc brakes?
It would shock you to listen to that it does exist but the explanation why it exists will shock you much more! To seek out out the complete story, we recently travelled to Bangkok, Thailand but more specifically, a bit further south east and shut to Rayong where the Ford Ranger is primarily produced.
Thailand is the ute capital of the world. Many popular utes just like the Isuzu D-Max, Toyota HiLux, Mazda BT-50, Nissan Navara and Mitsubishi Triton are all made there alongside the Ford Ranger.
It’s no wonder we Aussies are so focussed on utes, given the wealthy history of the body style here.
It was back in 1932 when an Australian farmer wrote to Ford requesting a dual-purpose vehicle that would take her and her husband to church on Sunday and transport her pigs on a Monday. It took Ford two years to supply an answer. The Coupe Utility was designed by Lew Bandt and Henry Ford aptly nicknamed it the Kangaroo Chaser!
The demise of the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore utes saw the further rise of dual-cab utes here, which has seen such demand that the 2 hottest vehicles (cars and SUVs included) sold inside Australia are in actual fact the Toyota HiLux and the Ford Ranger.
But not everyone wants a ute, and as such manufacturers have developed a big selection of ute-based SUV variants akin to the Toyota Fortuner (based on the HiLux), the Isuzu MU-X (based on the D-Max) and the Ford Everest (based on the Ranger).
The latter though, does bring us back to what this text is about and offers us a significant clue to the existence of a SWB Ranger ute with an Everest third member (coiled and disc braked rear differential assembly).
So why is Thailand the ‘ute capital’ of the world? In 2005 the door was opened when Australia signed a free-trade agreement with Thailand. Team that with low wages and production costs, considerable local expertise in vehicle manufacturing, nearby suitable deep-water ports and economical and efficient shipping routes, and it is not any wonder.
Thailand can also be the right centralised location for shipping goods not only across Asia and Europe but in addition to the US, so it’s a no brainer that many automobile manufacturers have arrange production there.
Ford particularly has invested heavily into the local economy with well over 6000 employees in Thailand, spread across two factories. The corporate builds around half 1,000,000 vehicles there per yr and ships them to 130-odd countries. Obviously this all makes for much more profitable production.
Extremely astute local union members be sure that Thai staff are paid (and fed) well but when there’s a solution to cut costs much more you’ll be able to be assured that highly experienced vehicle manufacturers, like Ford, will find ways to do it, and that my friends is strictly why the SWB single-cab Ford Ranger does exist!
With local markets and manufacturing so entrenched and focussed on utility vehicles, there are special government levy reliefs and concessions applied to utility vehicle production in Thailand, but these discounts don’t get applied to your typical SUVs.
As such, the Ford Everest ought to be hit with extra charges, yet in an excellent stroke by Ford, it escapes them!
What Ford is in a position to do, in a bizarre twist, is classify the Everest as a utility! It does this by producing a brief run of vehicles that comprise an Everest chassis, engine and running gear, topped with a Ford Ranger single cab body, thus making the Ford Everest only a wagon body on a full utility chassis and running gear.
The result’s an incredible SWB ute armed within the rear with a Watts link, coil suspension and solid differential, stopped by disc brakes. By basing the Everest off that utility platform, Ford avoids the upper tariffs related to ‘non-ute’ vehicle production. Sounds crazy, however it’s true.
The instance pictured here was spotted at VVP4X4, an incredible 4×4 accessories shop positioned south east of Bangkok and owned by the hugely well-liked and well-connected Mr Veerasak. He informed us the SWB single-cab Rangers typically sold for around 1,000,000 Baht (A$42,814) lower than the Ford Everest, making them very inexpensive.
Only a really limited number are made for every new edition of the Everest though, typically the minimum required to satisfy the concessions.
While they aren’t so wanted in Thailand, they’d prove popular in Australia, being more agile and comfy. There is unquestionably an appeal there, as they appear great and never everyone wants a dual-cab pickup with rougher-riding rear leaf suspension.
Sadly, there isn’t a plan to export them and as mentioned above, the one reason they exist is to avoid the upper production levies in Thailand. There are Next Gen models around too but how amazing would one among these be as a Raptor?
So what do you think that, would a SWB ute like this be functional in Australia? We expect it will be and we’re keen to listen to what you may have to say within the comments below.
This Article First Appeared At www.carexpert.com.au
