Ford Australia’s development engineers are subjecting the next-generation Ranger to more physical and virtual testing than ever before.
The next-generation Ranger testing has covered around 10,000km of desert driving, the equivalent of 1,250,000km of customer driving, and the equivalent of 625,000km of rugged off-road durability testing at maximum load capacity says Ford.
Before the first prototypes hit the road for testing, Ford’s engineers subjected next-gen Ranger to thousands of hours of computer simulations and thousands more of real-world simulations in labs, covering everything from aerodynamics to component and structure durability.
“Every part of the next-generation Ranger was tested to the same standards that we demand of every Ford vehicle,” Ford Ranger chief program engineer John Willems says.
“So we’ve gone to great lengths to subject next-gen Ranger to extreme tests – stressing it much more than a typical consumer would – to help ensure it is ready to face everything life throws at it.
“Computer simulations have helped us speed up development, while lab testing has helped us refine and test specific components – but there really is no replacement for real-world testing to really see how it stands up to years of customer use.
“Some of these tests are deemed too rigorous for humans to endure, so computer simulations and robotics are used to replace humans in cases like the extreme ‘squeak and rattle’ rig where the vehicle’s suspension and whole body is exposed to punishing test cycles that are repeated 24/7.
“Our job as engineers is to translate the customer experience insights into a clear product definition brief for the engineering group, which becomes the absolute reference for engineers. This is particularly important for the Ranger, given we are developing it to be sold across the globe,” Willems says.
