Ford Australia has put a new variant at the pointy end of the 2023 Ford Ranger line-up, with a luxury focused Platinum grade

The Ford Ranger Platinum, borrowing its variant badge from its Everest SUV sibling with which it shares a platform, is now the top specification in terms of luxury and comfort in the Ford Ranger family, topped only by the performance-bent twin-turbo V6 Ranger Raptor.

Starting from $76,990 before on-road costs, the Platinum brings with it a slew of features over the rest of the range including a specific grille and set of 20-inch alloys, chrome trim, matrix LED headlights, and a ‘damped’ soft-open tailgate.

Inside, a 12.4-inch instrument screen and 12.0-inch multimedia touchscreen are found upfront, while heated and cooled front leather seats with 10-way power adjustment provide the comfort, and a Bang & Olufsen speaker system provides the beats.

The Ranger Platinum’s pricing puts it less than $5000 above the Ranger Wildtrak V6, which costs $71,190, but well short of the $86,790 Ranger Raptor.

“We’ve seen growth in high-end variants in this segment over recent years, so we challenged ourselves to create a vehicle that provides all of our customer’s wants and needs,” he said.

Wait times for current Ford Ranger variants do indeed reflect Mr Birkic’s sentiment - the two highest Ford Ranger specifications, Raptor and Wildtrak V6, both currently have wait times up to 12 months.

Even stepping down to Ranger Sport or XLT means a potential wait until March 2023.

For the Ranger Platinum, first arrivals are expected to be seen in April 2023, with order books open now to customers who want to get in early.

​“Ranger Platinum gives customers the chance to have their cake and eat it too; they get the next-gen Ranger’s inherent capability with a serious dose of class and sophistication.”

Unlike the rest of the mid- to high-end Ranger variants which are offered with the choice of four-cylinder or six-cylinder power, the Platinum is only being offered with the 184kW/600Nm ‘Lion’ 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6, mirroring the corresponding Everest Platinum.

All of the usual Ranger colourways are available, as is the Everest’s ‘Equinox Bronze’, which is being offered exclusively on the Platinum to underline its position as the most elegant and lavish Ranger variant.

Ford Ranger chief engineer Ian Foston said the Ranger Platinum was aimed at “owners who need a work truck that combines both premium luxury for the family, and the flexibility of a work truck for their business”.

“We’ve really focused on creating a premium exterior and gold-class interior experience with Ranger Platinum,” he said.

The emergence of the Platinum puts Ford in good stead in the lead-up to the launch of the closely-related Volkswagen Amarok line-up, which will be crowned Down Under with a pair of flagships – the off-road oriented PanAmericana (based on Wildtrak) and the road-biased Aventura (Platinum).