Continued from last Monday
Land Rover Defender
Although the original Land Rover Defender got axed after 2016 model year, the iconic nameplate is making an almost instant return. The boxy old school SUV should arrive sometime during MY 2019 with much more contemporary design than its predecessor. The Jaguar Land Rover brass are promising that the new mellow body won’t impact the new Defender’s off-road capability, however. In fact, they’re saying it’ll be better than ever when things become rough. Furthermore, the 2019 Land Rover Defender should lose plenty of weight. Aluminum body and chassis are something that’s slowly becoming a trend among workhorse and off-road utility vehicles, it would seem.
The JLR brass are still being rather secretive about the new Defender, but its mules, they say, are already out there. As it’s usually the case with the Landy’s, the new Defender will sport more than one model straight from the gates. Even the performance SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) models could be in the mix from the get-go. That should finally spawn a worthy competitor for the Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG. After all, the luxury off-road market practically only consists of AMG’s version of the G Wagen.
Ford Ranger
A few short years back, the Ford Ranger for the U.S. market was something that was hard to imagine. In fact, the Ranger was axed in 2012 due to mid-size pickup market’s sterility. But the ute continued being helpful to thousands of people across the seas. And, now, when the mid-size pickups are popular again, it’s finally making a victorious comeback to the U.S. shores. Widely anticipated as one of the best cars 2019 will bring, the new Ford Ranger will also be American-made.
Body-on-frame construction will be carried over from overseas models into the Michigan Assembly Plant. Unlike its overseas siblings though, the American Ranger will feature a host of new engines and a different front end fascia among other things. The EcoBoost engine(s) are perfect for it, but a diesel option doesn’t sound bad at all as well. The mid-sizer isn’t that small after all. The Crew Cab Ranger will actually be longer than the base F-150. By the time Ranger arrives, the mid-size pickup truck market will be one of the busiest American vehicle markets overall. How the things can change given a little bit of healthy competition.
