Ford confirms Tremor off-road package for 2021 Ranger
Earlier this month, we speculated that Ford was readying a Tremor off-road package for the Ranger when our spy photographers snapped a few Ranger prototypes looking a bit burlier than normal. Today, Ford delivered confirmation: meet the Ranger Tremor off-road package.
As with the Super Duty Tremor, the major element of the Ranger’s Tremor package is the off-road-focused suspension. For the mid-size truck this means Fox 2.0 monotube dampers, retuned front coil springs, redesigned front steering knuckles, and retuned rear leaf springs. Combined with new 32-inch General Grabber all-terrain tires, Rangers with the Tremor package will have 9.7 inches of ground clearance; that’s nearly an inch more than what you get on a base Ranger SuperCrew 4×4.
That added clearance bolsters the Ranger’s off-road metrics elsewhere, too. Tremor pack Rangers have a 30.9-degree approach angle, a 25.5-degree departure angle, and a 24.2-degree breakover angle. Those are improvements of 2.2 degrees, 0.1 degrees, and 2.7 degrees, respectively. Suspension travel tops out at 6.5 inches up front and 8.1 inches in the rear. Track width is 1 inch wider, courtesy of those burly new tires. Impressively, none of these updates to the suspension of the wheels and tires diminish the towing and hauling capabilities of the Ranger: Maximum payload is still 1430 pounds, and owners can still tow up to 7500 pounds, just like with non-Tremor Rangers.
Tremor package buyers also enjoy many of the goodies from the FX-4 off-road package, the previous top-of-the-dirt-pile package on the Ranger. That means a slew of frame-mounted steel underbody skid plates and an electronic-locking rear differential, as well as software goodies like Ford’s Terrain Management System (adjustable drive modes to better manage the ground beneath the truck) and Trail Control (a low-speed cruise control meant for crawling along trails). In the Tremor, the traction control system is recalibrated to optimize acceleration on loose surfaces, so that the truck doesn’t fall flat on its face when you floor it out of that loose riverbed.
No powertrain changes here: Tremor Rangers utilize the same 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and 10-speed automatic transmission that the rest of the Ranger lineup does. The combination is good for 270 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque.
Inside, there are package-specific seats, as well as a six-switch power pack to manage all of your accessories, from your light bars to your air compressors to your portable refrigerators, and whatever else needs electrons during your overlanding adventures.
Ford will offer the Tremor package on the mid-trim XLT and high-trim Lariat Rangers for the 2021 model year. There will be just one configuration: SuperCrew 4×4. At $4290 MSRP, the package isn’t exactly cheap, but when you’re already spending a minimum of $35,830 on a SuperCrew XLT 4×4 Ranger, we’d say the added capability and bad-assery of the Tremor package is a winning proposition.
