Think the plug-in Ford Ranger PHEV isn’t capable enough? I just drove one up an active volcano in Iceland!

The petrol engine’s been de-tuned, its 11.8kWh battery’s too small, 43km electric range isn’t enough and, starting from $71,990, it’s too expensive.

That’s a snapshot of the online trolling faced by Ford’s new Ranger plug-in hybrid ute as it lands in Australian showrooms this month.

All the above are valid from a certain perspective, but as with every PHEV, it’s a tale of balance and relevant use cases.

Get it right and they’re bloody useful and capable.

READ MORE: 2025 Ford Ranger PHEV full pricing and specifications
READ MORE: Will Ford expand its PHEV portfolio to sit alongside the new plug-in Ranger?

Let me give you an extreme example.

I’ve just climbed Iceland’s Hengill active volcano – lava bubbling close to its surface – in a Ranger PHEV Stormtrak.

The plug-in Ford managed the task using battery power alone, and this being Iceland, said battery was charged using hydro and geothermal power.

In this land of fire and ice, renewable energy provides about 99.9 percent of electricity production: 73 percent from hydro and 27 percent geothermal.

The latter is in stark evidence as we drive alongside Hengill’s vast steam-spouting geothermal power station on this moonscape-like lava plateau.

Here’s the thing. Because I’ve lived with and tested numerous PHEVs in recent years, I’ve worked out how best to use them. Unlike, it seems, keyboard warriors quick to put the boot in to anything plug-in.

Let’s debunk the first criticism. Some believe once the battery is exhausted you can’t run the e-motor and therefore you’re left with “a piss weak four-cylinder petrol engine” says SeanGun91, complaining he can’t now tow his 8000kg off-road van for 2400km across the Alps without stopping.

Press the EV Hold button, SeanGun91, and on the highway only the 138kW/411Nm 2.3L EcoBoost petrol runs, which is all you need when touring. The 75kW e-motor lays dormant, saving the 43km (WLPT) EV-only range, and we returned a fair 9.1L/100km this way.

Should you want to unleash the Ranger PHEV’s full petrol/electric combo, leave the thing in Auto EV and there’s 207kW/697Nm to play with. That’s more powerful than any diesel Ranger, and more torque even than the bonkers Ranger Raptor.

Should you use up more battery juice than you’d like, sling it into EV Charge and the petrol engine works as a generator to recharge the battery while also turning the wheels.

Ergo, you won’t run out of battery and you’ll always have that e-motor on call, as long as you play things smartly.

As we cruise from downtown Reykjavik to the snow-capped hills, our Ranger PHEV behaves much like the diesel variants. That means segment-leading ride and handling; still a bit choppy with no load in the back, but very compliant for a ladder frame ute.

It’s a refined powertrain too. The shift from petrol to EV is barely noticed, and the 2.3L Ecoboost motor feels less gruff than Ford’s diesel at low speeds, or when asking for a bit of shove.

In stop-start traffic – where a lot of utes spend their time in the real Aussie world – it’s a more serene and far more economical drive that a Ranger diesel. We see 3L/100km in low speed scenarios using Auto EV mode, and progress is always quiet and smooth.

Next criticism from the Great Australian Public is the Ranger PHEV’s small battery and resulting short-ish 43km pure electric range.

“What’s the point?” many ask, as if their daily drive is always highways and well over 500km.

Tosh. Many Rangers travel 20km tops to a job site, then make the same journey home. This can be done on a single charge in EV Only mode, then in seven hours using a domestic 10amp socket, the 11.8kWh battery is brimmed.

No fast DC charging’s possible, but seven hours AC charging’s not an issue for many users. If you’ve access to a powerpoint at home or your work, that’s easily handled.

If not, back we go to using the petrol engine to recharge the battery.

Those who say 43km range is stupid, daft, not enough, useless for them, etc. well that’s just fine. Maybe it isn’t of use to you, and that’s why Ford still offers you a diesel Ranger.

After all, we don’t go online saying a two-seat sportscar is ridiculous and pointless because it won’t fit in my children or mountain bike. It’s why there are options for buyers, including a PHEV alongside Ranger diesels.

For some, and I’d argue for many, the benefits of the Ranger PHEV make it absolutely worth a punt, if you can swallow the roughly $10,000 price jump over four-cylinder Rangers, and $5000 above V6 variants.

A cloth-trimmed Ranger PHEV XLT’s $71,990; the fancier Sport’s $75,990; a Wildtrak $79,990; and loaded launch edition Stormtrak, as we tested, is $86,990.

Back to our volcano.

With the Ranger’s battery at full charge, I select EV Now and it’s silent, emissions-free driving as we head off road.

Windows down, there’s no combustion motor gurgling away, instead all I hear are rocks crunching and river water sploshing under the Stromtrak’s General Grabber all-terrains.

It feels good. At low speed there’s no call for oodles of power or torque, and if you forgive me going Attenborough for a moment, you get to enjoy the uninterrupted sounds of nature.

There’s less of that as we climb the volcano… not much grows up here.

I select ‘Slippery’ from the numerous drive modes, and the Ranger competently scales the loose, steep surface still on electric power alone.

The final bit demands Low Range, and only here with diff lock engaged does the petrol engine fire up to ensure maximum available wheel torque.

The 4×4 Ranger makes short work of this sky-through-the-windscreen climb, as it’s retained all its off-road chops, same as its 3500kg towing capacity and solid payload – 973kg in the entry-level PHEV XLT, and at worst, 808kg this PHEV Stormtrak.

Atop this Icelandic mountain, watching steam rise from numerous spots across the lava plateau, our Ranger PHEV feels more eco responsible than doing likewise in an old oil burner.

Some may not care a jot about that, but there’s something quite endearing about off-roading with, if you argue your case well enough, zero environmental impact.

If all that doesn’t convince, the Ranger PHEV’s superpower (as Ford bosses describe it) is its 6.9kW Pro Power Onboard.

This is the ute’s high output system, featuring a 10-amp 2.3kW socket in the cabin and twin 15-amp 3.45kW sockets in the tray, all powered by the PHEV’s battery.

While a diesel Ranger’s powerpoint offers a handy 400W, this PHEV’s high output can power a work site or remote camping spot for hours on end.

Power-spiking tools like a circular saw, log splitter, small cement mixer or spotlights can run, and if battery charge falls more than you’d like, the petrol engine can serve as generator once more.

Again, this may not be needed by many users, but the potential for those who need lots of power on remote or non-powered sites, for instance, the benefits could be game-changing.

Our short Iceland experience presented the Ranger PHEV in its most useful, eco-friendly light. Of course it did, it was Ford putting on the event.

But it remains a convincing thing, this plug-in Ranger.

Its stats mean it won’t make sense for a solid chunk of the Ranger buying fraternity (and they’ve been quick to get daggers out with their online comments), but for others it will be incredibly useful, eco and money-saving fuel-wise.

The BYD Shark and GWM Cannon PHEVs with bigger batteries and longer range will make better sense to other plug-in ute shoppers, but again, that’s the freedom of choice.

Personally speaking, Ford’s PHEV proved the most refined, nicest-to-drive Ranger I’ve yet tested, the petrol/e-motor alliance a smoother and more modern-feeling unit than the workmanlike diesels.

At the very least, as Australia’s best-selling vehicle, it’s an appreciated additional model with talents not found in the rest of the range.

Our full Australian review of the Ford Ranger PHEV will be on the site soon.