Ford Ranger Sport Special Edition Is the Cheap Pickup America Needs

With a starting price tag around $27k and few frills yet some nice features, the Ford Ranger Sport Special Edition is perfect for the U.S.

Most U.S. based Blue Oval fans are already well aware of the fact that Ford sells a number of unique Ranger variants in other markets, ones that we historically haven’t been able to buy in America. Through FoMoCo helped atone for some of that by giving us the Ranger Raptor a few years after it landed in other parts of the world, there are many cool configurations and variants that we wish we could get stateside. Now, we’ve got another one to add to the list – the Ford Ranger Sport Special Edition.

The Ford Ranger Sport Special Edition just debuted for the Philippines, and it’s a nice-looking version of the popular mid-size pickup, for starters. It’s based on the Ford Ranger Sport, on top of which the automaker gives one four exterior color options – Absolute Black, Arctic White, Blue Lightning, and Meteor Grey – along with unique 18-inch alloy wheels and a sport bar in the bed. Otherwise, the Special Edition retains all of the Sport’s, well, sporty looks on the outside.

Inside, the Ford Ranger Sport Special Edition has a pretty cool feature as well – retractable cup holders that are integrated into the instrument panel, which is something that customers have apparently been asking for. Mechanically speaking, this unique offering only gets one engine option – the turbocharged, 2.0-liter diesel that’s rated to produce 170 PS (168 horsepower) and 405 Nm (299 pound-feet) of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

All of that sounds well and good, but there are a couple of other things that make the Ranger Sport Special Edition a model that stands out from the pack – starting with the fact that it comes equipped with rear drum brakes, which isn’t something we see very often these days. That cost-cutting measure is at least part of what makes this model quite affordable by today’s standards, however – it starts out at P1,529,000, which equates to a mere $27,545 – less than the Maverick costs in the U.S., amazingly enough, as well as nearly $6k cheaper than the Ranger in that market.

While the Maverick has certainly found its fair share of success since debuting for the 2022 model year, there are those that would like a more traditional body on frame pickup, not to mention one with a lot more bed space, and yet, don’t really care about having a ton of fancy features – and that’s precisely why the Ford Ranger Sport Special Edition should be sold in the U.S.

Photos: Ford

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Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.