The Ford Ranger has been in production by Ford of Australia since 2015. I suppose that's a good place to start when considering what other models/trims may come to North America. We already have confirmation of the Ranger Raptor heading to the U.S but lets keep our fingers crossed that we also see trims such as the Wildtrak 4x4.

The "T6" has been in production since 2011 and available in many other foreign markets. It looks like the North American debut will be built upon the same Aussie truck platform however.

If Ford North America is going to follow the Australian lineup, then we may see a Special Edition Ranger in the future. That's being offered in Australia with a 3.2L Diesel engine and a whole lot of standard equipment.

Looking into what it has, what we're getting is every bit as good as other new Ford products. Its showing these improvements as Sync 3, bigger and more aggressive alloys, and a tech package that has some self-driving like features.

Yeah I don't think we need to worry about Australian variants being offered in North America. They obviously share a similar platform, but Ford has revamped and upgraded some key components as mentioned above. Although they've chosen to only offer one powertrain atm, I'm sure over the course of its life cycle we will see many other offerings.

I think its inevitable that we will see a diesel engine placed in the Ranger. Although it probably wont offer much more in terms of fuel economy, we all know that diesels provide better towing capacity. I doubt we'll see any special editions out of Australia, as that platform has been kept separate intentionally.

Well one thing for sure is that they need to make use of the diesel engine that will be in the F150.
Ford almost never uses one engine in a high volume product while not finding other ways to use it. Even the new Ford GT engine is used in other high volume products.

Odd that Ford hasn't implemented the diesel right off the bat, seeing as how it's already been spec'd and placed into the Asia-Pacific Ranger. Not really sure it was a cost saving measure, as we would typically assume with the launch of a new model seeing as how it's already being manufactured. Perhaps presales will indicate to Ford, the need for more powertrain options.

It might have been a way for them to keep people waiting for what will really matter to the brand and last a much longer time on the market, which are hybrids. Keeping people waiting a couple years more for a high-value product is worth the wait on all ends, regardless how you look at it. Rarely do companies like this focus on short-term strategies.

A hybrid variant will come to the F150 far before we see it implemented on the Ranger. I suppose Fords plan is to implement a hybrid model across their entire line up, even though I have a feeling the Ranger will be far more fuel efficient than its big brothers. I recently there are spy photos of what some are claiming to be a diesel Wiltrak variant in Michigan. Not sure if that means we can expect to see both a diesel engine and a Wildtrak model for the Rangers North American release.