A year after the Ranger Raptor fitted with a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 made its way to ASEAN via Thailand, Ford has decided to bring back the 2.0-liter bi-turbo 4-cylinder in the land of smiles. As an added bonus, the diesel is now the entry-level variant to the Ranger Raptor range as Ford has opted to keep the gas for now.

The engine, shared with the 4x4 trims of the Ranger Wildtrak as well as the just-announced Ranger Stormtrak, still outputs 210 horsepower at 3,750 rpm and 500 Nm of torque at 1,750 rpm. These figures are considerably lower than the V6 gas engine’s 397 horsepower and 583 Nm outputs, but what gives up on brute power, should mean better real-world fuel economy.

The new engine option aside, the diesel-fed Ranger Raptor keeps everything that the gas version has from the 10-speed automatic to the permanent all-wheel drive with an electronically-controlled two-speed transfer case and a locking differential on both the front and rear axles. The Ranger Raptor also comes with a series of on-road and off-road driving modes including Rock Crawl, and of course, Baja. It also has Trail Control which essentially a cruise control for off-roading that works up to 32 km/h.

Underneath, the Ranger Raptor has lightweight aluminum upper and lower control arms and adaptive Fox dampers with 2.5-inch Live Valve internal bypass fitted with Teflon-infused oil. It also continues to have a rear Watt’s link for better high-speed control across rough terrain.

In terms of pricing, Ford has yet to reveal the exact pricing of the diesel Ranger Raptor, but according to Thai media reports, it will be around 100,000 Baht cheaper than the V6-powered Ranger Raptor. For reference, the Ranger Raptor 3.0 Twin Turbo V6 is priced at 1,919,000 Baht (P 3.062 million); this should mean a price range of about 1,719,000 Baht (P 2.74 million) for the diesel Ranger Raptor.

So far, Ford Philippines has yet to confirm the exact timeline of the Ranger Raptor’s local launch (a preview at the Manila International Auto Show is likely). However, a reason for the delay could simply be because they’re for the diesel-powered Ranger Raptor to become available in the region.

Given the choice, do you think Ford Philippines should stick to the diesel for the Ranger Raptor, or do you think they should offer the turbo V6 instead? Or do you think they should bring in both?