Ford Ranger Super Duty vs LandCruiser 79: Has the King Finally Met Its Match?

Ford Australia has done something genuinely unusual: it created a new vehicle segment. The Ranger Super Duty is not simply a worked-over Ranger with a badge upgrade. It delivers towing and load-carrying numbers that, until now, belonged to the full-size American ute market, and it does so in a footprint that will fit in most suburban driveways. 4X4 Australia editor Matt Raudonikis, a thirty-year industry veteran, has gone as far as calling it the best new 4x4 offering in decades, and that is not a claim he makes lightly. The publication is also preparing a direct comparison between the Super Duty and the LandCruiser 79 Series, because Ford, by its own admission, designed this vehicle with the 79 in its crosshairs.

That framing matters to every LandCruiser owner reading this. The 79 Series has sat at the top of the working 4x4 hierarchy in Australia for so long that it has started to feel permanent. The arrival of a locally conceived rival that can legitimately challenge it on towing capacity, off-road hardware, and real-world utility is not a threat to be waved away. It is, however, also not the end of the argument, and here is why.

What the Super Duty genuinely gets right

Credit where it is due. The numbers the Super Duty posts are remarkable for a vehicle in this size class. A 4,500 kg tow rating and an 8,000 kg GCM in a mid-size pickup body is a genuine engineering achievement, and it means anyone hauling a heavy camper trailer, a large horse float, or serious work equipment now has a choice that did not exist two years ago. The standard locking differentials front and rear, combined with proper underbody protection, are not tick-box items; they are serious off-road hardware. Queensland early adopter Joe Evans has already put a comprehensive touring build on his aluminium-bodied Super Duty and is using it for both recreational travel and work, which tells you something about the platform's real-world versatility. For fleet managers, tradespeople running heavy loads, and tourers who want quiet, capable commuting between the city and the track, the Super Duty is a compelling proposition on paper and, by all accounts, in practice.

Why the 79 Series conversation is far from over

Here is where LandCruiser owners should feel confident rather than defensive. The 79 Series, and the broader Toyota platform that underpins it, carries something no new entrant can replicate quickly: thirty years of aftermarket infrastructure built specifically around it.

Consider what a serious 79 build looks like. A 4-inch lift on 35-inch tyres is a well-documented, parts-rich process with multiple reputable suppliers competing for the work. GVM upgrades are available through certified engineers who have done hundreds of them on this exact chassis. Tray and canopy fabricators have designed their products around 79 Series mounting points as a matter of course. Snorkels, long-range fuel tanks, dual-battery systems, and full interior rebuilds from the seat foam out are supported by a parts ecosystem that spans every capital city and most regional towns. If a 79 Series owner breaks a component in outback Queensland on a Saturday afternoon, the probability of sourcing or fabricating a solution locally is higher than for almost any other 4x4 on the market, because the parts and the knowledge have been accumulating for decades.

The V8 70 Series is no longer in production, and the current 2.8-litre diesel with AdBlue has attracted its share of debate among long-term owners. Those are legitimate conversations. But the platform itself has not lost its standing in the modification world. The 2.8 is tuneable, the chassis is proven, and the supplier network that grew up around the V8 has largely carried across. That depth of support is not something any new vehicle, regardless of how impressive its factory specifications are, can match on arrival.

The modification gap is real, not invented

To be fair, the Super Duty will develop its own aftermarket over time. Ford's Ranger platform already has a meaningful modification scene, and the Super Duty will benefit from that. Early builds like Joe Evans' rig prove the appetite is there. But at this point, the breadth of certified lift kits, GVM upgrade programs, specialist tray builders, and long-range tank suppliers mapped specifically to the Super Duty chassis is in its infancy compared with what exists for the 79 Series. A 79 Series owner who wants to go from standard to a serious touring rig can call three suppliers this week, get three quotes, and have the work done by an engineer who has certified the same combination dozens of times. That pipeline does not yet exist for the Super Duty, and it matters when you are planning a build that needs to be road-legal and warranty-sound.

The verdict we are willing to put our name on

The Ranger Super Duty is a genuinely impressive vehicle that Ford Australia should be proud of. It is not a gimmick, and dismissing it because it wears a Blue Oval is the kind of brand tribalism that does not serve anyone well. For buyers who need heavy towing in a mid-size body, who value a modern cabin, and who are not planning a 10,000 km desert crossing with a heavily modified rig, it deserves serious consideration.

But the LandCruiser 79 Series is not the benchmark because of its factory specifications alone. It is the benchmark because of everything that exists around it: the engineers who know it, the parts that fit it, and the community that has been refining builds on it since before many of its current owners had a driver's licence. The Super Duty has taken an enormous first step. Closing that gap is a decade-long project, not a model-year update.

The 4X4 Australia comparison between these two vehicles will be worth reading carefully when it lands. Our position: the 79 Series remains the platform to beat for anyone planning a serious build, and no new vehicle changes that until the aftermarket catches up. Disagree? Say so in the comments below, because this is exactly the argument this community should be having.