Ford Ranger semi-autonomous tailgating system warns if too far away from car ahead – UPDATE

UPDATE 1-April-2023 12.00pm - Happy April Fools Day! We hope you enjoyed a little chuckle with this one. Thankfully the Ranger's cruise control is set to manage a safe distance to the car in front, which is where we hope to see all drivers position themselves.

The 2023 Ford Ranger will soon receive an over-the-air update allowing its semi-autonomous radar cruise control system to tailgate the car ahead.

Ford says its 'T-Gate' technology – also known as tailgating – will enable the Ranger to reduce its distance to the car in front to less than a metre when driving in traffic.

When cruise control is disengaged, the T-Gate system will alert the driver if the Ranger isn’t following closely enough to other cars.

The company says the system is so advanced it can adjust its speed and distance tolerances so the Ford Ranger is only just off the rear bumper of the vehicle ahead.

Ranger Forum Club moderator Travis told Drive while the software didn’t actually improve his travel times, the technology emulated real-world Ford Ranger driver behaviour and made it seem as if he was driving faster than everyone else.

"Ford studied its customers when creating the Next-Gen Ranger, and they've been replicated Ranger owners when developing [this technology]," he said.

"My ute can now replicate the way I drive by tailgating at the press of a button, with minimal input from me – I love it."

Ford says further announcements will be made at 12pm today, and this story will be updated as more information comes to hand.