Off Grid, Off Road Coffee
When we got a call asking if we'd be interested in converting one of Ford's new Ranger PHEVs into a coffee truck, there wasn't even a discussion. We literally jumped at the opportunity.
Imagine that you’re refitting your kitchen and deciding which hob to buy. What if buying a particular hob meant you’d never need to use a pot or pan again — you could just fry, steam and grill everything directly on its surface? No need to buy, clean or store that cooking equipment ever again.
That’s what buying a Ranger Plug-In Hybrid 1 with Pro Power Onboard 2 is like for the many pickup truck customers who until now have needed a separate generator.
We speak to customers like these all the time in our research; builders, event caterers and forestry workers who are convinced of the benefits of Pro Power Onboard as soon as they realise they no longer need to lug a generator and fuel around to power their equipment.
Leaving the generator behind also means more available space and payload in their pickup, reduced fuel expense and admin, and no more concerns about generators or jerry cans being stolen.
The benefits can go further. For businesses with duty of care, we also wanted to show the health implications of using a generator or replacing it with Pro Power Onboard. And testing that meant — crucially — that we could also compare the running cost for both options.
So, we got hold of a typical petrol generator, rigged it up in the advanced emission test facility at our Dunton engineering centre and tested it across common scenarios. Here’s how it stacked up against a Ranger PHEV with 6.9 kW Pro Power Onboard.
Putting Both to the Test
Before we get into the numbers, here’s how we ran the test. Not many portable generators work at the 6.9 kW that Pro Power Onboard offers; you tend to find portable units delivering around 4 kW, or bigger, more powerful setups built into trailers. We hired a common 4 kW portable generator, checked it over, and fitted a new exhaust to ensure it was in good condition and would connect to our testing systems.
We then ran the generator at different loads to simulate common on-site use cases:
- Low, around 300 W — recharging a power tool’s 12 V battery
- Medium, around 1,500 W — using an oil-filled portable heater
- High, around 2,500 W — boiling a kettle
- Very High, around 4,000 W — keeping the oil-fired heater on during a tea break
Once we’d tested the generator’s emissions and fuel efficiency, we ran Ranger PHEV through the same tests for a fair comparison.
We were measuring four emissions types — nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and carbon dioxide (CO2).3 The first three are strictly controlled by European vehicle emissions laws and can have serious health consequences if you inhale them for too long, while CO2 is a greenhouse gas that drives climate change.
The Verdict
Nitrogen oxides
The extreme temperatures and pressures in an engine create these gases, which can irritate airways and affect existing conditions like asthma. Nitrogen oxides have been tightly controlled since the year 2000 by European law, which is why we fit vehicles with technologies such as catalytic converters, electronic fuel control and AdBlue injection to help reduce emissions.
You can see here how well these systems work: at low power levels, the generator emits around 15 times more nitrogen oxide than Pro Power Onboard does, rising very sharply to over 9,000 times more at very high power levels. Ranger PHEV’s nitrogen oxide emissions actually dropped to nothing as the anti-emissions systems worked harder when we drew more power.
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide has no smell, taste or colour and is potentially lethal. That’s why all homes should have a carbon monoxide alarm fitted.
Our testing showed that on average, the generator produced over 450 times more carbon monoxide than the Ranger PHEV, with a peak difference of over 1,200 times more when looking specifically at very high power output. This highlights the effectiveness of strict legislation and our emissions control technology for vehicles. With none of that legislation to adhere to, generators are petrol engines in their most raw state.
Hydrocarbons
Hydrocarbons are unburned or part-burned fuel and particles. They contribute to smog and create the dark, grimy traces of soot around exhaust pipes and chimneys. You obviously don’t want to breathe these in as they can irritate your airways. Some specific hydrocarbons are also carcinogenic, so in the longer term can lead to cancer.
Our testing shows that compared to Ranger PHEV using Pro Power Onboard, a site generator again produces anywhere from 15 to over 110 times more hydrocarbons for the same power output.
European emissions laws group hydrocarbons with nitrogen oxides: if we do the same here, the generator’s averaged emissions are almost 100 times greater than Pro Power Onboard when producing the same power output.
Carbon dioxide
We also measured CO2. From a cold start, the Ranger PHEV emitted more CO2 than the generator for the same power output. However, within five minutes the engine and exhaust systems were up to temperature and from then, as soon as you need over 2 kW of power, the generator produces more CO2.
Cost Comparison
We believe our study comprehensively proves that Pro Power Onboard produces fewer pollutants than a generator, but we know that our customers have to keep an eye on costs as well.
We tested fuel consumption in three states when producing 4 kW of power:
- Full battery: the engine would come on as needed to maintain charge
- Empty battery, cold engine: as if you’d left Ranger PHEV parked at a job site overnight
- Empty battery, warm engine: as if you’d driven to site before needing Pro Power Onboard
Although the petrol engine in Ranger PHEV is larger than the generator’s, it actually uses less fuel. With Pro Power Onboard engaged, Ranger PHEV’s computers automatically trigger the petrol engine when needed to recharge the battery or maintain it at a constant charge level.
Even if you have an empty battery and start Ranger PHEV’s engine from cold, running Pro Power Onboard is more efficient. With Ranger PHEV up to temperature, Pro Power Onboard uses half as much fuel as the generator — and once the engine only switches on to maintain the battery level, your fuel cost becomes just one-third that of the generator.4
We were delighted with findings from our research. They show Pro Power Onboard is cleaner and cheaper to run than a generator, as well as being harder to steal and giving you back payload and space in the load bed.
It’s yet another reason why going hybrid made Europe’s best-selling pickup 5 even better.
Kyle Shearer is segment chief engineer for Ranger in Europe
1 Ford Ranger Plug-In Hybrid homologated CO2 emissions 143-145 g/km WLTP Euro, homologated fuel efficiency 6.2-6.4 l/100 km WLTP Euro and pure electric driving range up to 43 km WLTP. The declared WLTP fuel/energy consumptions, CO2 emissions and electric range are determined according to the technical requirements and specifications of the European Regulations (EC) 715/2007 and (EU) 2017/1151 as last amended. The applied standard test procedures enable comparison between different vehicle types and different manufacturers. A range of up to 43 km can be achieved with a fully charged battery - depending on the existing series and battery configuration. The actual range may vary due to various factors (e.g. weather conditions, driving style, route profile, vehicle condition, age and condition of the lithium-ion battery).
2 See Owner's Manual for important operating instructions.
3Comparison based on Ford testing of a Ranger PHEV (2.3-litre Ti-VCT EcoBoost petrol engine with 75 kWelectric motor and 11.8 kWh battery) with engine idling vs. a typical 4 kW generator, both providing a 4 kW power draw. Actuals are 452x Carbon Monoxide and 98x Hydrocarbons and Nitrogen Oxides. Emissions refer specifically to point-of-use pollutants (CO, HC, NOx) measured at the tailpipe and not total vehicle lifecycleCO2.
4 Costs based on: (a) Ranger PHEV charged at an electricity rate of £0.31/kWh (UK) or €0.371/kWh (Germany);(b) Typical 4 kW generator fuel consumption of 3.44L/hr at a petrol price of £1.57/L (UK) or €2.011/L (Germany). Data sources: GlobalPetrolPrices.com (May 2026/Sept 2025). Actual savings will vary based on localenergy/fuel prices, battery state of charge, appliance draw, and ambient conditions.
5 Based on S&P Global Mobility sales data 2025. Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
