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Ford Ranger Pick Up Truck Road Test

Produced by Peter Grunert

Pluses: Top practicality with a spacious load area and heavyweight towing abilities, now matched to a quality interior and eye-widening performance.

Minuses: The Ranger’s exterior still features tidy, conservative design rather than the rough, tough visual presence of the popular Nissan Navara or Mitsubishi L200.

Pick Up Trucks Direct Rating: By ripping out the heart of the last-generation Ranger, Ford has transformed its pick up; the sophisticated new common-rail diesel engine won’t assault your ears, but will help you more than hold your own on the road.

Pulling Power

While the previous Ford Ranger had plenty going for it, one advantage it could never claim to have was a great engine. In fact the 2.5-litre four-cylinder diesel lump offered before gave two choices of power output: weak, or terminally feeble. Thankfully, help on that score has been sought and the result isn’t just a new lease of life for the Ranger, it’s a total reincarnation.

The new 2.5-litre Duratorq TDCi engine with 143bhp and 243lb ft that has now been fitted helps - alongside a lengthy list of other enhancements - to transform the Ranger.

This unit boasts such advanced features as a common-rail fuel injection system and a variable-geometry turbo, combining to provide instant responsiveness, a broad range of pulling power and levels of quiet once you’re up and running that could more normally be expected of a large executive saloon, not a vehicle with such a mix of passenger and load-carrying abilities. Stiffer engine mounts and a stronger chassis frame also reduce any bad vibrations that could risk being fed back to the cab area.
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Toughing It Out

OK, so the Ranger offers excellent straight-line performance and reassuring refinement, but all that would count for little if it was a total handful in day to day traffic. The truth though is that the re-engineering job has been an impressively thorough one, with improvements made to the chassis to match that all-new drivetrain.

As before, you get independent double wishbone suspension at the front and sturdy leaf springs at the rear, only now with beefed-up shock absorbers and lengthened leaf springs, together aiming to improve stability and give a more supple, comfortable ride quality. The alterations really work on tarmac, without sacrificing the Ranger’s off-road capabilities either. This pick up sits rock-solid at a high speed cruise and isn’t easily buffeted by cross-winds, while the steering is accurate and manoeuvrability remains excellent at low speeds.

One important addition right across the range is the standard fitment ABS, eliminating the risk of the brakes locking up should you need to stop suddenly - even when towing at full gross train weight. Vital, you’d have to agree.
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The Wide Open Spaces

Climb on board the new Ranger and the interior’s look and quality is like night and day compared to the previous model. Now you get new-age Ford soft-touch plastics and modern textures, along with chromed highlights that liven up the instrument cluster, vent grilles and inner door handles.

There’s ample stowage space inside, with a tray that pulls out from the instrument panel to hold documents, a two-bin centre console that you can wedge up to 10 CD cases into, and a full complement of five cupholders.

One compromise remains unfortunately, which is tight legspace for the double cab’s rear occupants, should there be a tall driver and passenger reclining in the front.

The pay-off is a particularly generous load space out back, even more spacious than previously. The pick up box’s sidewall height has been raised by 60mm, while the position of the cargo tie-downs has been lowered to give greater load-carrying security.

The Ranger’s strength as a towing vehicle has also just gone from good to great, with a maximum towing capacity of dead on three tonnes now being offered by the four-wheel drive versions. Maximum payload is increased to, at a very respectable 1,075kg.
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In For the Long Run

The positive news doesn’t end here. Some well thought out and seriously useful kit can now be specified by Ranger owners.

Standard front airbags are fitted for the driver and passenger, plus new side airbags for front occupants too on XLT and Thunder versions. Child seat anchors are also available.

You get a single-disc CD player thrown in on all versions, complete with MP3 compatibility, while an in-dash six-CD multichanger and extra speakers appear on the options list.

For the first time the Ranger makes a convincing job of crossing the divide between working vehicle and a top-spec car capable of carrying families in comfort, particularly in the case of Thunder models. Aside from cosmetic upgrades such as chromed body protector bars and 16-inch alloy wheels, these can be specified with leather seats, reversing sensors and air-conditioning.

All versions of the revitalised Ranger also come with the back-up of a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, plus the reassurance of servicing intervals that have now been stretched out to each 12,500 miles or just once per year.
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0845 094 3736

Ford Ranger Pick Up Truck Road Test

Produced by Peter Grunert

Pulling Power

Toughing It Out

The Wide Open Spaces

In For the Long Run

Nissan Navara

Ford Ranger

Mitsubishi L200

Toyota Hilux

Isuzu Rodeo

Mazda B Series

Land Rover

Nissan NP300

Tippers

Ford
Ranger

Mitsubishi
L200

Toyota
Hilux

Isuzu
Rodeo