New Ranger’s a game changer

Some of the new Ranger’s highlights are that it’s the first bakkie to be awarded a maximum five-star safety rating in Euro-NCAP crash tests; it can tow a class leading 3350kg (certain derivatives), it can wade through 800mm deep water (Hi-Rider and 4x4 models) and it has a modernised interior with class-leading cabin space.

What strikes you right away about the blue oval’s new bakkie is its bold design. One-tonner bakkies have no business looking limp-wristed and the Ranger looks like the bully that steals your school lunch and runs away with your girlfriend. Designed with what its stylists call “21st Century Tough”, its flared bodywork and oversized grille give it the robust, in-your-face look of an American pickup, and it wouldn’t look out of place parked at a Texas rodeo.

High-tech toys

But the cowpoke metaphor evaporates when you step inside and check out its modern, luxury interior that’s lost all signs of workhorse origins. The Ranger has all the high-tech toys today’s drivers demand, including smart technologies such as Bluetooth with Voice Control. Along with auxiliary ports for MP3 players, you can wirelessly play music from your cellphone through the Ranger’s audio system and scroll through songs using the audio buttons on the steering wheel.
Safety features in the XLT comprise no less than seven airbags, stability control and antilock braking. There’s decent oddments space - including a large air-conditioned centre bin that holds six cans - and a number of handy 12-volt sockets for plugging in accessories. Ford missed a trick by making the steering column tilt-adjustable only, though. With no reach-adjustment, longer-legged drivers tend to sit with outstretched arms.

Where this bakkie truly excels is its cavernous cabin space. Ford says it has best-in-class rear legroom and after sitting in the roomy back seat - which will comfortably seat a pair of front-row Springboks and a Boerboel - we see little reason to dispute that claim.

The new Duratorq 3.2-litre turbodiesel engine, at 147kW and 470Nm, is one of the most powerful in its class, and delivers gutsy performance with reasonable refinement.

Fuel economy’s acceptable if not brilliant, and our test vehicle averaged 10.6 litres per 100km.

The Ranger has a comfortable ride quality on gravel and feels robustly built, with rough roads failing to elicit significant rattles in the cabin. When unladen it has the typical bakkie tendency for the rear to jiggle about on very rough roads, but in general it has good directional stability and feels well-mannered in corners. Missing from the Ranger’s dirt repertoire are off-road antilock brakes tuned for gravel roads.

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