Pick-up boost as all-new Wildtrak makes the heart sing

New pick-ups don’t come around very often, so Andrew Walker was delighted to get to grips with the all-new Ford Ranger at a test event at The Belfry. Here’s how he got on.

Model range

Ford is covering all bases with the latest Ranger. The entry level XL is available as a single or double cab, and next up is the XLT, a double cab, with both aimed predominantly at the agricultural, utility and building construction sectors.

Then we have the new Tremor, followed by the perennial favourite and the model we drove, the Wildtrak, which has been joined by some new premium models; Platinum and Wildtrak X.

The mad-as-hell Raptor tops the range off.

Exterior

C-shaped daytime running lights are the Ranger’s new signature at the front. At the sides you get wheel arch cladding and an all-new step built into the bodywork behind the rear wheel. At the rear there’s a new tailgate with RANGER stamped in it and a choice of halogen or LED taillights.

The tailgate edge features measurements along it and holes for clamps have been added to make it into a work bench. You also get a built-in mobile device holder, cupholder and a pencil holder. The load space is larger and the truck is also wider than before, so you can easily fit in a loaded pallet.

Interior

We were testing the Wildtrak, which is now a mid-range model. The highlight inside is the 12″ portrait touchscreen display. Centrally located it runs Ford’s latest SYNC 4 connected infotainment and dominates the dashboard. In front of the driver sits a configurable 8″ digital instrument cluster.

Underneath the touchscreen you get stand alone climate controls, with steering wheel controls for the media and cruise control.

Between the front seats you’ll find the gear lever, electric handbrake, off-road settings and twin cup holders. And a wireless phone charger large enough for a large smartphone. The leather upholstery is very nice, as are the finishes to the dash front and top, door panels, centre binnacle and switchgear. The quality shines through.

Drivetrains

A choice of fuel-efficient 202 bhp 2.0-litre twin turbo diesels with a choice of six-speed manual or auto, or tenspeed automatic transmission. Ford is also offering a 237bhp 3.0-litre V6 diesel. The Wildtrak comes with Ford’s 10-speed auto and features a four-wheel drive transmission that can automatically shift from 2WD to 4WD on the fly.

You also get a rotary controller on the centre console that allows you to select 4WD and low-range gears.

Equipment and technology

Wildtrak includes leather upholstery, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, dual zone climate control, keyless entry and start, heated front seats and steering wheel, LED lights, privacy glass and you can even add zone lighting which allows you to control the vehicles exterior lights through Sync 4 or via the FordPass app on your smartphone. Over-the-air updates will help ensure your truck stays at the forefront of technology, get preventative maintenance, or improve performance.

Safety

It’s a case of what’s not included with the latest Wildtrak, ‘cos it has it all. ABS with Stability Control, ABS, ETC, ESC, Electronic Brake Booster, Integrated Electric Trailer Brake Controller, Roll Stability Control (RSC) and Traction Control System (TCS) are all included.

On top you get front driver and passenger air bags, seat-mounted air bags and one interaction airbag between the front passengers. Then there’s a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Selectable Drive Modes 2 that includes Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Slippery, Mud/Ruts and Sand options.

Ford also offers its suite of Driver Assist Technologies 2 with Active Park Assist, Blind Spot Assist, Blind Spot Information System with Trailer Coverage, Collision Mitigation System, front and rear parking sensors, Hill Descent Control, Intelligent Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop and Lane Centring, Intelligent Speed Limiter, Lane-Keeping System with Road Edge Detection, LED headlamps, Post-Impact Braking, Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking, Reverse Brake Assist, Terrain Management System and a 360-degree camera. Told you it had got the lot!

Practicality

An onboard inverter offers power to the box, with 400W of available power and an AC outlet in the tray. New clamp pockets are built into the tailgate of every Ranger so you can hold materials down for clean cuts and precision work. Spring-loaded caps cover the pockets when not in use.

Durable plastic caps protect the load box edges and tailgate upper edge from damage from gear and cargo.

Need to fit a canopy or crossbars? Simply remove the access caps to reveal Ranger’s structural attachment points.

The bed liner features moulded slots which allow you to fit dividers to customise the load box, allowing you to store gear and stop it from sliding around.

The rear seats fold-flat to give you more functional space, plus there’s under-seat storage and storage space behind the rear seats.

Dimensions and payload

For practical purposes, the Wildtrak Double Cab offers a 1,575mm load length, a load width of 1,560mm and a 541mm load depth. Payload is 1,041kg and you can tow a braked trailer of up to 3,500kg.

Fuel economy and performance

We were testing the 3.0 litre diesel.

This offers 240PS, emits 265g/km of CO2 with economy of 28mpg.

To compare, the smaller 2.0 litre diesel offers 32.1mpg. Top speed is 111 mph with a 0-62mph time of just 7.9 seconds.

Accessories

Rather as with the safety kit, the options list is enormous. Suffice to say from roll tops – manual or powered – to sports bars to tonneau covers to hard tops. It’s all available for your Ranger.

Driving

Our test was on-road only and the latest Wildtrak did not disappoint. First and foremost this is a big vehicle. At 5,370mm long and 2,208mm with mirrors wide, you know you’ve arrived. It’s high too, measuring 1,884mm. The 3,270 wheelbase plants you firmly on the road and it handles our current malaise of poor UK road surfaces with aplomb. At 30mph it’s quiet and calm inside.

If you do venture off road, ground clearance is 219mm and if required, you can wade at 800mm moving at 5mph. With an approach angle of 30 degrees and departure of 21, the Wildtrak will also get you pretty much anywhere you want to go.

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Driving on small A and B roads the latest Wildtrak offers steady progress, with the 10-speed auto box hanging onto gears as the revs rise before things settle down. Accelerate hard as we did on to the motorway and the diesel engine roars into life and is audible in the cabin, that’s for sure.

The changes between gear ratios is done smoothly and once up to motorway speed the noise dies down and you’re piloting a very quiet vehicle with little or no wind noise entering the cab. The large tyres account for a bit of vibration through the pick-up floor, and there’s some road noise, especially in the wet. But with my podcast turned up this was barely noticeable.

All pick-ups come with compromised ride. If you offer a one-tonne payload and you’re driving with an empty load bed, then some bouncing will occur. I have to say that our unladen drive was very impressive, with only the largest road bumps noticeable.

Despite its size, the steering is light and you get a good feel for the vehicle in and out of corners. It’s actually very easy to drive and you can clearly see that the latest Ranger is an evolution up from the previous model.

While the seats are deep and comfortable, the switches and buttons easy to reach and all-round visibility is excellent, but we did have a couple of gripes. The tablet touchscreen features impressive graphics and fast responses to your inputs and in effect is lifted from the Mustang Mach E. Because you sit higher in a Ranger than a Mustang and it’s not angled towards the driver, it’s not quite as user-friendly; we’re guessing because it has to work for right and left hand drive markets. And second, the auto gear leaver features some ergonomic buttons which have to be pressed by your left hand fingers in order to engage the vehicle and change gear. We found it a bit fiddly to use. A simple one finger push in would have sufficed.

Pros

Great to drive on-road and massively capable off. The level of quality inside