THAILAND – As a member of Ford Motor Company South Africa’s (FMCSA) inner circle of select media, CAR Magazine has been privy to a series of pre-launch reveals and live talks with subject matter experts on the upcoming new Ford Ranger. Recently, we took the next step in an adventure with new Ranger that’s been more than a year in the making.
In a development open to just three local media outlets – CAR Magazine being the sole magazine publication of the group – FMCSA managed to secure a place on the Asia Pacific regional drive of the next-generation Ford Ranger. We drove the Ford Ranger 2,0 Bi-Turbo Diesel Double Cab 4×4 Wildtrak on tarred roads and jungle tracks to see just how big a step this stalwart of the double-cab pickup segment has taken…
So, what’s new?
The next-generation Ford Ranger is an amalgam of all-new developments in terms of design, technology and all-road ability, along with further refinements to proven powertrain componentry.
The most obvious change has to be the exterior design which lifts a number of bold, angular cues from the Ranger’s Stateside cousin – the F150. While the latest iteration has grown a few millimetres in every direction, this new styling approach actually makes it look leaner and more purposeful than its rounded forebear. The Wildtrak treatment, with its model-specific decals and mouldings, is well resolved and the updated underpinnings equate to greater interior space and a load bed that’s now wide enough to accommodate a Euro-spec packing pallet. The new car also bristles with useful touches such as a plastic load-bed liner that incorporates grooves and fittings for load dividers, as well as a neat box step cut into the rear bumper that makes accessing the load bed by balancing on a tyre a thing of the past.
The new Ranger is underpinned by Ford’s third-generation T6 platform – a modular unit with improvements to the hardpoints on the frame, such as attachment sections for the suspension and driveline. In addition to increased wheelbase and track, the updated platform sees the front wheels 50 mm moved further forward and outboard to improve the approach angle and allow for greater axle articulation, while the live-axle rear suspension now features dampers placed on the outboard of the suspension array – all measures to improve on-road handling characteristics.
The biggest change inside has to be the inclusion of Fords SYNC 4A infotainment system, comprising a 12-inch touchscreen in the Wildtrak model. This unit accommodates many of the fiddly ancillary controls that were a criticism of the previous Ranger’s cabin, resulting in a far cleaner design while providing a platform for enhanced smartphone connectivity and a crisp display for a 360-degree camera array, among other features.
Things are more familiar on the powertrain front. The new Ranger Wildtrak retains the current model’s 2,0-litre, four-cylinder biturbo-diesel unit which has been detuned by 3 kW to 154 kW while torque remains unchanged at 500 N.m. Similarly, Ford’s Select-Shift 10-speed torque-converter auto transmission remains, but updates to the ECU and transmission modules have seen peak power move from 3 000 to 3 750 r/min, while peak torque chimes in at a slightly higher 1 750 r/min; both in the interests of improved off-the-line smoothness, mechanical refinement and fuel efficiency.
On the road
The previous Ranger’s on-road manners always impressed, often seeing journalists wheel out the ‘car-like’ suffix in their appraisals, but the new Ranger has moved things along considerably. That wider track footprint and revisions to the monotube front shocks equate to a more compliant ride and noticeably more progressive body control when cornering. The steering, which tended to exhibit some play around dead-centre in the previous Ranger, feels more keenly geared and responsive in the new car.
The powertrain feels a touch more measured in terms of throttle response and conspires with more measured shift-mapping in the 10-speed ‘box to make the new Ranger feel more wieldy and civilised than its forebear. While the 2,0-litre’s outputs – in particular that 500 N.m of torque – make it feel suitably brisk when pressed, folks will no doubt be clamouring for the 186 kW and 597 N.m produced by the 3,0-litre V6 Powerstroke turbodiesel unit which will join the Wildtrak range for its local introduction.
Our on road drive initially spanned sections of town and motorway, where we noted considerable improvements in NVH and mechanical refinement at the posted 110 km/h limit. Later sections saw us traversing a twisting mountain pass which, despite its well-sealed surface, was rendered almost ice skating rink-slick by torrential rains in the area. Where these conditions would’ve seen our drive reduced to a steering wheel-sawing sweat-fest in the older car, the new Ranger’s greater directional composure and more alert steering meant that any tail happiness in the bends could be quickly compensated for without any drama. Our time on tarmac also gave us an opportunity to better acquaint ourselves with the SYNCH 4A system. Utilising a card interface, SYNCH 4A proved easy to navigate between Android Auto and the various sub-systems for vehicle and infotainment settings.
The software proved intuitive and there was little in the way of latency between menus. Furthermore, by anchoring some HVAC controls at the base of the screen and utilising physical dials and switches for main systems such as the fans, a nice interplay between touchscreen and muscle memory-friendly interface is achieved. The SYNCH 4A system is supplemented by a crisp TFT digital instrument binnacle that can be customised to show different on- and off-road functions. This digitised cabin is a much cleaner affair than that of the outgoing model. Perceived quality in the cabin has also taken a considerable step up, with the previous car’s sometimes brittle-feeling centre console plastics making way for denser-gauge materials and plenty of slush-moulded finishes for the dash top and door crests.
Off-road
Ford had set up an off-road course dubbed ‘Rangerville’ in a plantation just outside Phuket. Combining a quarry with steep inclines, a small wading lake and sections of churned-up mud track, fast-paced gravel stretches and sand, it proved a challenging environment for the new Ranger to strut its stuff on unsealed surfaces. The new Wildtrak has inherited its drivetrain management system from the current Raptor. This on-demand system incorporates a full-time AWD setup with an automatic setting that intelligently apportions drive fore and aft according to traction requirements. This is supplemented by a selectable drive mode module with presets to tailor traction control, transmission and braking parameters for certain terrain conditions; for instance, normal and sport for on-road, and Grass, Gravel & Snow, Mud & Sand and Rock for off-roading. The latter is controlled via a rotary dial with integrated buttons for 2H, 4H and 4H. The rear diff-lock is accessed via a menu in the infotainment system – something that may sit at odds with more the more traditional off-roading set, who may miss a physical switch for that function.
Needless to say, the new Ranger acquitted itself impressively on this course – generous approach and departure angles, coupled with more progressive shock absorption meant little in the way of occupant jostling, even when attacking steep inclines and axle-twisters. The off-road presets prove handy when prepping for an obstacle and the 360 degree camera is a boon that ensures otherwise bodywork-snagging rocks and bluffs can be easily identified and avoided. That more alert steering proved particularly useful on the rain-sodden mud sections, where sawing at the wheel to track straight would’ve been the order of the day in the previous car.
Overall
It’s been some time coming – and understandably steeped in hype – but our first taste of the new Ford Ranger seems to have justified such a build-up. The things we love; the ruggedness off-road and ease of use on it, are still present and correct but they’ve been polished and refined in the new Ranger to present a vehicle that looks set to take the bakkie segment by storm when it arrives here in November.
This drive is just the first step in a journey we’ve taken with Ranger that will culminate in an in-depth drive with insights from those involved in the new car’s development, so keep an eye out for further updates, including a chance encounter with the most powerful Ranger to date.
Words: Gareth Dean
