Ford Ranger – Hits and misses

In late 2018, Ford introduced the all-new and facelifted 2019 Ranger pickup truck in Malaysia. While the fourth-generation Ranger was initially unveiled for the first time back in 2015, the facelifted 2019 model brought along several improvements and new toys. This isn’t all, though, as the American auto giant has also fitted some variants of the 2019 Ranger with an all-new engine and automatic transmission.

In Malaysia, the Ford Ranger faces stiff competition from the likes of the Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton, and Isuzu D-Max. Before the update, the Ranger had to ward off its rivals with little upper hand in most aspects -- though that may no longer be the case anymore. Of course, that doesn’t mean that everything about this truck is brilliant - it surely does have some weaknesses, still. Therefore, let’s go ahead and list for you some of the positives and negatives of the new Ford Ranger.

Ford Ranger Hits

Styling

The fourth-generation Ford Ranger sports the usual pickup truck silhouette, though its styling is far more modern and urbane in its appearance than some of its rivals. And while the entry-level Ranger looks surprisingly handsome, it’s the upper echelons of the line-up, which includes the range-topping Wildtrak, which looks the most appealing. The front fascia on the Wildtrak supports a glossy black grille, stylish projector headlamps with integrated LED daytime-running lights (DRLs), flat bonnet with a subtle ‘power bulge’, and a burly front bumper with suave fog lamp housings and a skid plate.

All Rangers possess a tall and wide stance and feature enlarged wheel arches, protruding fenders, and deep wheel wells. To these, the Wildtrak further adds distinctive roof rails, glossy black trim bits all around, “Wildtrak” lettering on the front doors, 18-inch alloy wheels, and sturdy running boards. At the back, there are crisp and well-detailed tail lamps, moulded tailgate with “Ranger” and “Wildtrak” branding, and a stepped rear bumper All in all, the new Ford Ranger is well capable of drawing the attention of onlookers.

Comfortable cabin

It isn’t just the aesthetics, as the new Ford Ranger scores quite well on cabin comfort, too. For the most part, Ford has worked well enough to keep some of the nasty plastic away and out of sight. On the other hand, the Ranger now comes with better quality materials, especially on the most frequented areas in the cabin - the quality of the trim bits and accents that have been used have seen marked improvements. The leather seats provide enough adjustments and are easily some of the best-in-class when it comes to support.

The American automaker has also added more insulation measures to the new Ranger to keep much of the road and wind noise at bay -- further assisted by active noise cancellation technology. The insulation around the wheel wells and suspension has been improved, too, and this has helped in reducing any significant thumps or thuds from entering the cabin. The wide cabin of the Ranger boasts a good amount of headroom and shoulder room for all occupants - front & back, and there’s sufficient legroom available as well.

Features

The top variants of the 2019 Ranger specs sheet shows that car is equipped with automatic HID headlamps, LED front fog lamps, rain-sensing wipers, power-adjustable and folding wing mirrors with integrated puddle lamps, assisted tailgate, Ford’s MyKey with keyless-entry & go, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control, 8-inch touchscreen head unit with Bluetooth, voice recognition, navigation and SYNC3 infotainment system with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, 8-way power adjustable driver’s seat, all-around parking sensors with rearview camera, and a cooled console among others.

Safety tech

The 2019 Ford Ranger is packing tonnes of safety equipment, including six airbags, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), Hill Launch Assist (HLA), Hill Descent Control (HDC), Rollover Mitigation (ROM), Trailer Sway Control (TSC), Adaptive Load Control (ALC), Forward Collision Warning (FCW), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with vehicle & pedestrian detection, and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) with Lane Keeping Assist (LKA).

Ford Ranger Misses

Expensive

The 2019 Ford Ranger price starts at RM 90,888 for the base Single Cab XL variant with the manual transmission and the 2.2-litre diesel engine, while the fully-equipped Wildtrak will set you back by nearly RM 145,000. To put those figures into perspective, the base and top variants of the Navara, Hilux, and Triton cost far less than those of the new Ranger. Of course, the thrilling and extremely capable Raptor avatar of the Ranger costs nearly RM 200,000 - though it really doesn’t have any direct competition.

On-road performance

Even the most powerful variant of the Ford Ranger (excluding the Raptor) isn’t exactly fast or thrilling to drive on the road. The Wildtrak gets an all-new 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo diesel four-banger that makes 210hp and 500Nm of torque, and comes paired to an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission. Despite its torquey motor and the smooth gearbox, the Ranger Wildtrak still needs over 10 seconds to crack 100 kmph and its maximum velocity is not much more than 175 kmph. No doubt, however, the Ranger’s off-road performance is commendable.