Ford Ranger Wildtrak- A Concise Review

Kuala Lumpur: Ford Ranger joined the pick-up segment of the country back in October 2015 and since then it has taken the market by storm. Offering a stiff competition to the prominent and well-established players prevailing in the market, the new Ranger stands tall against them in terms of design and cabin that is loaded with innovative technologies. Ford Ranger has also been awarded as the “Pick-up of the year” in Malaysia & Thailand at the ASEAN Car Of The Year (ACOTY) awards held last month. In Malaysia, the new Ranger is offered in six different variants, out of which 3.2 WIldtrak is the top most trim available for the customers for grab.

Owing to its tough looks, hardcore towing and off-road capabilities, this truck is designed and developed to target the audience, who wish to purchase a vehicle that’s not only potent to provide a smooth drive on uneven terrains but can also serve the day-to-day driving needs. The American pick-up comes with an aggressive front that accounts for the chrome garnished trapezoidal grille, automatic headlamps, rectangular fog lamps and a sporty bumper.

The side profile has bulged wheel arches, prominent styling lines across the doors and 18-inch alloy wheels that further add to its bold character. ORVMs and door handles are painted in the same body color. The rear end features the blue oval emblem at the centre and square-shaped housings inside the tail lamps, which give the pick-up an alluring ending.

Moving inside the Ford pick-up doesn’t impart a feel of a truck rather, gives a feel of a luxury road machine that’s meant to provide ultimate comfort and luxury. It sports a multi-function steering wheel that’s tightly wrapped inside a leather cover that has been garnished with orange stitching. This stitching can also be spotted on the plush seats, the leather gear knob and on top of the dashboard.

The centre console integrated inside the cabin gives you a feel of a luxury sedan. It features a large 8-inch touch screen, which is followed by the audio and climate controls and finally runs down to the gearbox. Chrome garnished air vents are vertically stacked that further add a sense of luxury to the Ranger’s ambience. There is an in-built SYNC 2 infotainment system, which lets the driver do multiple tasks from the word go without taking his eyes off the road.

Its powertrains have been enhanced to yield a spectacular fuel economy of 18.5 Kmpl, which is better than its predecessor’s 15.4 Kmpl. Also, the CO2 emissions have been dropped from 206 g/km to 171 g/km, all thanks to its automatic start-stop technology. Under the rugged looks, it packs a 3.2-litre Duratorq five-cylinder TDCI diesel engine that is good enough for 197 hp and a peak torque of 470 Nm, coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission system with sport mode.

Moving on to the Ranger technologies, it has a wide range of driver assist technologies including Lane Keeping Alert, Lane Keeping Aid, Electronic Stability Control, Rollover Mitigation, Hill Descent Control, Hill Launch Assist, Traction Control System, Adaptive Load Control and Emergency Brake Assist allowing a hassle-free driving experience on and off-roads.

This American pick-up outclasses the leading pick-up in the country, Toyota Hilux in terms of payload and towing capacity, which is good enough to define the dynamic characteristics of the truck. Ford Ranger Wildtrak possesses a payload capacity of 1000 Kgs while the Hilux lags behind with 835 Kgs. Ranger has a towing capacity of 3500 Kg that beats Hilux’s 2500 Kg quite easily. It also holds an unmatched water wading capacity of 800mm that allows you the freedom of enjoying the truck on water-filled tracks as well.

Also Read: Ford Ranger Leads Malaysian Sales of the Brand in November 2015