New Ford Ranger: First impression

The Ford Ranger has always been among the best pickup trucks in the class available in the country. To make things more interesting and appealing, Malaysia now gets the 2019 Ford Ranger. Ford says that this model is a facelift and brings in some added features, however, we think that it is a bit more than just a facelift. Here is our first impression of the all-new Ford Ranger.

Styling

Ford is well aware of the fact that the Ranger is a handsome pickup truck and hence it didn’t do a whole lot of tweaking in the way this vehicle looks. The 2019 Ranger specs get a revamped front grille and bumper, HID headlamps along with LED daytime running lights, and LED fog lamps. These are the new additions at the front. The side profile of the new Ranger remains the same. We get the same design of the alloy wheels that range between 16 to 18 inches.

The rear end of the 2019 Ford Ranger is also the same. But we do like the new more prominent Ranger sticker on the tailgate. We also like the new Easy Lift Tailgate feature that Ford has included. As the name suggests, it allows you to open and close the tailgate with ease.

Interior

The interior of the 2019 Ranger has also been kept more or less the same. We do notice that Ford went ahead with a completely black theme this time. It is a welcome addition as the cabin feels refreshed and sportier. The range-topping model gets a leather treatment at the dashboard that just makes thing more premium. In fact, the Ford Ranger has got one of the best-looking interiors in its class.

Ford continued to provide its SYNC 3 touchscreen feature that enables you to connect your smartphone via Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It also supports voice recognition and acts accordingly for a few predefined sets of commands.

In terms of space, the cabin of the Ford Ranger is very generous with a whole lot of space for all the occupants. The rear passengers get a good amount of head and legroom. The seats are nice and comfortable.

Engine

2019 Ford Ranger variants that are available in the country include XL, XLT, Wildtrak, and a new XLT+ variant. Depending on the variant, the engine option varies as well. The XL and XLT variant gets a 2.2L TDCi VGT Puma engine that churns out 160 PS of max power and generates a peak torque of 385 Nm that kicks in from as low as 1600 to 2600 revs. The transmission options for these two variants are a 6-speed Getrag MT82 manual and a 6R80 automatic gearbox that we’ve seen in the outgoing model.

The XLT+ and the 4x2 Wildtrak variants come with a 2.0L Si-Turbo engine with 180 PS of power and 420 Nm of peak torque. The gearbox is a new 10-speed automatic transmission with SelectShift. The Wildtrak 4x4 model gets a new 2.0L Bi-Turbo engine that has been tuned to produce 213 PS of max power and 500 Nm of peak torque. It also gets the same 10-speed automatic gearbox.

Safety features

Ford has added a few new safety features in the 2019 Ranger which makes this pickup as the safest in its class. Of course, the number and kind of safety features vary as per the variant. The features that are available only with the top-end model include Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning and Assist, Semi-Automatic Parallel Parking, Autonomous Emergency Braking, pedestrian and vehicle detection.

Verdict

We have always liked the Ford Ranger. And the new 2019 facelift model is that much better and we like it even more. Ford has really raised the bar high for the other contestants in this class. We are very impressed with the new range of engines that come with the new Ranger models, and also the number of variants that are available. The 2019 Ford Ranger price starts at RM 90,888 for the 2.2L XL Single Cab Manual variant and goes all the way up to RM 144,888 for the range-topping 2.0L Wildtrak 4×4 Automatic model.

We’re glad that Ford has launched the new Ranger in Malaysia. Now since that’s out of the way, we’re waiting for the Ford Ranger Raptor which is scheduled to be launched at the KLIMS 2018.