I recently had the pleasure of driving a real, basic, no-frills workhorse bakkie.
What a joy to drive a simple, well-engineered, practical, purpose-built vehicle. The base or XL-badged Ford Ranger diesel is just such a truck, not just value for money, but plain good value.
The bakkie we tested is the double-cab, six-speed manual transmission, 2.0 litre turbodiesel which produces 125 kW of power but, crucially, 405 Nm of torque. This allows it to carry a payload of 947 kg and pull a 3 500 kg braked trailer.
For ease of operations, it has high and low range 4×4 with electronic shift-on-the-fly, but not terrain mode selections. I think the typical buyer would not want more fancy electronics, which are very rarely used but can cause issues.
The XL is really fit for purpose, and it’s good looking, inside and out.
The on-the-fly selector works smoothly and the gearbox is a pleasure to use, although the clutch is quite heavy at first. One gets used to it quickly, though. I thought the steering feel (reach and rake adjustable) and the weight of the brakes was just right. For a working truck, the acceleration felt quite sprightly.
Apart from parking in small mall parking bays, this bakkie is easy to drive with good visibility and comfortable, cloth-covered, manually adjustable seats. Strangely, the seats are not vertically adjustable.
The tyres are 255/70 R17 fitted to alloy rims, but weirdly the spare is a 16″ steel rim.
Equipment levels are very good for a base model and include halogen daytime running lamps, powered mirrors and a very useful load box access step right at the back on either side, with handy external tie-down rails to hold onto when mounting the back. It has a factory sprayed-in bedliner with interior tie-down points. The tailgate has lift assist to make life even easier.
The unit we drove had rubber mats in the cabin and side steps fitted. The interior is great for a mobile office with space and loads of nooks and crannies to keep things, including four cup holders. The centre console has a 12-volt aux, USB-A and USB-C power points.
Befitting a working truck, it has manual climate control, under-seat stowage, a multi-function 10.1″ touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and Sync 4. This means you have full connectivity and maps through your phone.
The multi-function steering wheel has audio and other function and display controls. The cabin of the Ranger is really nice – spacious, practical and comfortable.
Good safety kit is standard, including dynamic stability control with ABS and trailer sway control, alarm, four airbags, immobiliser and electronic door deadlocks. Additional equipment includes hill launch and descent assist, rear parking sensors and camera.
Around town I got 9,2 litres/100 km and in general driving 9 litres/100 km. On the open road you should get 8 litres/100 km or less.
Bear in mind our test Ranger had only 2 000 km on the clock and fuel consumption can be expected to improve. Ford claims 7,7 litres/100 km.
With the exception of parking in tight spaces (due entirely to the bakkie’s size), the XL is a pleasure and easy to drive with good acceleration, apparently excellent brakes, good visibility and all the controls ergonomically correct.
In my opinion it has three small items missing: no cruise control, no forward parking sensors and my wife’s serious issue, no vanity mirror. Otherwise, a lekker bakkie.
A host of accessories, which fall under the vehicle warranty if added at time of purchase, is available.
These include air compressor, 12-volt auxiliary socket for load bay, auxiliary battery kit, bed divider, sports bars, bonnet protector, canopy, cargo slide, storage utility box, carry bars and drawer system, to mention a few options.
The XL is priced at R574 000, the XLT at R622 000, Wildtrak at R841 500 and Platinum at R1 150 000. The Raptor is considered a model on its own as its suspension and other performance parts do not fit in with the rest of the Ranger models.
The main opposition to this XL Ranger as tested will be the base models from Toyota, Isuzu, Nissan, GWM, Peugeot and some Chinese brands.
A service plan for six years or 90 000 km is included, with service intervals at 15 000 km, the latter making quite a difference for high-mileage users. The warranty on the vehicle is four years or 120 000 km.
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