MOTORNETNEWS  ROAD  TEST  -  NOVEMBER  2007

FORD  RANGER  XLT  UTILITY

The Mazda-sourced Courier has served Ford very well since 1978 as a supplement to the Falcon passenger car-derived utilities. This year Ford decided to fall in line with the parent company in the US and rename the Courier as the Ranger. With the new name came rugged styling along the lines of the larger F-Series trucks so popular in the States. 

The Ranger tested here is the XLT Supercab that has storage space behind the front seats plus two small fold down benches that provide short term seating for another two people. It is a tough truck with turbo diesel performance and economy and easily doubles as a tradesman's workhorse during the week and a funtime getaway vehicles for the weekends.

OUTSIDE: 

With its wide flared guards, macho grille, high ground clearance and heavy duty 6-spoke alloy wheels the Ranger certainly looks the part. The test ute has a chromed rollover bar fitted to the tray and came complete with a heavy duty plastic tray liner.

The large front bumper incorporated the driving/fog lights and offered very good protection. At the rear the wrap round taillights were easily visible from the sides. The large cab has a second window behind the door but, unlike the crew cab versions, doesn't provide a second door.

INSIDE:

The interior is well finished and seems quite luxurious for a work vehicle. The 4-spoke wheel has a very large centre boss for the airbag and the wheels is adjustable for height. On the XLT the wheel is leather-wrapped. too.

The hooded binnacle houses three chrome-ringed dials for speedo, tacho and auxiliary gauges. The centre dash console has the air-conditioning and radio controls - all well marked and simple to use. Below this there are two spaces for cups just ahead of the transmission lever.

Behind the gear lever is a small switch that controls high. low and 4WD operations. This really needs some sort of cover as it is quite easy to switch between operations when dragging a bag or brief case across from the passenger side. The rear side windows can be opened to provide extra ventilation.

The passenger side visor has an uncovered vanity mirror but, apart from the room behind the seats and under the rear floor, there are few smaller storage areas for mobile phone, drink bottles, etc. The bucket seats are quite comfortable and are finished in a patterned cloth that looks quite durable. The quality of the plastics looks good and adds to the upmarket feel.

CARGO SPACE:

Carrying capacity is what utes are all about and the Ranger has a large, wide tray that will take a payload of 1115kg in an area that is 1753mm long by 1456mm wide  (with a narrowest width between the wheel arches of 1090mm. The tail gate has an opening that is 1328mm wide. 

There are several rope hooks fitted inside the tray area and the bed liner is standard on the XLT models.  The tailgate opens flat with the floor.

ON THE ROAD:

While the Ranger is a real truck in its ruggedness and toughness, it is remarkably smooth to ride in - almost car-like! What is really impressive is the engine performance. The specifications for the 3-litre turbo diesel put the horsepower rating at just 115kW, however, the torque figure of 380Nm is very impressive, especially when this torque is available at 1800rpm.

When you plant your foot to start off, the massive torque at such low revs means that you get excellent acceleration and this continues right through the five ratios of the auto transmission. The auto isn't quite as smooth as the type you find in a passenger car but it is quiet and doesn't hunt for gears due to the excellence of the torque spread.

Economy from the turbo diesel is very good. The test vehicle returned 9.2 litres/100km in mostly urban driving. Although there was no load in the tray, this figure would not change very much even if it was fully loaded.  The high driving position makes this quite a popular vehicle with women but the super large exterior mirrors do present a blind spot especially looking to the right. They provide excellent rearward vision though.

PRICE:                $41,990 Plus on-road costs.

STANDARD:      ABS brakes with Electronic Brake Distribution; air-conditioning; dual airbags; bed liner in tray;  alarm system; central remote locking; cloth upholstery; fog/driving lights; leather wrap steering wheel; lockable fuel cap; power mirrors, steering & windows; radio with six in-dash CD player; sports bar (chromed).

OPTIONS:            Heavy duty 3000kg tow bar $820; Side steps $712.