Bigger, Stronger, and Tougher than Ever

When a manufacturer introduces a pickup truck to the press, it’s expected that they’ll let you drive the new product through a series of tests designed to demonstrate their truck’s off-road and hauling capabilities. Mini river crossings and technical off-road sections are par for the course, but not slaloms. Or 0-100kph sprints. Or even 80-0kph brake demos. Yet these are exactly what Ford let us do with the all-new Ranger last week at the Batangas Racing Circuit, which is, you know, a tarmac course much better suited to Asian Formula 3 cars than a tall-riding, diesel-powered truck. But you see, Ford was quite eager to show off just how car-like their new truck is, so the day’s track driving consisted of several tests to demonstrate the alpha male-ness of the Ranger, whether on the road or off it. First, the road part.

On hand was a small fleet of 4x4 Rangers. Equipped with a 3.0-liter, 16-valve, "DuraTORQ" twincam turbodiesel blessed with a common rail injector system, peak output is 156 PS at 3,200 rpm and 38 kg-m of torque at 1,800 rpm; the highest in its class. Matched to a 5-speed manual, dropping the clutch at 3,000 rpm produces a gratifying amount of wheelspin before the wheels hook up and you’re on your way to a zero to 100 sprint in 10 seconds flat. On a more useful note, that powerplant also enables the Ranger to tow a maximum of 3,000 kilos. Gone too is most of the racket and vibration of the old Ranger engine, replaced this time by a decently muted whirring behind the firewall that just sounds… industrial. Well, they DID say it’s a workhorse kind of truck, one that just so happens to drive like tall-riding car this time.

The suspension also merits praise, because while on paper the front double wishbones and rear leaf springs are nothing new for this segment, it’s been tuned to give a fairly nimble ride. Agile enough, actually, for Ford to be confident enough to let us loose on the track with a series of chicanes and hairpin curves to tackle like the frustrated race car drivers that some of us secretly are. Through the turns with 4WD-High engaged, body roll is noticeable but not alarming. Quick, deft (if we can be so modest) inputs with the steering wheel point the truck where you want to go with the 4-wheel drive pulling the tail obediently in crowd-pleasing, Initial D fashion. Actually, some drivers probably forgot they were still driving a truck and not a more compact sedan, so in the chicanes where the Ranger had overshot the turn-in point, there was nothing left to do but slam on the brakes and let the ABS-equipped anchors rectify the situation.

Then, of course, there was the off-road part on the field just outside BRC, where a decently sizable course had been bulldozed complete with rock gardens, muddy pools, a 45-degree hill (well, I’d call it a mound…) and some left-right-left-right potholes. Just to make things interesting, and probably to prevent us from overdriving the truck since some of might also be frustrated four-wheel drive time triallists, a contest of sorts was held in which we were challenged to finish the course in as close to 7 minutes as possible.

As it turned out, the key to this challenge was to basically let the truck just move along in 4WD-Low with your foot barely pressing the pedals. With so much torque low in the engine range, the Ranger was perfectly happy to drive itself over the challenges without much human assistance, thank you very much. So, this also turned out to be a good opportunity to admire the interior of the truck. See, the new exterior may look more imposing and muscular compared to the boxy, old Ranger, but it still won’t merit a second glance in traffic. There are nice touches like clear-lens reflector headlamps and the split front bumper, but it won’t win any truck beauty contests.

Inside is where things brighten up. The old truck’s industrial refrigerator theme has given way to a Euro-esque cockpit that wouldn’t look out of place in a Focus. The dashboard has a handsome center stack with logical switches and a stereo system with that integrated fascia look that’s currently in vogue. Dials, switches, and buttons all have a pleasant tactile feel, and there’s even an industry first pull-out tray on the passenger-side of the dashboard.

The seats are also much improved, particularly in front. Whereas the old Ranger’s driver seat had a bar that dug itself into the base of your spine the longer you sat in it, the new one has a much more sculpted back with adequate lumbar support and side bolsters that keep you centered, like when you’re on a gnarly 45-degree banking which we found ourselves on, for example. By the way, the Ranger may also be the first 4x4 compact truck to really make you want those of those macho aftermarket step-bars, because with a ground clearance of 207 millimeters (enough to keep you from high-centering it over most obstacles), you don’t so much as sit into the truck as climb in a bit. Granny would not be amused, although with the new truck’s bigger box capacity (now 1,266 liters), you can stuff most of her antique furniture in there when she asks you to help her move house. A new shelving system also lets you segregate the soft stuff from the hard back there.

Standard safety kit aside from ABS and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution includes seatbelt pretensioners and driver and front passenger airbags. Ford also claims that longer maintenance intervals, reduced repair costs, and improved fuel economy add still more value to their workhorse pickup truck. Prices hadn’t been announced as of press time, but expect it to be competitive with rivals like the Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, and Mitsubishi Strada, when it makes it to dealerships this November 6.