Ford Ranger Tremor pays the price for being a bush-ready bakkie

Our long-term Ford Ranger Tremor has been racking up the kilometers and has been used as everything from a daily commuter, to a family holiday vehicle and even as a work bench. Now it’s time see how it performs against its natural foes in the form of the Toyota Hilux, VW Amarok and Isuzu D-Max when it comes to outright performance against the clock.

Yes, I know there are people out there that think performance testing a bakkie is probably the dumbest thing one can do. And I do it a lot. Besides maybe not being so bright then, there are a few decent reasons I do this. One is that collecting data is always important for future comparisons, and two is that in South Africa, the majority of bakkie owners are power mad.

South Africans smaak their bakkies

They want the bragging rights of having the fastest double cab in town. And they pay for this status. The fuel-guzzling Ford Ranger Raptors at over R1.2-million sells as fast as they come in.

There are also aftermarket performance tuning companies that make a good living off making bakkies go faster than you would ever think you would want a bakkie to go.

We are South African. We love power, we drive too fast, we drink brandy and then go run across a rugby field at an international game and get planted so hard into the turf, we wake in time for the next World Cup. It’s who we are!

ALSO READ: Ford Ranger Tremor is much more than just a pretty face

Permanent all-wheel drive

Moving to road tests and away from rugby tests, our Ford Ranger Tremor joins the Wildtrak X as the only 2.0-litre models (using the bi-turbo diesel with 154kW/500Nm that come with Ford’s full-time four-wheel drive system. This system in turn uses an electromagnetic transfer case (eMTC) mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission with an advanced eShifter and electronic parking brake.

What this means is that you have the convenience and safety of permanent 4WD in 4 Auto (4A) mode which is suitable for both on and off-road driving.

While the system also includes 4 High (4H) that provides an equal split of the power delivery to the front and rear axles for driving on loose surfaces, and 4 Low (4L) for tackling the tough off-road stuff.

There’s also a two-wheel drive (2H) mode which disengages the front axle for rear-wheel drive only and this is how our Ranger Tremor is mostly used as it is a city slicker, like most R1-million bakkies are.

Ford Ranger Tremor burdened by extra drag

But because of the off-road toughness upgrades of Bilstein dampers and chunky 265/70 R17 all-terrain General Grabber AT3 tyres, and the 24mm higher ground clearance and 30mm wider track, there is more drag and more Ranger Tremor to get through the air and this works against the Ford in posting good performance times on tar.

The 0-100km/h time of 11.66 seconds the Ford Ranger Tremor clocked in The Citizen Motoring‘s road test puts it near the bottom of the table, while the Amarok 2.0 BI-TDI Life 4Motion stays at the top with a 10.38sec run.

In the middle of the table the D-Max 3.0TD V-Cross 4×4 holds onto a solid second with a 10.59sec run.

The surprise of the year so far, the Toyota Hilux 2.8 GD-6 48V, jumps from bottom to third thanks to some electrical assistance, with a run of 10.96sec.

Heavier on fuel

The extra drag of the Ford Ranger Tremor double cab also hurts fuel consumption. So far we have managed to keep it at around 11.3-litres per 100km, but it takes some effort to keep it here.

The bottom line is that the more off-road ready your bakkie is, the worse it will do on tar, and I think we all get that. I guess you could say that the Tremor is more suited to playing in the bush than it is cruising around the city. If you want a city slicker, then check one of the other Ford Rangers better suited to your urban needs.

The Tremor retails for a suggested R978 600 and this includes a four-year or 120 000km warranty. Customers have the option of purchasing a service or maintenance plans up to eight years or 135 000km.

Ford Ranger Tremor vs others