Ford Ranger XL’s single turbo tough enough for any towing job

A double cab bakkie these days needs to be way more than just a workhorse for lugging around junk on the back.

It must move your family around safely and in comfort too, while offering a full suite of luxury and technical spec. The next-gen Ford Ranger has all these bases covered. It will come as no surprise that this this bakkie is South Africa’s car of the year for 2023.

It is a genuine all-rounder now that is at home in any situation from the bush to the suburbs.

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Ford Ranger XL

We are lucky enough to have a Ford Ranger in our long-term test fleet. Last month I was on about how I thought our entry level XL would be more than up to the task of playing as it would be working hard. But when I said this, it was mostly a lot of unproven talk as our Ford Ranger had only gone through its first tank of diesel and I certainly hadn’t towed anything yet.

Now I can report that we are some 4 300 km further down the road in our journey with the Ranger XL. And despite a varied mix of driving that is slightly more skewed towards urban type commuting, we are averaging an excellent 9.1-litres of diesel per 100 km. The claim by Ford is 7.5-litres per 100 km and I have no doubt that when we get out and do a proper open road trip, our number will continue to drop, and settle more in line with the claimed number.

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Despite our Ford Ranger XL being the budget beater double cab in the range, it comes standard with Ford’s comprehensive Dynamic Stability Control system. It incorporates ABS, Load Adaptive Control, Roll Over Mitigation Traction Control, Trailer Sway Control and Hill Launch Assist.

The business of towing

And heaven forbid something go wrong and you are involved in an accident, these Rangers offer a full complement of seven airbags. Two in front,one on either side and curtain airbags, as well as driver’s knee airbag.

Anyway, let’s move on and get back to the working hard part. In addition to accommodating a full euro pallet in the back, the Ford Ranger is also rated to be able to tow a full 3 500 kg of braked mass. But many will think there is no way this new base 2.0-litre single turbodiesel engine with its 125 kW of power and 405 Nm of torque will be able to cope.

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Sure, my race car and trailer don’t weigh anywhere near 3 500 kg, but car and trailer come in close to 1 800 kg. Roughly the weight of a very large double axel caravan.

And you must remember that this XL spec Ranger had the grunt to perform just as well as the much more powerful bi-turbo XLT when put against the clock.

Towing a cinch

Full disclosure, I don’t try and tow at 130 km/h like some cowboys do. I prefer to set the speed cruise at 100 km/h on the open road and chill while the Trailer Sway Control and all the other traction systems remain on high alert and do the hard work for me. So, I was quietly confident that my first towing adventure with our Ranger XL would be a cinch, and it was.

Of course, you know you are towing some fairly heavy precious metal. A meaty 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel is nice, but for me our XL proved to be more than enough for what was asked of it.

The Ford Ranger XL 4×2 Double Cab 6AT costs R563 500 and includes a standard four-year / 120 000 km warranty. You have the option of purchasing a service or maintenance plans up to eight years or 165 000 km.