Ford Ranger Wildtrak: ‘Tough image’ now even tougher

General Manager of Marketing at Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa, Doreen Mashinini, has this to say: “The current Ranger has been a fantastic success story for Ford in South Africa, where it remains one of the country’s top-selling vehicles, and the leading LCV export to markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“The new Ranger introduces fresh exterior and interior design cues that build on its ‘tough truck’ image, complemented by the adoption of new t e c h n o l o g i e s that further bolster the Ranger’s established reputation for safety, convenience and comfort.

“With an extensive range of under-the-skin changes, including the introduction of the all-new 2.0-litre bi-turbo and single turbo diesel engines, a revolutionary new 10-speed automatic transmission and a revised suspension set-up, this is by far the biggest upgrade yet for the current generation Ranger, which continues to be proudly produced at Ford’s Silverton Assembly Plant in Pretoria,” Mashinini concludes.

Words that promise a lot on paper, but as you know, we don’t just take any marketing department’s word at simple face value. We test cars and we test them properly. So, we are happy to announce the arrival of a top-of-the-range 10-speed, 2.0-litre bi-turbo, 4×4 automatic Ford Ranger Wildtrak to our long-term fleet.

We will be living with this Ranger Wildtrak until February next year and every last Wednesday of the month, we will bring you updates on what this means to us and you as a consumer, while also getting into the technology and safety that is tucked away under the skin of this “tough truck”.

We will also subject our Ranger Wildtrak to a full-performance road test to see how it stacks up against the competition when the flag drops, so to speak, also do some towing of fast BMW race machinery with it and, of course, take it with us on holiday for a complete all-round Ford Ranger experience.

In case you are wondering what has changed with the Ranger Wildtrak with this latest model u p – grade a n d want to know exactly what you are looking at now compared to the previous model, allow me to tell you.

Up front you now get HID headlamps and LED daytime running lights, a split centre bar and additional venting holes for cooling. Under that, the lower bumper surface is more chiselled than before, again reinforcing its “tough truck” image with a wider, lower grille and silver-accented skid plate.

The larger, more aggressive fog lamp bezels are pushed further outwards and have LED lamps. A striking new Saber Orange exterior colour makes its debut on the Ranger Wildtrak and this is the colour we went for, too.

This colour is matched to a unique dark, titanium-effect finish for the trapezoidal grille and distinctive outboard air intakes. The same titanium-effect accent colour extends to the side mirrors, door handles, side air vents and load-bed rails for a bold and sporty appearance, as you can see in the photographs.

Touching on the interior just briefly, inside you get an ebony black environment, where the painted surfaces are given greater shine and depth. The Ranger Wildtrak’s updated interior delivers a more upscale, sporting appeal, featuring dark-satin chrome elements, a gloss-finish decorative spear and upscale partial-leather seats embossed with Wildtrak graphics.

The seats have been redesigned to be sportier and more luxurious, incorporating additional leather content, carbon-like weave accents and Saber Orange stitching to complete the Wildtrak feel.

Our Ranger 2.0 BiT Wildtrak 10AT 4×4 is currently on sale for a suggested retail price of R678 300 and comes standard with Ford Protect, as do all the other Ranger models, comprising a fouryear/120 000km comprehensive warranty, three-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance and five-year/unlimited kilometre corrosion warranty. A six-year/ 90 000km service plan is included, with 15 000km service intervals.

Catch our next update on July 31 when Charl Bosch, our digital motoring specialist, treks out into the middle of the universe, aka the Free State, to visit family. But it won’t all be holiday, he will also explain the benefits of active cruise control and the likes of lane-keep assistant, both of which come standard on the Ranger Wildtrak.

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