Ford Ranger destroys Toyota Hilux Legend, closes in on GR-S

Remember a few weeks ago when I tested the new Ford Ranger XLT in 2.0-litre single turbo guise?

I thought it was the more powerful biturbo derivative because it was faster than the previous generation biturbo models.

Well, as unexplainable as that was, I got my hands on an actual 2.0-litre biturbo to confirm if I was going mad, or if Ford have engineered some extra horsepower into these new models.

The bi-turbo produces 154kW of power (previously 157kW) and 500 Nm of torque (remains the same), and is substantially stronger than the single turbo (125kW/405Nm).

So I was expecting it to go even faster than before despite there being no hike in the published power figures.

What I wasn’t expecting, was just how much quicker it would be when the numbers popped up on the display of my Racelogic VBOX during The Citizen Motoring‘s high-performance test at Gerotek.

Improved biturbo Ford Ranger

A 0 to 100km/h time of 10.71 seconds makes it almost two seconds faster than the outgoing 157kW biturbo Ford Ranger. And it’s also not far off two seconds faster than the 150kW Toyota Hilux Legend RS that completed the sprint in 12.38 seconds.

The Legend was the fastest Toyota Hilux double cab before the introduction last year of the 165kW GR-Sport (GR-S).

Two seconds? In bakkie terms this is huge and once again I find myself sitting here wondering how this is possible.

There is no extra power claimed on paper and no weight advantage. Yet here are the numbers. And it’s not like it was only the 0 to 100km/h time that was better; right through the standing start parameters the new Ford Ranger was substantially quicker.

Getting to 140km/h from off the line there was a full four-second difference, as well as all the roll on acceleration times were better.

The 60-100km/h time being over one second better and the 80-120km/h time being closer to two seconds, while the longer 60-140km/h pull saw the new Ford Ranger take just short of four seconds off the old one once again.

A tad thirsty

All round, the new 154kW Ford Ranger 2.0-litre bi-turbo setup performs better than the previous 157kW version did.

This said, there is a downside to all this urge. The previous biturbo version – and now the next gen version – like to consume diesel.

You won’t see under 10 litres per 100km unless you are on the open road. An everyday work and back type of driving mix will have this number hovering closer to 11 litres per 100km and beyond.

The single turbo XLT on the other hand only consumed 8.6-litres per 100km when driven around the suburbs and then dropped down to 7.3-litres per 100km on the open road.

The Ford Ranger XLT bi-turbo 4×4 is a very good product at R782 100, but there is no way of avoiding the fact that the single turbo equivalent that comes in at R669 800 is Ford’s best kept secret and is the better choice all day long if you are not chasing power.

Gunning for the GR-S

For the record, I did a “left foot brake” acceleration run. This is where you hold the brake, floor the accelerator and let the bakkie build boost before letting it go.

Because you get past the lag before setting off, the 0 to 100km/h drops down to 10.10 seconds, which is quicker than Toyota’s top-of-the-time-sheet 165 kW GR-S Hilux.

But honestly, I don’t know of a single bakkie owner that sits at the traffic light left foot braking his bakkie till the wheels want to start spinning before driving off.

ALSO READ: Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max and Ford Ranger rule the roost

It is not a realistic, real word, test, but I see more and more publications are including this number in their road test data.

Why I don’t know, but if you ever come across a sober guy doing this while on his way to play golf in a bakkie he is paying for with his own money, please let me and I will reconsider permanently adding this test parameter to my testing process.

Watch this space as we are set to bring you road test data from the 3.0-V6 turbodiesel Wildrak and the tar shredding 3.0-litre V6 Raptor soon.

Ford Ranger road test data

Ford	Ranger Raptor
Model year	2023
Odometer	12 165 km
Test date	21/04/2023
Test temperature	10 Degrees
POWERTRAIN
Engine capacity	3.0-litre V6
Induction	Twin turbo
Fuel	Petrol
Driven wheels	AWD
Transmission	10-speed automatic
ENGINE OUTPUTS
Power	292 kW @ 5 650 rpm
Torque	583 Nm @ 3 500 rpm
Licensing mass	2 430 kg
Power to weight	120 kW / Ton
Power to capacity	97 kW / Litre
ACCELERATION DATA
0-100 km/h	6.90 seconds
1/4 Mile time	15.15 seconds
1/4 Speed	154.43 km/h
1/2 Mile time	23.62 seconds
1/2 Speed	181.53 km/h
Top speed (Limited)	180 km/h
60-100 km/h	3.36 seconds
80-120 km/h	4.31 seconds
60-140 km/h	8.90 seconds
FUEL CONSUMPTION DATA
Claimed fuel economy	11.5 litres / 100 km
Test average	17.6 litres / 100 km
Tank size	80 litres
Range claimed	696 km
Range test	455 km
CO2 emissions	262 g/km
TYRES
Size	285/70 R17
Make	BF Goodrich AT K02
PRICING
Price at test	R1 094 900
Warranty	4-Year/120 000 km
Maintenance/service plan	Optional