Top dog in rough & tumble
When Ford celebrated its Ranger’s decade as the biggest selling utility vehicle in New Zealand, Metropol motoring writer Ben Selby joined in the fun, off-roading at Kauri Bay Boomrock.
One of the most congested and competitive car markets in New Zealand, the ute segment has been dominated by the Ford Ranger for a decade now, with no signs of easing. Celebrating its success at the spectacular Clevedon events property, we found the majority of the current Ranger family on hand to play with, including the XLT, Wildtrak, Tremor and immensely popular Ranger Raptor.
Kauri Bay Boomrock delivered stunning views as we sauntered about its fields and hillsides, and experienced the new Ranger Tremor. It really hits home just how capable modern utes are when it comes to devouring the rough stuff.
Snaking our way down heavily forested off-road tracks with deep ruts and slippery clay was a doddle. Driving along a 27-degree embankment is also well within the Ranger’s capabilities, with our Tremor clinging to the edge like Spiderman.
You think at any moment you would tip over, but you never do. Basically, you will chicken out long before these cars ever will.
Dropping down an equally steep hillside required hill descent control. I was able to control the descent speed between 2kph to 7kph thanks to a toggle switch on the steering wheel. Naturally you also have multiple drive modes like 2WD, 4WD Auto, 4WD High and 4WD Low, the latter being the most effective for journeying up steep inclines as well as down them.
HYBRID PREVIEW
We were given a sneak peak of the new Ranger PHEV. The first plug-in hybrid variant of the Ford Ranger will be on sale in New Zealand later in the year, featuring a 2.3-litre turbocharged Ecoboost four-cylinder engine with 138kW of power. With the addition of an 11.8kW battery pack and 75kW electric motor, you have a combined power figure of 207kW, with torque sitting at a hefty 697Nm.
Accompanying this is Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission. Ford also claims 43km of electric only range, combined fuel consumption of 2.8L/100km and towing capacity of 3.5 tonnes. The Ranger PHEV will be available in the three spec levels, the PHEV XLT at $82,990, PHEV Wildtrak at $89,990 and the range topping PHEV Stormtrak topping things out at $94,990.
While I look forward to sampling the brand’s plug-in power, my day off-roading reminded me how clever and capable the current Ranger is, and why it’s been top dog in sales for the last decade.
