Right. I know. All you really want to know about the new MY (short for Model Year btw) 19 Ford Ranger line-up is this, right?
What’s the new twin-turbo 2 litre engine (standard in the new Raptor but optional here for an extra $1K on the Wildtrak) really like?
The answer is ‘really, really good’ and I honestly can’t fathom the ‘no substitute for cubic inches’ grizzling going on across the Tasman at the moment as Ford accepts the inevitable and looks to a future beyond the in-line five-cylinder 3.2 litre TD power plant which has proved so popular to date.
With both Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz making much of their own large capacity V6 TD engines I can see why Ford itself might be concerned. I can also see the arrival of the two V6 engines into the marketing mix as rich pickings for all the keyboard warriors and water cooler/car park lip flappers out there.
But sorry guys I am the one who 1) has actually driven a Wildtrak powered by the new engine, and a Wildtrak powered by the old ‘un.
On the road and off it, and for a good couple of hundred kilometres, not just round the block in a dealer demo. And I can tell you that, mated to Ford’s similarly all-new 10-speed auto the twin-turbo two-litre four is easily a match for the 3.2 litre five and its six-speed auto.
Key to the new three model (XL, XLT & Wildtrak) line-up here is the ‘fine tooth comb’ upgrade made to the chassis and running gear, plus the addition of even more active safety systems (and their associated acronyms).
Included is Inter-Urban Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with Vehicle Detection and Pedestrian Detection plus Semi-Auto Active Park Assist (which, at the push of a button, lets the vehicle take over and do your parallel parking for you), now standard on Ranger Wildtrak.
As outlined in our news story on the 2019 Kiwi line-up last month, most of the changes – like upgraded front (new antiroll set-up) suspension and new spring and damper rates front and rear -are under the skin.
That said all three lines get subtly upgraded new grilles, nose cones and bumpers, Lift Assist on all (Wellside) models with tailgates, plus keyless entry and a push button starter/fob key upgrade.
The suspension upgrades have been made to reduce and better control roll, with an emphasis on improving the driving experience when fully-laden and towing, and have been engineered to work with all the many and varied driveline electronic packages now standard.
These include Dynamic Stability Control System (DSC) incorporating Trailer Sway Control (TSC), Hill Start Assist (HSA), Hill Descent Control (HDC) on 4x4 XL, Load Adaptive Control (LAC) and Roll Over Mitigation (ROM).
MY 19 Ford Ranger RRPs start at $37,990 for a 4x2 XL Single Cab Chassis Cab, 6-speed automatic transmission, 2.2 four cylinder and heads through the $63,990 for what is currently the most popular model in the local line-up, the 4x4 XLT Double Cab Wellside, 6-speed automatic transmission, 3.2 five-cylinder.
If it is a WIldtrak you want expect to pay $70,990 for the 4x4 Wildtrak Double Cab Wellside, 6-speed auto 3.2, or $71,990 for the one with a 10-speed auto 2.0 litre four.
That just leaves the range-topping 4x4 Raptor Double Cab Wellside, 10 speed auto, 2.0 BiTurbo, for which you will have to shell out $84,990!
To read the full story in the December 2018 issue of NZ4WD go to Zinio.com (November 17) or purchase your own hard copy at the Adrenalin store.
