First up: FX4 Max, the best of town and country

These are the best of the most popular Rangers yet to grace New Zealand’s roads, tracks and trails.
Impeccable on-road manners, bi-turbo diesel engine, ten speed transmission, and a Fox suspension that borrows from the sheer genius that underpins the current Ranger Raptor. Welcome to the current-model Ranger FX4 Max, soon to be superseded by the new range of Rangers.
The FX4 Max has been around a while, in fact the vehicle we tested has almost 9,000km on the clock and has been a media vehicle for more than a year. But this review is not about the newest of the new, this is about how well New Zealand’s most popular vehicle has matured and how relevant it remains on road and track as the all new ‘next-Gen’ range of Rangers bears down on our shores. As the FX4 Max arrived in the driveway, the new Rangers were being quietly offloaded from a car transporter down at the harbour and Ford had more than 4,000 very firm expressions of interest for the new kid in town.
The FX4 Max is a special edition Ranger. It is an upmarket ute that’s also a rugged off-roader and it sits between the XLT and more expensive Wildtrak and Raptor variants. In a country where the Ranger is not only the most popular ‘commercial’ vehicle but usually also tops the overall sales statistics, the story will be pretty familiar to most: a dual-cab pickup with part-time dial-selectable 4WD, Australian-developed suspension package and the 2.0-litre bi-turbo engine and ten-speed auto that most Ranger buyers want. The engine makes 157kW and 500Nm of torque, which is sent to the wheels through the standard 10-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy on the open road hovered between 8.1 and 9.2l/100km, dropping closer to 10l/100km in urban running.
The highlight of the local (Aussie) development work is the use of 2.0-inch monotube Fox dampers both front and rear, with those at the back gaining a remote reservoir for hardcore off-road use.
This is Raptor without the bulging guards and bossy decals.
Working alongside the new dampers, the FX4 Max has the same coil spring suspension up front and leaf spring set-up out back that all Rangers have, the difference being the local effort put into engineering the suspension for ride and refinement.
A big thumbs-up to Ford for delivering us a Ranger kitted with a set of what many say are the best all terrain tyres in the world too: BF Goodrich’s superb All Terrain T/A. Look closely on the sidewall of these tyres and see the words ‘Baja Champion’. It’s no idle boast.
Together, tyres and suspension deliver a supple and sure-footed ride on and off-road.
The BFGs are fitted to 17-inch alloy wheels in a dark metallic grey that complements the black paint of this test vehicle.
Between the suspension tweaks and those wheels and tyres, the FX4 Max has 19mm more ground clearance than the XLT, also gaining improved approach and departure angles. That also translates to 256mm of clearance under the rear diff, which is the lowest point of the new truck. The frontal approach angle is 31 degrees, ramp-over angle is 25 degrees, departure angle 23 degrees and the wading depth is an impressive 800mm.
The test vehicle came with a towbar, and the extra clearance meant the difference between grading the offset mudholes of the test route. Many rival offerings fitted with towbars have skimmed the tops off these bumps when driven here.
And let’s be honest, is anyone going to buy an FX4 Max and not immediately fit it with a tow bar? The FX4 Max retains Ranger’s 3,500 kg towing capacity, and will carry more than 900 kg in the wellside. That would be rather a lot of firewood.
Cosmetically, the new/old truck FX4 Max also gains a new grille treatment that boldly announces its ‘Ford-ness’; grey bumper inserts, a front skid plate, grey wheel arch mouldings, grey side-mirror caps, and grey doorhandles. It also gains body-mounted side steps, in-tub lighting and power point, that tow bar, and the wellside has a full-length ‘sports bar’. The latter remains until the proud new owner rushes off to get a nice new canopy for the rear cargo area.
Those side steps deserve mention too. Among so many double cab ute step designs, these are the best thought-out we have experienced. They fall readily to where we expect them on entry or exit, and that ultra-grippy surface never failed us. The front door steps align perfectly with the grab handles as driver or passenger climb into the cab.
We bashful, polite Kiwis should count ourselves lucky too. Ford New Zealand is so dialled-in to the national psyche that we have been spared the garish red and black ziggy-zaggy decal offered (or maybe compulsory) in the Lucky Country.
Inside, the FX4 Max pretty much matches the XLT in specification, though the seats drop down to fabric/suede rather than leather. Not the end of the world, the combo is in keeping with the character of the truck and adds a visually lighter touch than cowhide in black.
The dash display, infotainment and switchgear placement are all in Ranger style too. There’s the 8.0-inch SYNC3 infotainment system we have come to know and love in Ranger and Everest variants, with all the usual Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a great GPS, and an exceptional interface. The SYNC3 system really is exceptional. We do gauge the vehicles we drive from week to week by the ease with which we can connect our elderly smartphones, and the Ford is right up there. It was not necessary to employ a teenaged IT specialist to connect.
Our only tiny niggle was the temperature controls with the air conditioning – hard to see if also wearing sunglasses. Surely Aussie engineers had that one on their list?
One niggle, one thumbs-up. A small touch on the dash impressed us no end: Ford has thoughtfully added a pod of hard-wired switches for accessories: lid tray lighting, ditch(kerb) lights and the frontal lightbars we all love and always only use off-road (right?). The six switches are already live, run through a fuse box and take power from an uprated (250 amp) alternator.
There’s a raft of Ford driver and safety aids such as adaptive cruise control, AED with passenger detection, lane keep assist and a pin-sharp reversing camera that has some of the best guide graphics in the business. On urban roads we did switch off the stop-start function, which became slightly annoying after the third set of lights changed as we arrived but not soon enough to keep the engine running. But that’s just us, old school till the end.
We drove the FX4 Max on and off road, on a mission to Hamilton and back and then through a wee track we use quite regularly with mud-holes dried to the consistency of concrete by our long hard dry summer. We visited a couple of new places as well.
All run in 4Hi, barely a hint of tyre scrabble. Silt, clay, gravel but disappointingly no mud. Sigh. Never did get to use the electronic rear diff lock.
Through it all, never once did the truck give cause for a ‘hmmm’ moment or prompt a “can’t wait for the new one” thought. Where some utes get to feel a bit dated as we wait for the fresh wind of ‘life cycle’ change-over, the FX4 Max helps the Ranger stay relevant and modern in ergonomics, feel and driver dynamics.
In the mad months leading up to the imposition of the ute tax, Ford struggled to satisfy demand for all its Ranger models, and we can see why. Nobody who managed to secure one of these utes through that period, or even in the post-tax run-out months heading up to the arrival of the new Ranger in July, has any cause to feel a twinge of buyer’s remorse.
Truly the best of town and country in one vehicle.

SPECIFICATIONS
2021/2022 Ford Ranger
FX4 Max
Engine: 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel
Max power: 157kW at 3,750rpm
Max torque:
560Nm at 1,750-2,000rpm
Transmission: ten-speed automatic, part-time 4WD, electronic rear diff lock
Economy: 8.0l/100km*
Emissions: 210gm/km
Suspension: Independent double wishbone coil sprung front suspension; leaf-sprung rear. Fox shock absorbers.
Wheelbase: 3.220m
Turning circle 12.7m
Towing: 3500kg braked
Brakes: Ventilated disc brakes front, drums rear
Wheels/Tyres:
Aluminium alloy 17X8/BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A, 265/70 R17
Ground clearance: 256mm
Kerb weight:
KANCAP safety rating: 5 star
Price: there is little availability of stock as Ford prepares to launch the new ‘next-Gen’ Ranger. FX4 Max Rangers started at $70,490. Pre-loved, late model, pre ‘ute tax’ FX4 Max Rangers with up to 8,000 km on the clock are selling for $65,000-$69,000.