There’s a strong hint of American DNA in this new addition to Ford’s all-conquering Ranger range. While the current Ranger is emphatically an Australasian product in character and specification, Tremor’s origins trace back to the same-named version of the F150, Ford’s best-selling pickup of all time and the all-round best-seller in America.
Downunder, the Tremor is a bridge between the regular Ranger family and the slightly mad Raptor with its petrol V6. Clad in all-terrain tyres and equipped with the bi-turbo 2.0-litre diesel engine running through the ten-speed auto and our favourite ‘4A’ transfer case, Tremor makes a strong case for the title best Ranger of all.
It’s fitting that a 4WD magazine scoops the first New Zealand media drive of such a well-equipped Ranger.
NZ4WD picked up the Tremor with just 33km on the clock. That’s not much more than the distance from the car side of the downtown port to its base in Manukau.
Just a week after seeing it for the first time at Fieldays, it’s in the driveway. Our Tremor is even finished in the Raptor-style ‘Conquer Grey’, one of just four colour options.
Anyone who likes to go off-road will love the idea of this Tremor. It’s designed and intended to be a proper go-anywhere truck.
Once, an offroad-capable ute would be pretty bare bones, vinyl floormats and plastic steering wheel, lots of exposed and painted steel inside. Not these days. The Ranger Tremor is right there on spec and tech.
The Ford Ranger line-up has grown rapidly in size since the introduction of the new range. Along with the Ranger XL, XLT, Sport and Wildtrak came a new Raptor with a turbo V6 petrol engine, meaning the top of the range model is now available with either a Euro 6 compliant bi-turbo four cylinder or the 3.0-litre turbo petrol V6.
The Ranger from XL up to Tremor is now four-cylinder bi-turbo diesel only, the V6 diesel engine exclusively available in the Wildtrak.
Options for all users. Slot the coming hybrid in there and the options are expanding month-by-month.
So, along comes the $74,990 Tremor, which looks to capture the hearts and minds of serious off-road enthusiasts. It’s part of the ‘2024.5’ reset of the range and is Euro 6 emissions-compliant.
Like the Ranger Raptor, Tremor sets out to develop its own identity within the range.
Between the signature C-clamp headlights is a unique grille specific to Tremor.
The alloy wheels are unique to Tremor: Asphalt Black machine-faced 17-inch alloy wheels clad in 265/70 R17 General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres. The decision to opt for 17” wheels opens up Tremor to the widest possible range of tyres.
Tremor also has a Raptor-style 30mm boost to its wheel track for increased stability and a ride height boost of 24mm.
The exterior is distinctive. Though they’re not as aggressive as the Raptor versions, Tremor’s wheelarch extensions in ‘Bolder Grey’ are distinctive, as are the cast Raptor-style aluminium side steps.
The wellside is capped by a fat, black and unique bar. Like Raptor, the Tremor carries its name on its rear flanks. Bold, but not shouty.
Under the nose is a robust steel bash plate. Off-road-focussed protection.
Tremor’s unique off-road suspension features position-sensitive Bilstein external reservoir shock absorbers and Tremor-specific springs.
These dampers, along with new springs and the 24mm increased ground clearance, provide additional offroad capability without compromising Ranger’s already impressive 3500kg max towing.
The Tremor’s main selling point is its suspension. The heart of the system is those bespoke Bilstein dampers, designed to give the truck more of an edge in rough country.
If that dirt track suddenly becomes really rocky, the Tremor is better.
If the track is rough and bumpy, the Bilsteins are better.
There’s an electronic locking rear diff too.
On the inside, the Ford Ranger Tremor gets a smart interior, with the model name stitched into the front seat backrests. The driver’s seat is eight-way electrically adjustable; the passenger gets six-way manual adjustment. Only Wildtrack and Raptor get powered seats for the front passenger. The seats are (apparently) vinyl but look very leathery. Indistinguishable.
It’s a place of muted tones, based around an ‘Ebony’ (very black) colour theme.
The contrast stitching on the seats is a subdued grey.
It’s a tall truck to climb into, but the handgrips are well placed, the aluminium side steps are at the right height, and the seats are a simple and welcoming slide-in.
The air conditioning is dual-zone and effective with vents feeding cool air to front and rear passengers. Not all of Tremor’s rivals can say the same.
The driver’s display is an 8” digital cluster shared with all Rangers except Raptor, which comes up to 12”. The ‘portrait’ format centre info display is a 10” version – again, only Wildtrak and Raptor get the bigger 12”.
Safety? Like all Rangers, Tremor has a five-star ANCAP rating. Key systems include Autonomous Emergency Braking with junction assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, a digital rear view camera, blindspot monitoring with trailer coverage and cross-traffic assist.
Driven, it’s ‘Ranger plus’. Those A/T tyres are a revelation on-road, with minimal thrumming from the tread. The spring/shock package is a step ahead of regular Rangers, holding the truck online through the twists and ‘whoops’ of the road to Karioitahi.
On the dune trails, the feel and feedback is well-sorted, the bump and thump of the tracks damped down but still communicated. The front-facing off-road camera is handy when cresting steep-ish brows on the trails.
Clever tech: the Trail Turn Assist system introduced on Raptor is standard. The system brakes the inside wheel when negotiating tight bends in off-road conditions below 19km/h. It reduces the vehicle’s turning radius by up to 25 percent to help navigate around obstacles.
On the dry(ish) sand the truck is unfussed once we remember to turn off stability control. We even help out a family who’ve bellied their Volvo V40 in the mushy black sand. All wheel drive is sometimes not enough – but with a tie-down strop borrowed from a family group fishing further along the beach, Tremor makes light work of the recovery. Pulled back out of it hole in the sand, then pulled forward onto firmer sand. Note to self: sort out the NZ4WD recovery gear into a grab bag to take along on tests from now on.
On the motorway back to base the Tremor is the smoothest of utes. A commanding drive position up above most traffic enables the driver to keep a watchful eye on dumb behaviour further up the road. The cruise back helps trim the fuel economy figures too. The Tremor was reading 14.4l/100km when we picked it up; it came down to 12.2 fairly quickly, then on the road home edged down to 11.2 and briefly to 10.8l/100km. All this was without being silly about driving and including the sand driving. On a trip it shouldn’t be too much trouble to get it down close to the official 10.1l/100km.
In summary, there’s a lot to like about the new Tremor.
That engine: quieter than the original version, it remains the power and torque benchmark for ‘mid-size’ utes, with 150kw and 500Nm. The torque plateau is narrow, as noted in reviews of other Ranger models, but the ten speed auto ensures the engine’s always at or near maximum torque.
That gearbox: Ford has centred its ‘commercial’ range on the ten-speed auto. A ratio for all occasions, and manual shift select using mouse-style buttons on the side of the shifter. The transmission computer has six selectable drive modes: Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Slippery, Mud/Rut, and Sand. Actual manuals are a fading memory.
That transmission: it is our favourite, the torque-apportioning version with the excellent 4A setting giving full time 4WD that can be used on tarmac. It will feed 100 percent of drive to the rear or push more to the front if the steered wheels start to lose grip.
It’s hard to determine any fuel consumption loss when in 4A, and the upside, of course, is the reassurance of that all-paw grip, especially in the wet or on unfamiliar roads. Buying a new ute? We’d go for the 4A transfer case every time.
That suspension: while it’s not the immensely capable 2.5” Fox suspension under the Raptor, the Tremor’s Bilsteins are head and shoulders above the regular Ranger, which are themselves arguably the class benchmark in terms of handling.
All up, the Tremor is ‘Raptor enough’ off-road without being quite the extrovert the Raptor is. It has all the right gear and pampers with a well-specified interior, conveying occupants in comfort and quiet.
At the price, it’s a heck of a package.
