When Warragul City Ford threw the keys to the XLT Ranger at us, the first thing we wanted to do was get it dirty. The wet stuff hadn’t fallen from the sky for a few days, so we scrolled through the 8” colour touch screen and found the closest unsealed roads on the Sat Nav. After putting it in “D”, the gearbox went through its ten, that’s correct folks, TEN, silky, smooth forward gears to take us off the bitumen and onto some corrugated, muddy tracks.
 

Mated to the Euro 6 compliant, 2.0 litre, 4-cylinder turbo diesel, the Ranger doesn’t feel as though it’s working too hard to get moving. There was a bit of turbo-lag and a moment to think before choosing which gear suited the pedal input best, but that aside, the Ranger’s 157kW @3750rpm and 500Nm @1750 – 2000rpm boogied along nicely.
 

Optional 18” wheels gave the car an impressive stance and while the engine noise inside the cabin was noticeable (but bearable), the tyre noise was minimal.
 

All nice and clean, the combination of tasteful chrome highlights and Meteor Grey, metallic duco, means the Ranger still looks the part driving through Melbourne’s inner South East.
 

Look out the window from the leather accented seats (optional) and admire the higher ride stance in the reflection of shopfronts, Monday through Friday and come the weekend, take it out into the wilderness, park it on the top of a hill, turn back, admire and think, “next time, I’ll pop the van on the back and spend the night”.
 

The XLT comes with a tow rating of up to 3500kg braked and a good sized, lined tub offering 1549x1560mm of space, with 1130mm between the wheel arches letting you throw plenty in the back. Like most Dual Cabs in its class, there are heaps of places in the cabin to store stuff and the XLT even offers a chilled section in the centre console.
 

For anyone that likes to crunch numbers, the XLT weighs in at 2197kg. Subtract this from its 3200kg GVM and you have a payload of one tonne with 3kg to play with. But while you have the calculator out, consider that fully loaded with passengers and gear, your tow weight might be a little closer to 2500kg.
 

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the Ranger for long enough to go through anywhere near the 80L of Diesel its fuel tank can hold, but if the claimed, combined fuel economy of 7.4l/100km is anything to go by, we would have gotten far enough away to really test out the Hill Descent Control, Hill Launch Assist and Load Adaptive Control, which right now, are really only words in the sales brochure, but the word on the street (or the bush) is they do what they’re all meant to do, exceptionally well.
 

Enjoying connectivity to the world via your mobile phone using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a very “techy” entertainment system are highlights for everyone in the cabin to enjoy, while the driver can take comfort knowing it’s loaded with driver aids and safety systems not limited to Cruise Control, ABS and Airbags.
 

If you like what you have read about the XLT Ranger, or wanted to check out some of its cousins available in Dual Cab, Single Cab, XLS, Wildtrack, etc. or its big beefy brother the Raptor. Use the Eziway Car Search feature to find which one best suits your needs and budget.
 

AUTHOR

Nick Kotsonis | Corporate Relations

T 03 8768 5777

E nickk@eziway.net.au