Ford Ranger

We push a Ranger Raptor to the limit off-road. Can it handle the punishment?

Ford has a new performance icon – and this time there's not a Mustang badge in sight. The end result redefines performance as we know it.

Should you upgrade from the old, to the new 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor? We answer the question by comparing the pair.

We test one of the Ford Ranger favourites, the Wildtrak, to see if one of our picks of the previous range remains a solid proposition.

Sales of new motor vehicles in January 2023 continued their upward trend amid strong demand.

Different car markets have different needs and tastes, so who is buying what around the world?

The new-generation Ford Ranger pick-up for North America could be in showrooms in the second half of this year.

Ever wondered what it is like to experience advanced safety systems in a car crash?

All four-wheel drives aren't created equal. There are some interesting developments challenging the status quo.

We go off-road racing to answer the burning question of which is faster: The 2023 fast Ford Ranger Raptor or the furious KTM 300 EXC bike?

We delve into the data to analyse the running costs and overall pricing of Australia’s dual-cab utes, crowning the segment's best value pick.

I purchased the Ranger as a demo over 12 months ago, with 3,000 kms on the clock. it was a replacement for my 15 year-old Prado which had high fuel usage (petrol) and struggled towing my van. This vehicle also needed to be a competent 4WD, diesel, and I liked the ute idea to throw surfboards and bikes in the back, along with extra storage for when we go away. It also allows me space to through waste and vegetation to dispose of. And of course if a mate needs a hand with a move, i can assist. When i started looking at my options, I did a pretty detailed review of a variety of makes, including the Ranger, Triton, Hilux, and D-Max, and at the end the Ford Ranger ticked all the boxes for me. From the first time I sat in it, I was immediately impressed with the comfort and seating position of the Ranger, and the performance of the 2.0L bi-turbo, linked to the 10 speed automatic, as it made for a smooth and effortless drive. I also test drove the Ranger 3.2 and Triton, but found both to be less refined and clunky. My XLT has the usual technology features (somewhat advances from my 15 year old Prado) and i also got the tech pack which included lane assist, adaptive cruise control, and active park assist.. Whilst fuel economy is good, I would like to see a larger fuel tank offered (rather than an OEM product), and a tighter turning circle would be advantageous. Constant 4WD like to Prado had would also be useful in certain conditions. With 3 teenage kids in the back, AC should be offered, and for those long hauls, the kids have requested softer seats. Not sure why as the front ones are great. I have a soft tonneau cover over the rear so a lockable tailgate would be useful, just as a slight deterrent for when there are items in the back. So far with 25K on the clock, no issues and the Ranger does both city and country driving with ease. It pulls my 2T van effortlessly, and provides reasonable economy at 14L/100.

I first purchased my 2016 XLT Ranger second hand last early last year. It was my second ranger in as many years. The first one being a PX1 manual, which I regretted from the day I got it. This time I was determined to do it properly. PX2 in auto and modify it to my liking. Compared to the PX1, the PX2 is largely the same. The driveline, engine and drivability are the same, aside from the electronically assisted steering in the later model PX2. The upgraded infotainment in the PX2 is a welcome change. The colour touchscreen makes life a lot easier and the LCD screens flanking the speedo on the dash make displaying information a breeze. There is, however, some issues that remained from the earlier PX1 that were never addressed. The ongoing intercooler pipes splitting is an inherent problem with the Puma 3.2 motors and when matched with the automatic gearbox, they have a bad habit of blowing rear main seals (my own included). I found the manual in my PX1 to be more responsive and consistent with travelling up hills on the freeway, something which my auto PX2 struggles to do without going back several gears. The auto gearbox problems don't stop there either. The changes at low speed can sometimes be clunky and will jolt the car when there is no acceleration. It can also be somewhat unrefined when changing from drive to revere and seems to take what feels like an eternity to engage the selected gear. Other owners have also reported ongoing DPF issues and regular problems with, albeit minor, air conditioning fan/actuator noise however these have been mostly covered under warranty. Forgoing all the minor gripes, the 3.2 Puma motor is astoundingly smooth and has plenty of torque at lower speeds. On the highway its quiet and effortless getting reasonable fuel economy (12.3L/100km on average) with 33' tyres and ARB bull bar. At times I would like to have a little more power in the middle rev range as it noticeably dies off over 3500rpm, but being a turbo diesel, this is to be accepted. Overall, despite some issues (rear mail seal and crank seal- both covered under warranty) the car has performed as I have needed it to. It has capably gone off road, done multiple interstate road trips and done odd jobs on weekends. Having driven the PX3 and Raptor models, I think the 3.2L option will remain the most popular. I would consider upgrading to the PX3 with the 3.2L option and 5yr warranty that Ford now offers.

I’d been scrolling through CarAdvice for some time leading up to buying my WildTrak in the hope of reading an owners review on the new PX3 WildTrak before pulling the pin. After realising no one had written one up yet I thought I’d write one up with my initial impressions of the WildTrak in the short time I have owned it. I may write up long term owner review down the track if there are any developments that warrant a mention. On that note, let’s get stuck into it. After 6 glorious years in my old faithful Holden ute, and having grown tired of abysmal fuel economy and only 2 seats, I finally decided it was time to part ways and upgrade for a newer, more spacious and economical Ute. I had a few dual cab Ute’s on my short list; namely the Amarok V6 Ultimate for its refinement and power, the Colorado Z71 for its looks and reliability, and the Ranger WildTrak for its revered reputation for being a remarkable all-rounder. Thankfully, having mates with the aforementioned Ute’s in one trim level or another made it easy for me to get familiar with the underpinnings of each without the pressure of a pushy car salesman looking over my shoulder. As refined as the Amarok felt behind the wheel, I couldn’t get past the cramped rear seats which were likely sacrificed in aid of a deeper tray, and the lack of rear side curtain airbags and other tech we are coming to expect as standard; particularly given the Amarok’s price of admission. The Colorado’s Duramax engine felt lively and keen, and the whole package felt tough as nails, but the infotainment system felt dated and the cabin to me just didn’t feel that special for a flagship model (without considering the HSV Sportscat). There wasn’t anything severely wrong with the interior, it just felt bland and underdone; for me an appealing interior is integral to my day-to-day enjoyment. However I will note that I wasn’t at all fond of the Colorado’s steering wheel; it was reminiscent of a circa 2005 Astra. That left the Ranger. The grunt from the 5-pot engine coupled with the electric steering made the Ranger feel nimble and much smaller than it actually is. With the tech, interior, looks and performance on offer, I found the Ranger to present the best value proposition, and so my mind was made up. Yes the Ranger has its shortcomings, but none were so significant that I wouldn’t be able to live with them; more on that later. Having frequently driven my mate’s 2015 PX2 Ranger, I had grown quite familiar with the performance to be expected of the 3.2L engine, and was keen to test out the spritely new 2.0L bi-turbo for its advertised improvement in fuel economy, power and refinement. Many will always believe that there is no replacement for displacement, but I was open minded about the new engine, and decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. After going for a test drive in a bi-turbo XLT, my mind was made up. $1,200 for a more refined and powerful engine seemed like a small price to pay; particularly when that cost may one day repay itself through the anticipated long term fuel savings from the more efficient engine/transmission combination. I had originally settled on purchasing a new XLT, but after pricing one up with the safety tech packages and other OEM accessories, it came very close to WildTrak pricing. The black and grey trim on the WildTrak also proved more alluring to me than the chrome trim on the XLT, and in the end won me over; if that wasn’t already obvious. I ordered the 2.0L bi-turbo WildTrak in Magnetic (Ford’s take on a gunmetal grey) with a black nudge bar, black wheel pack, rubber tray mat and Bridgestone Dueler D697 A/T tyres instead of the standard Bridgestone Dueler D684 H/T tyres. I would have preferred the option wheels to be matte black like the Raptor wheels but I can live with gloss black; they’ll look plenty matte with a layer of dust and dirt on them! Ford offers an assortment of tyre options at various price points, but I settled on the tried and tested D697 due its reputation for being a great all-rounder with regards to all terrain ability, fuel economy, durability and longevity, road noise, and cost. I know many Rangers are bought with the intention of jacking them up and slapping on a set of muddies on 20+ inch wheels, but I won’t be going down that avenue as I think it looks superb in its stock configuration with OEM accessories. Plus, I wouldn’t be able to get past the ostentatious and overly gaudy look of muddies on 20s; not to mention the impracticality when it comes to fuel inefficiency and road noise, given I’ll be driving predominantly on black top. A lift kit is also unlikely to be in my near future as the Ranger barely clears my garage roller door as it is; I’m also unlikely to be doing any off-roading serious enough to warrant a lift. The only aftermarket modifications I have undertaken (if that’s what you would call them) have not been performance based. I had Vini and Anna down at Adelaide Paint Protection clear coat and tint my Ranger with a Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra ceramic coating and Suntek CXP window tint; I would highly recommend them for any Adelaidian looking for superb customer service and a stellar final product. I’m super thankful Ford opted for a more subtle trim in the new PX3 WildTrak; I never could quite understand the appeal of the ghastly bright orange upholstery trim in the PX2. The new leather trim with orange stitching provides a great balance between a premium feel and sportiness. Yes there are hard plastics around the place, but I find the cabin to be an overall comfortable place to be and quite pleasing to the eye. The Ranger has most of the standard amenities we would expect of a 2019 model vehicle. The most noticeable absence to me was the lack of blind-spot monitoring; I would presume that if a vehicle is advanced enough to have autonomous emergency braking and semi-autonomous parking, it would almost certainly have blind-spot monitoring as a standard inclusion. The lack of second row air vents is also worth mentioning, although this has yet to be an issue for me personally. A heads up display would have been a welcome addition, but I can certainly live without one. In comparing the drive of my PX3 to my mate’s PX2, I definitely notice the reduction in road noise penetrating the cabin; Ford’s active noise dampening works wonders and adds to the Ranger’s already venerable reputation of being a superb tourer. Sync 3 proves to be a user friendly and welcomed upgrade to the Ford line up; although Sync 2 wasn’t terrible, the improved interface and faster execution pushes Sync 3 further in the right direction. One of the standout improvements from Sync 2 to Sync 3 is the sat nav address search bar; rather than having to enter the suburb, street and number in different sections, you can now search for an address through a search bar type arrangement which provides predictive text suggestions as you type; similar to a normal Google search bar. The keyless entry and push button start/stop is also a nice tech amenity; albeit one we have also come to expect as standard in this day and age. With regards to the exterior, the addition of daytime running lights, HID low beam lights and LED fog lamps is a vast improvement over the archaic and antiquated halogen globes; it’s only a shame they didn’t update the halogen high beams. Yes the mixture of halogen, HID and LED seems a bit odd and counterintuitive, and yes cutting edge LED would have been ideal, but the HID low beams are a functional improvement and a welcome step in the right direction. LED taillights would also have been nice in keeping with what is generally on offer these days, but nothing I couldn’t live without. I’ve remedied my dislike of the high beam halogen globes with an LED high beam kit from Australian owned and made Stedi; they’ve proven to be a vast improvement, particularly when country driving at night. The LED high beam kit and the auto high beam function made driving in country pitch black darkness much more comfortable; the Ranger was able to recognise from distance, the headlights and taillights of other cars as well as streetlights, and was able to perfectly time when the high beams were switched on and off, so as to not blind other motorists. Having years of experience with the weight of an unaided tailgate, I was super excited by the PX3s new spring aided tailgate; particularly when the tailgate on a dual cab ute sits a lot higher compared with the low tailgate of a sports ute that I had grown accustomed to. It didn’t disappoint. Being a frequent camper, shooter and occasional removalist (under duress of course), the spring-loaded tailgate makes life so much easier when it comes to lugging gear in and out of the tray; particularly when you find your hands preoccupied and your elbows end up nudging the tailgate shut. Being used to a traditional hard tonneau with cargo height limitations, the roller shutter tonneau is a welcome addition for me; even if it takes up room in the tray when retracted, that a hard tonneau otherwise wouldn’t. It is also worth noting that the locking mechanism on the roller tray uses a traditional key; while the tailgate locks and unlocks with the central locking, the roller shutter tonneau does not. As most are probably aware of with the current generation Rangers, the width of the tray between the wheel arches can handle a standard 800mm x 1200mm Euro pallet, but there’ll be no joy with a standard 1165mm x 1165mm Aussie pallet as it falls short by a bee’s phallus (about 25mm in this case). While frustrating and potentially a deal breaker for those who need a dual cab for that purpose, I can’t foresee it being an issue for me; worth mentioning nonetheless. With my transmission experience limited almost entirely to 6-speed manuals, my baseline for automatic transmissions is somewhat limited. Overall my experience with the 10-speed automatic has been positive. I haven’t noticed it struggling to find the right gear or shifting too early or late; even at low speed. The manual gear shift buttons on the side of the shifter seem a bit unnatural to me but aren’t a huge issue given I’m unlikely to use them unless towing a significant load. Sport mode was a surprise for me though; when compared to Drive mode, it typically selects a gear lower, holds that gear a little longer between shifts, and when it does shift, does so faster. It makes for a surprisingly energetic transmission which proved quite enjoyable and exciting when touring through the back roads of the Fleurieu Peninsula; although expect your fuel economy to take a slight hit. Some will surely disagree but I don’t feel like the engine is undercooked; although I haven’t had any behind-the-wheel experience in the Ranger Raptor, I’ve read many reviews about how underdone the 10-speed bi-turbo feels. I feel like the engine suits the more subdued personality of the WildTrak. Yes it can’t compete with the Amarok’s V6 with overboost in terms of straight line acceleration, but I haven’t had an issue overtaking at highway speed and find the 2.0L bi-turbo to be plenty powerful for my needs, and far more enthusiastic and refined than the ever capable 3.2L. In terms of fuel economy, against the claimed combined fuel economy cycle of 7.4L/100km I managed 8.9L/100km on a recent trip touring the Fleurieu Peninsula with 4 adults, a packed tray and some spirited driving in Sport mode; not bad given the mileage claimed by Ford would have been under optimum conditions with no passengers, an unladen tray and highway terrain tyres. However, under day-to-day conditions with a fairly even mix of urban and highway driving, I achieved an average of around 9.6L/100km; not terrible but still nowhere near the claimed 7.4L/100km. Steering wise the Ranger feels light at low speeds but firms up appropriately at high speeds; when driving my partners car I couldn’t believe the weight of the hydraulic steering wheel. You may be able to feel what the car is doing better with hydraulic steering, but I find electric steering is certainly more fuel efficient and comfortable day-to-day; although this is me comparing only 2 cars and obviously does not speak for the broader market. The Ranger leaves you yearning for little, but having come from a sports Ute, I do miss the deep, trembling cold start rumble; although I’m sure my neighbours don’t! I have yet to do any serious towing or off-roading so I won’t provide an opinion on that front, although I may comment later on in a long-term owner review. What I noticed soon into my ownership of the Ranger was how great the ride height and comfort is. After being in a sports ute for so many years and having the impact of every tiny road imperfection reverberate through to my very core, I was astonished at how composed the Ranger is over rough and uneven road; I don’t think I could bring myself to ever go back to a sports ute, not that its even really an option anymore. I know this thesis-length review will be too long of a read for some, but I wanted to provide context around my particular scenario; including the decision making process and how fit for purpose the Ranger is for my needs and lifestyle. Like any dual cab, the Ranger does have its shortcomings; in the form of a lack of blind-spot monitoring, odd sports shifting arrangement and archaic halogen high beams. However none of these are significant enough for me to regret my decision in the slightest. The WildTrak may not do any one thing superbly, but it does a lot of things damn well, and that’s enough for me. With all of that in mind, I’d definitely recommend the bi-turbo PX3 WildTrak to anyone looking for a solid, comfortable dual cab packed with plenty of tech and stellar looks. It’s not hard to see why the Ranger regularly sits at the top end of the dual cab Ute segment.

When looking for a replacement for my previous ute a little more than a year ago, I was set on getting the safest one available at that stage. The Ford Ranger was on top of the pile, and therefore the search ended with a slightly used 2017 3.2 XLT 4x4 Auto. My first Auto, it might be my last for a while. More on that later. The thing that really impresses me with this Ranger is the great NVH suppression that Ford done. It does make for an overall pleasant ride, especially on corrugated roads, even considering it's leafsprung. Our family has travelled roughly 9000km this year alone on gravel roads for camping/overlanding. The vehicle does carry a load very well. In town fuel efficiency sits around 6.5km/L, which is not great, fully loaded for overlanding I average around 9.2km/L, which again is great. We have had no mechanical issues at all with this vehicle. We did however have a broken pre-filter (aftermarket) that had us stuck in the middle of nowhere. Long story short (on how I found an element), I got my hands on an old geyser element and cut the thermostat pipe off (8mm pipe) and bypassed the filter. I have had some strange electrical phenomenons after extensive gravel road traveling though. My one rear parking sensor screamed that there was an object closeby for about 2 days, then it vanished again spontaneously. I've also had the indicators randomly start blinking at hyperspeed inside the vehicle (outside all lights worked and blinked at normal speeds), combined with the rear display showing I have a trailer hitched (I've never towed a trailer with this car). This issue also self resolved itself within a week. The power of the 3.2 is nice, it's obviously not V8 Cummins, but it is up to the task for anything I need from it. It drives well in beach sand - I just manually select the gear I want, as sometimes to much torque gets you stuck. In the dunes the Auto reacts quickly to manual downshifts when you are running out of puff and the crest is so close...Putting the brake and engine traction control off after every re-start on sand does get a bit tiresome sometimes though. In my country Android Auto is just irritating. No Apps work with it, except obviously Google Earth, but our mobile network is average and our data usage expensive - so why would I want to plug my phone in and out everytime I get in and out the car. Updating the Sync 3 is also an issue - but I digress, this is more of a third world country infrastructure trying to marry with first world technology issue. Another plus is all the aftermarket goodies available for the vehicle, this makes overlanding even more enjoyable and a lot safer many times. So what do I think they can do better? Well, it is a very good vehicle for what it is, and I would recommend it to a certain demographic. Small things, there is no light around they key hole where you start the car...the steering wheel obviously blocks the interior roof light so its completely dark. You are then left to stab your steering column in the dark like someone trying to fight off an attacking leopard. Tie-down hooks in the tub...there is not enough, for grocery shopping in town, or securing your things when overlanding. It's a safety issue, we need more low and high hooks please Ford. So, after doing about 15 000km this year in it I have come to the realisation that the Ford is a great vehicle. The issue with it is me. The Auto is causing me to loose the skill of manually driving 4x4 tracks and dunes. It's like learning a new language, and then deciding I'm never speaking it again after you mastered it. The vehicle has too many electronics - they make life so easy - but it creates a falseness somehow. The electric steering assist has caused me to eat through the stock front tires (Michellin CrossContact) causing chunking because I turn the wheel (effortlessly) whilst standing still on a high traction surface to be able to reverse park (I do it everywhere). When driving on gravel there's no switch to flip between air flow from outside to circulating air inside when someone is approaching at high speed and the dust looks like a A-bomb cloud behind him. You have to look down, somewhere between all the other buttons of niceties is that circulation button, where is it again? I can go on, but I hope you see my point, and even see my utter foolishness. My foolishness reaches to the point where I am sitting now wishing there was a solid front axles alternative from Ford. I will sell this car, and I will buy from another brand, this vehicle is great, but it's too great for me.