Introduction
Ford was absent from the one-tonne pickup market for five years before returning in 1999 with the Ranger. CM wasted no time in getting to grips with the new 2,5TD 4x4 Double Cab (CM 3-9 June 1999) and took a Ranger Space Cab 4x2 on long-term test (CM 3-9 Feb 2000). We found the Ranger to be a practical CV offering “quality build with a generous specification and an excellent payload”.
But this week’s test subject is the highly-specced “lifestyle” XLT, launched last year and aimed squarely at the leisure market, where load carrying rarely extends beyond mountain bikes and jet skis.
The Ranger series is still built in Thailand as a joint venture with Mazda. Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that 2,835 examples had been sold by the end of October, which puts the Ranger on course to match last year’s total of 3,470 sales.
Product Profile
The Ranger line-up consists of three cab options within eight model choices and 2.5-litre diesel or turbo-diesel engines. The range-topping 2.5RD Double Cab Leisure XLT has a four-pot charge cooled and diesel particulate catalytic converter.
Maximum power is 107hp at 3,500rpm with 266Nm of torque at 2,000rpm. Its naturally aspirated stablemate is rated at 76hp at 4,100rpm with 168Nm of torque on tap at 2,500rpm.
The Regular cab comes with two seats; the Super Cab is a two-pus-two with the rear seat normally used for storage; the double cab offers bigger rear seats and a second set of doors.
The price of the basic model ranges from £10,350 (ex-VAT) for the Regular Cab 4x2, via £10,650 for the Space Cab 4x2, £13,550 for the Regular Cab 4x4 and £15,350 for the Double Cab 4x4 to £16,350 for the XLT Double Cab 4x4. An extra £500 gets you one of 250 limited-edition World Rally Danger Double Cab 4x4s. An optional factory-sprayed metallic paint job costs £210, but comes as standard on the XLT. The estimated on-the-road cost is £632 on top of the list price.
The 4x4 has a two-speed transfer box and automatic freewheeling front hubs; a chrome stick to the left of the gear lever selects 2H for everyday on-road use, 4H for more difficult conditions and 4L for extreme terrain.
Remember that all vehicles with a one-tonne gross payload qualify for VAT recovery and that includes Rangers, with payloads extending from 1,205kg for the 2.5 Diesel Stretch Cab to 1,068kg for our test subject.
Productivity
The Indian summer conditions during the laden part of our test could hardly have been better. The weather even held for our emergency braking tests at Chobham test track (which, for some reason, we now refer to as Qinetiq) – these tests traditionally attract heavy rain and gales to say the least.
The laden Ranger XLT clocked up 30.1mpg round our kent route; significantly better than the 25.4mpg scored by the Ranger 2.5TD Double Cab we tested back in June 1999.
It also beats the Mazda B2500 and the Nissan Pickup 2.5TD Double Cab. The Toyota Hilux 2.4TD 4x4 still sets the class standard with a laden run at 30.9mpg, but that was a single-cab model. Gross payload for the XLT (GVW minus kerbweight) is 1,068kg, but the net payload is advertised as 993kg, allowing for a 75kg driver. Fortunately the VAT rebate does not take account of drivers.
The optional Bjerg liner cab steel loadbed lid is also bound to eat into your payload allowance, but 993kg eclipses the other crewcab pickups CM has tested. However, the load-space sits over and behind the rear axle, dropping the rear clearance height significantly and making the XLT look tail-heavy when properly loaded to legal limit. To spread the load we put some of the weight across the rear seats; this being a four-seater we presume that operators won’t be loading a whole 993kg in the loadspace alone. For safety’s sake we returned the load to the loadspace for our braking tests.
