Ford Ranger XLT shines in duel with Toyota Hilux double cabs
· Citizen
When the current generation Ford Ranger was rolled out in 2022, we referred to the 2.0-litre single turbo derivative as the Blue Oval’s “best kept secret”.
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Despite the retuned single turbo oil-burner’s outputs of 125kW of power and 405Nm of torque being 7kW/15Nm less than before, it punched well above its weight.
In clocking a time of 11.02 seconds from 0 to 100km/h in XL 4×2 guise, it destroyed the previous generation’s single turbo by over three seconds. It smashed the 157kW/500Nm bi-turbos from before by almost one and a half second.
Even the retuned 154kW/500Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbos in the current Ford Ranger generation were under threat. These managed to beat the single turbo by a mere three tenths of a second.
The main reason for the single turbo’s revival was its six-speed automatic gearbox. The models from both the previous gen single turbo and bi-turbo as well as the current bi-turbo all featured 10-speed automatic transmission, a box first introduced to the bakkie in 2019.
Six-speed box booted
But the six-speed auto box was dropped in the recent Ford Ranger model range reshuffle. The 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel, the 2.0-litre single turbodiesel and 2.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which has effectively replaced the bi-turbo diesel, are all mated to the 10-speed box.
Sadly, the single turbo’s performance has suffered at the hands of the hardware change to the extent that we can’t call it Ford’s “best-kept secret” anymore. During our high-performance test of the XLT 4×4, the best time it clocked from 0 to 100km/h was 12.61 seconds. In comparison, the single turbo 4×4 with the six-speed box ran an 11.74.
The Ford Ranger XLT ride son 17-inch black alloys. Picture: Jaco van der MerweMake no mistake, the new 10-speed single turbo’s sprint time is still very much on par with that of the 3.2-litre five-cylinder (12.34 seconds) of old and the previous bi-turbo (12.45). And it shows how far we have come when a bakkie range’s entry-level mill is on par with what used to be the flagship powertrain.
The dip in the Ford Ranger’s sprint time is nothing dramatic, but it shows that the change to the 10-speed transmission is nonetheless a step backwards from the six-speed box. Ford’s decision for the change is likely not a local one despite the bakkie being built in Silverton, but rather in line with its global strategy. But the fact that it went from 10-speed to six-speed only to revert back to 10-speed is still a bit puzzling.
What it does ensure is that the gap in performance between the single turbo and the 3.0-litre V6 and 2.3-litre petrol‘s is significant, unlike when the bi-turbo was still around. It means that if you want proper sub-10 second grunt, you’ll have to dig deep into your pockets.
Value for money
Taking into account what the Ford Ranger XLT offers over and above the base XL model, we still think it offers good value for money. It looks very good despite not sporting a Sport, Wildtrak, Tremor or Platinum badge.
The XLT comes standard with LED headlight and daytime running lights, LED taillights, black roof rails, side steps, flexible rack system and black 17-inch alloy wheels.
The XLT comes with the latest Ford SYNC4 software. Picture: Jaco van der MerweInside it features a 12-inch touchscreen infotainment system with SYNC4 and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and 8-inch digital instrument cluster. It also has keyless entry and push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, auto headlights, dual-zone climate control and rear-view camera.
Creature comforts it misses out on compared to its fancier siblings are leather seats, leather covered steering wheel and gear lever, electronically adjusted front seats and heated front seats.
What is also impressive about the Ford Ranger XLT is the level of safety systems over and above seven airbags, dynamic stability control and hill-decent control. Advance systems include adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring, front collision warning system and autonomous emergency braking.
Despite the slight performance downgrade, the XLT still offers plenty of bang for your buck. The Ford Ranger is South Africa’s favourite double cab for a reason and the XLT has an important job at taking on lower to mid spec models of its fierce rival, the Toyota Hilux.