This is the best-selling vehicle in Australia so far this year, and in flagship Wildtrak form with the V6, the demand far outweighs supply. What makes the 2023 Ford Ranger so appealing in today’s market? Let’s find out.
Firstly, it’s a ute. Everyone wants a ute. Whether consumers are attracted to the adventurous lifestyle they portray or whether many buyers genuinely need a tray-type vehicle for work and play, or perhaps a combination of both. We’d say it is a combination, because how many ute owners do you know that don’t actually require or use 4WD or the tray in the back that often? I know at least three people. And that’s fine. Ford, like many other brands, has cottoned on to this new trend.
The Wildtrak is perhaps the most fitting variant for those lifestyle-seeking buyers, because it looks cool and comes with many car or SUV-like features and conveniences. With very few drawbacks or sacrifices. You can get it with a revised 2.0-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel developing 154kW and 500Nm, or a new (for the Ranger) 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 based on the US-based Power Stroke unit, churning out 184kW and 600Nm. The V6 is the pick in our opinion not just for its performance but also for its effortless cross country nature and superior grunt for towing.
Prices start from $71,190 for the V6 and drop back to $67,990 for the 2.0TTD (excluding on-road costs). That is a lot of money, but if you look at an equivalent top-spec SUV of this size, albeit with seven seats, you’re looking towards 80 or even 90,000 dollars. Like most industries, the new car market has seen various price hikes across the board, mainly due to semiconductor shortages and associated repercussions.
2023 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 – THE SPECS
[column width=”47%” padding=”6%”]Engine: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6
Output: 184kW@3250rpm / 600Nm@1750-2250rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Drive type: Part-time RWD/4WD, locking rear diff
Wheels: F & R: 18×7.5, 255/65
ANCAP: Five stars
Tare weight: 2335kg
Power-to-weight: 12.69:1 (kg:kW)
Official fuel economy: 8.4L/100km
Economy during test: 9.6L/100km
Fuel capacity/Type: 80L/Diesel[/column] [column width=”47%” padding=”0″]Power efficiency: 21.90kW:L/100km
0-60km/h: 3.96 seconds*
0-100km/h: 8.40 seconds*
60-110km/h: 5.92 seconds*
1/4 mile: 16.17 seconds at 141.1km/h*
Max acceleration: 0.640g*
100-0km/h braking: 3.56 seconds at 45.75 metres*
Max deceleration: -0.952g*
Decibel at idle: 46*
Peak decibel at 60-100km/h: 75*
Priced from: $71,190[/column][end_columns]
* Figures as tested by PerformanceDrive on the day. Factory claims may be different
2023 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 – THE PACKAGE
The new model looks tough, with its rigid jawline and hard edges, and then the Wildtrak adds a range of dark grey highlights for that fashionable contrasting theme. Ford put in a lot of effort to try and meet customer demands when creating the new model, so it fit things like an integrated step at the rear corners to make it easy to access the tray, retained a step surface along the full width of the rear bumper like on the previous model, and pre-wired and pre-drilled various points on the vehicle to make it easy to fit up aftermarket lights and accessories. You can even option ARB accessories right from the Ford showroom, covered by factory warranty.
It doesn’t just look good. This is a well thought-out workhorse as well, offering an impressive payload capacity of 951kg, a braked towing capacity of 3500kg, and it offers a good gross combination mass of 6400kg. Minus the kerb weight of 2399kg and then minus 3500kg for towing and you’re still left with 501kg for cargo and passengers. A lot of dual-cab utes on the market don’t leave you with much when calculating the true load capacity. The Wildtrak also adds a powered roller blind for the tray area, and a durable tub-liner and a power socket.
Underneath it all you’ll find a revised version of the Aussie-developed T6 platform, with heavy-duty live axle rear suspension with leaf springs, and an independent front end. The Wildtrak also comes with all-terrain tyres as standard (optional on lesser variants), and a rear differential lock and a ‘4A’ four-wheel drive driving mode – 4A (4 automatic) essentially allows you to drive on sealed surfaces without risk of driveline wind-up, while being supported by the safety and stability of four-wheel drive.
Inside is where we think Ford has done a fantastic job. This interior blends everyday practicality with modern and useable tech, while improving on the already-good ergonomics and material quality of the predecessor. The full-size 12-inch touch-screen on the Wildtrak stands tall and proud, but it’s not overly complicated and load times are decent. Most of the menus seem logical in structure, however, we’d like to see a better main home menu hub, because, as it is, there are a lot of pull-up and pull-down tabs but no central screen. We think it’s nice to have that grounded feeling of a home that you can always return to if you’ve dug too deep into a menu.
The driving position is basically perfect, which is not very common in these dual-cab utes. You have full steering column adjustment, up/down and in/out, and the seat mounting makes you feel like you’re sitting in the cabin rather than on it. There’s also ample storage areas around the place with cup and bottle holders, a centre box, multiple device charging options including a wireless phone charger, and good passenger space.
Rear passengers get climate vents and charging ports, as well as cup and bottle holders. The seat back is also carved out to look a bit like the front seats, with contrast stitching adding some flair. Headroom and legroom levels are at the top of the class.
2023 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 – THE DRIVE
As we’ve said before, it’s probably best to think of this V6 as a replacement to the old 3.2L five-cylinder, rather than view it as a performance unit just because it has six cylinders. Rest assured, it goes really nicely and offers strong low-end torque and effortless highway cruising. Acceleration is good, and easily clears all other four-cylinder models, like it should. But it’s probably not as quick or as punchy as you might expect for a V6. After multple tests on a private road using a Vbox, the best 0-100km/h we saw was 8.40 seconds.
That was only achieved by building the revs on the brake pedal first to pre-load the driveline and turbo boost. Simply nailing the throttle resulted in a best time of 9.23 seconds – very close to some four-cylinder rivals that we’ve tested. Now obviously 0-100km/h sprints don’t tell the full story, even though that is what we focus on in our videos (below) – we do these tests purely so you can compare different models in the same class, tested on a level playing field; same driver, same location, same testing equipment.
However, there has to be some level of performance expectation that’s attached to a V6, like any vehicle that is available with an optional larger engine. And with a time of 8.4 seconds, we just think this might fall below some buyers’ expectations. For us, around 8.0 seconds would be have been nicer. We think a lot of it has to do with the way the engine, and 10-speed transmission in fact, responds to full throttle. The combination is not sharp or especially urgent in nature. Very smooth and refined, yes. But mellow rather than mad when provoked. The engine never seems to get angry. Even our decibel gauge showed a maximum reading of just 75dB during 60-110km/h full-throttle acceleration. That’s impressively quiet, let alone for a diesel truck.
Another part of the problem (or potential problem depending on your performance expectations) is the weight of the Wildtrak. At 2.4 tonnes, it is a hefty one. Perhaps Ford was too busy packing so much into this vehicle that it forgot to maintain a decent weight management program? But again, the V6 performs fine if you’re not expecting too much from it. As an effortless cruiser, it is sublime. Mid-range pick-up is unstrained but relentless, providing safe overtaking in relatively short distances. All 600 of those Newton-metres are available from just 1750rpm, so it is ready to rubble right away.
Out on the road we love how easy it is to drive. This does not feel like a truck, at all. It behaves much like a large SUV, to be honest. The steering is evenly-weighted and you can feel a bit of what’s going on with the wheels, in terms of where they are placed on the road and how well the body is controlled. Surprisingly, it remains very flat and clean when steered through a twisty mountain road. The all-terrain tyres will protest if pushed reasonably hard, as expected, but such information is telegraphed through the steering with respectable accuracy.
The ride quality is okay for a ute, but rivals with coil springs at the back do provide a softer feel. But then, they are not as heavy duty. In the front the comfort levels are higher due to the coil springs, while rear passengers bounce around a little bit compared with an SUV. Compared with other utes like this though, the Ranger Wildtrak is right up there with the best of them. And you don’t have to be hauling a heavy load in the back to achieve acceptable levels of comfort.
Fuel economy is actually pretty decent, including in the real world, as you tend not to lean on it so much. In fact, you don’t need to push very hard to get the job done. Say you want to hastily move off from the traffic lights because you’re in a rush, except you don’t want to stand out and look like a nutter. In this you can apply 30-40 per cent throttle and it’ll swiftly whoosh away. Do that in the four-cylinder option and you just won’t get as far ahead. You need to push the accelerator harder to achieve the same thing, in other words. So in the long run this is why we think fuel consumption is relatively decent in the real world. We averaged 9.6L/100km and the official is 8.4L/100km.
Off road performance is excellent. With this engine it strides up big steep hills with no troubles at all, using its huge torque reserves to churn the terrain. The Wildtrak features very helpful frontal camera views which can be activated by the off-road mode button, and you even have a range of terrain select options to suit various conditions. In all honesty, we don’t think these modes are absolutely necessary as the Ranger will conquer most tracks with relative ease. Especially for a standard production vehicle.
2023 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 – THE VIDEO
2023 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 – THE VERDICT
It’s easy to see why the new Ranger is on its way to becoming the best-selling vehicle in Australia. We think it’s because it competes in a high-demand segment at the moment, but also because it ticks a lot of boxes. Including some lower-priority boxes, even though the thought and innovation behind these less-important areas is clearly focused on customer consciousness.
The integrated aftermarket readiness, the tough design that’s also extremely practical, and the SUV-like driving experience with majestic low-end grunt from the V6, all results in a compilation of greatest hits for the top-end ute segment. We guess the main concern about buying one is actually down to getting hold of one, as supply is only trickling in.
[column width=”47%” padding=”6%”]PROS:
– V6 option provides effortless country-conquering grunt
– Integrated aftermarket readiness
– Best interior in its class for layout, practicality and technology
– Drives like an SUV on the road
– High level of standard, advanced safety tech
[/column] [column width=”47%” padding=”0″]CONS:
– Demand outweighs supply by a big margin
– All-terrain tyres suffer in braking performance
– Digital screens could be more refined in layout and graphics[/column][end_columns]
As always, if you’re thinking about buying a new car don’t forget to click here to speak with our car buying specialists.
