It’s weird when the familiar becomes unfamiliar and then familiar again. And as I pilot the orangey Ford Ranger on Dubai’s windswept and dusty back roads, there’s something odd about the way it barrels along. Nothing wrong, just odd – it reminds me of something from years ago.
When I stop at a junction then accelerate away from it, I think I’ve discovered why, so I pull over and stop the big Ford. I walk around to its rear and open the fuel-filler cap and there it is, written on a sticker nestling within: diesel. That would explain a lot.
Big diesel engines are commonplace in Europe and other continents; not so much here unless we’re talking artic lorries, construction equipment or the luxury yachts that pepper our coastline. I’ve been here five years, and this is the first diesel vehicle I’ve driven except for a Volvo earth-moving machine and, a lack of knowledge about where to fuel notwithstanding, I don’t know why there aren’t more cars in the UAE so equipped.
The Ranger is first and foremost a commercial vehicle – a pickup truck that can seat five in a crew cab with a load space behind that’s bigger than the floor space in most apartment living rooms. But Ford isn’t content with simply marketing it to the tradespeople of this world because it reckons the Ranger is good enough to be taken seriously as a leisure or everyday mode of transport, too. And on the face of it I’d have to agree.
Mine is the WildTrak version and, for a truck, it looks pretty good. It's not as brash or as vulgar as some of the big American and Japanese pickups with their lashings of chrome and Transformers aggression, but it's not as weedy as the ones that look like normal cars that have been chopped up and had their rears removed. It has gravitas and just the right amount of attitude, but try to squeeze into a normal-sized car-park space and you're reminded that this is still a physically enormous machine.
The interior doesn’t look or feel in any way commercial except for the overriding impression of indestructibility with the choice of materials for trimming the cabin. There’s soft-touch imitation leather liberally applied to the top of the dashboard and the door cards, but the rest seem to be a bit hard to the touch and the seats are upholstered with a mix of cloth and leatherette – it’s all a million miles away from what you’d normally associate with a commercial truck.
Anyone familiar with current Fords will recognise the eight-inch central touchscreen display that is used to operate the excellent SYNC interface with smartphone connectivity, and there are some tasty digital gauges flanking the speedo – it’s all very modern and attractively designed. There’s plenty in the way of safety features, too, with a full complement of air bags, blind-spot monitoring, electronic stability, traction control, hill-descent control and trailer-sway control (if you’ve ever seen a driver lose control with a trailer fishtailing behind, effectively wagging the car, you’ll know how important that one is), although there are no Isofix anchor points in the rear seats, meaning junior’s car seat can’t be used. Which means the Ranger, in turn, can’t be used as a family vehicle like most other moderns.
Anyway, back to that diesel engine. It’s a 3.2L, five-cylinder turbocharged unit hooked up to a six-speed automatic box and, thanks to the extensive soundproofing of the cabin, you can barely hear it. But you can definitely feel the effect of the 470Nm of torque it generates and sends to all four wheels – once you’re in the mid-rev range and accelerate, the Ranger simply surges on a tidal wave of twist that only a big diesel engine can muster. It’s strong, responsive and without noticeable turbo lag, but it’s best to not think of it as a performance vehicle, rather a highly capable and enjoyable method of versatile transport.
While I don’t venture onto the dunes during my time with the Ranger, I know others who have and they’ve been hugely impressed by the way it tackles the rough stuff, often doing so with greater ability than much more expensive and, you’d assume, more suitable cars for desert driving. It can wade through wadis to a depth of 800mm, has 230mm of ground clearance and approach, and generous departure angles that mean you’re not going to tear off the bumpers when dealing with steep inclines.
There’s also the ability to switch from two- to four-wheel drive and low-range gearing is on the menu, too, so the chances of getting hopelessly stuck are very slim.
All in all, the Ranger WildTrak is an extremely impressive piece of kit and represents excellent value for money. I still wouldn’t buy one because pickups aren’t my thing but, if you are in the market for something like this you owe it to yourself to try it out before parting with your money.
motoring@thenational.ae
