The Ford Ranger Wildtrak X has finally arrived in South Africa, having been previewed months ahead of its official debut.
I recently attended the launch of the new bakkie held in the Northern Cape, where the media was given the chance to spend two days behind the wheel to test the noteworthy enhancements of the X over its siblings in the Ranger family.
Desert expedition
The trip began at Upington International Airport, where the Ford team was waiting with a fleet of new Wildtraks ready to go.
Unlike the regular Wildtrak which has access to two engines, including a 3.0-litre V6 turbocharged diesel, the X is only available with the brand’s tried-and-trusted 2.0-litre, bi-turbo mill, but this still did a great job of hauling us from the airport through Upington and towards our destination near the Namibian border on the Orange River.
The journey was split fairly evenly between tarmac and dirt, which allowed us to switch between high-range 2WD and 4WD on the fly and get a feel for how the bakkie performs in both situations.
On the road, the bakkie has more than enough power to keep up with whatever is in front and to overtake it if need be, though it does give the sense that you’ll be weighed down if you choose to travel with a packed trailer – more so than if you had gone with the V6.
The reason for this engine choice mainly comes down to fuel consumption, as the 2.0-litre averages 7.5l/100km while the 3.0-litre does 8.4l/100km.
Where the X really begins to shine is where the asphalt ends and the earth begins, calling its special suspension system to action.
One of the new model’s biggest selling points is its Bilstein-developed shocks, which are intended to provide optimal comfort for long overlanding stretches.
This is something I can attest to, as the Ford’s cabin barely registered the extremely rutty surface as we rode to our overnight halt.
When we arrived, we were able to the high-rider’s other tools to use, namely its Flexible Rack System and its Trail Turn Assist.
The former uses a rack mounted over the rear bed which can be moved to five different positions so as to accommodate whatever you stretch across the roof of the car. In our case, this took the form of a two-man boat signifying the adventurous side of the double cab, which we were able to deploy along the Orange River.
Trail Turn Assist, meanwhile, is a measure intended to partially alleviate the phenomenon of Ford’s bakkies growing ever longer, as it reduces the turning circle by up to 25%.
It does this by applying the brake to the inner rear wheel at low speeds, which allows the five-metre-long 4×4 to seemingly turn on a dime around off-road obstacles like a rock or tree.
All in all, I came back from the event impressed at what the Blue Oval’s latest vehicle has to offer, as it has several selling points that make it stand out from its R1-million Ranger counterparts with the Wildtrak V6 and the Raptor.
Ford Ranger Wildtrak X launch event
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