Ford Ranger Wildtrak

FIRST DRIVE Premium pick-up truck offers SUV quality in a workhorse package

- Dean Gibson

THERE'S no arguing with the Ford Ranger's success. It's consistently been Europe's best-selling pick-up truck in recent years, so the arrival of an all-new model is an important moment for the firm. We've already tried the all-new Ranger in high-performance Raptor guise, but now we've sampled what's likely to be one of the most popular versions, the Wildtrak.

The new Ranger is longer and wider than its predecessor, while its new bodywork gives it a boxier look than before to emulate models in Ford's US pick-up truck line-up. While the Ranger is the biggest passenger-carrying model the company sells in the UK, it's actually the small pick-up in the States, sitting between the Maverick and F-150.

C-shaped daytime running lights are the Ranger's new signature to its bluff front end, while traditional wheelarch cladding and Wildtrak graphics return. At the rear, Ford has boosted the truck's versatility by adding a step to the bodywork behind the rear wheel; customer feedback showed that some owners used the old truck's rear tyre as a step to access the cargo area, so Ford has added a proper one this time around.

At the rear, the drop-down tailgate features measurements along the leading edge and holes for clamps so that it can be used as a work bench. That cargo area has slightly larger dimensions than before, and it still satisfies the one-tonne payload requirement that's needed for a pick-up to qualify as a commercial vehicle.