If you ignore the rather awesome Raptor, the Wildtrak V6 is the pinnacle of Ford’s Ranger lineup.
Not that you should ignore the Raptor, because it is absolutely fantastic, but if you are wanting a Ranger with everything that can tow the full 3500kg and carry a tonne in the tray, then the Wildtrak V6 is the only choice for you. For now, at least – there is a Platinum version coming.
Of course, the new Ranger’s biggest party trick is the rather excellent 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 that replaces the old 3.2-litre turbo diesel inline five from the last model; when hooked up to the refined version of Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission, it makes for one of the sweetest and velvety-smoothest experiences in the modern ute segment.
But here’s the big question – is the Wildtrak actually worth the $5000 jump over the Sport? After all, $82,490 is a considerable amount of money to spend on a ute, and while the Sport V6’s $77,490 asking price isn’t exactly bargain-basement, it’s a lot closer to what a last-gen top-spec Ranger would have cost you.
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So, what do you get for your $82,490? Well, quite a lot actually.
For starters there is that brilliant V6, but that brilliant V6 also brings a rather excellent full-time 4WD system along for the ride. This means not only do you have a system that is thoroughly capable off-road, it is also brilliant on-road, particularly in the wet, effortlessly reining in that traditional rear end silliness utes display in the rain. This is the first Ford Ranger where you can actually give quite a lot of throttle on a wet motorway and not have to stop and apologise profusely to the driver of the car in the lane next to you, whose wing mirror you nipped off with the back of your tray.
You only get the full-time system with V6-engined models, which alone is a convincing argument for the Wildtrak and Sport, but the Wildtrak has a few extra tricks up its sleeve. But, admittedly, most of them are just nice things to have, rather than essentials.
On the inside, the Wildtrak adds lots of Cyber Orange highlights, zone lighting, heated and powered front seats (the Sport only has power adjustment on the driver’s seat) and a larger 12-inch infotainment touchscreen, while on the outside it gets a different style of 18-inch alloy wheel, a unique front grille design and roof rails.
Probably the biggest exterior difference, however, comes at the back, with the tray getting a slick “sport hoop” in gloss Boulder Grey and a very cool (and completely showy) powered retractable tonneau cover.
Whether all of this is worth the extra $5k over the Sport V6 is really just down to personal preference – like I said earlier, none of it is necessarily essential, but that retractable tray cover is very cool.
Regardless of how you feel about that though, the basic package underneath is still deeply impressive.
On the road the Ranger is poised and impressively comfortable, eclipsing the competition as far as ride and handling goes – something that the last one already did, so this one just makes it a bit embarrassing, really.
Now though, there is an extra layer of refinement thanks to that burly V6, which while not Raptor-powerful, is so effortless and silky-smooth in its responses that going back to a four-cylinder ute (yes, even Ford’s own biturbo four in the Ranger) feels like a massive step down.
But before this turns into a complete love-fest for the V6 Ranger, it’s certainly not perfect.
While the connectivity is easily one of the best available today in terms of ease of set up, staying connected is another thing altogether. While the Bluetooth connection is fine, wireless Android Auto is infuriatingly flaky and constantly drops out.
It also feels like Ford has tried a bit too hard to be clever inside the Ranger, with the fancy big touchscreen in the Wildtrak being confusing and clunky to navigate, while the gearshifter is as finicky and easy to miss the gear you want as it is in every Ranger and Everest that has it.
While Ford’s 10-speed automatic can be a bit busy when hooked up to the 2.0-litre biturbo engine, it is perfectly matched to the V6 and its relaxed, torquey nature. But that doesn’t mean it is perfect either, with the occasional harsh, clunky downshift if you catch it by surprise with a hefty throttle application.
These are relatively minor annoyances, and something that both the Sport and Wildtrak V6s suffer from, which really doesn’t answer that original question – is it worth spending the extra over the Sport V6 to get the Wildtrak V6?
My gut feeling is no. But that powered roller tonneau is very cool.
FORD RANGER WILDTRAK V6
ENGINE: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6
POWER: 184kW/600Nm
GEARBOX: 10-speed automatic, AWD with low-range transfer
CONSUMPTION: 9.6l/100km
PRICE: $82,490
