New Ford Ranger gives Toyota Hilux workhorses food for thought

Following on the successful launch of the next-generation Ford Ranger double cab range, The Citizen Motoring were given a chance to drive the new single and SuperCab offerings.

Instead of doing a normal little drive, have some lunch, drive a bit more and then go home, we went on an epic adventure from Johannesburg to Gqeberha.

The first leg of the trip was a long but straightforward drive down to the Gariep Dam, just northeast of Colesberg on the border of Eastern Cape and Free State.

The route was all tar and our unladen 125 kW 2.0-litre single-turbo single cab running that improved, smoother shifting six-speed automatic made for an easygoing run. It returned a fuel consumption number of just over seven litres per 100 kilometres. Impressive!

Day two was meant to be a shorter drive down to the Katberg Eco Golf Estate, which is not far from Hogsback in the Eastern Cape. With only one charity stop along the way, a nice early arrival time and a few sundowners were in our future.

ALSO READ: Work ready new Ford Ranger single cab and SuperCab priced

Top-spec Ford Ranger Wildtrak

The day started off just great as we managed to fight our way into a top-of-the-range Ford Ranger Wildtrak SuperCab.

This full-house luxury offering is jam-packed with technology and safety, while it runs the more powerful 154 kW 2.0-litre bi-turbo, married to a 10-speed automatic 4×4-only option.

Our cargo was trees, while some of the other Ford Ranger bakkies were making good use of their load bed space to haul JoJo water tanks and accessories to our stop at a little out-of-the-way community called Tsitsikama.

We were a mere 47km from Katberg and those sundowners – as the crow flies – along a somewhat worse-for-wear dirt road, and rather than go back to the tar and take the long way round, we decided to tackle the dirt.

All too soon these “dirt roads” had become broken up slippery rock gardens. We were not too concerned, though, as we were 100% confident in the capabilities of the new Ford Ranger and were having fun playing in the mud.

ALSO READ: Ford Ranger destroys Toyota Hilux Legend, closes in on GR-S

Crossed wires

Not 20km from our stop, one of the craziest things happened. Hiding in one of the puddles was a piece of barbed wire. This somehow managed to grab a bolt on the propshaft coupling and spin itself around it and cause all sorts of damage.

It took more than an hour in pouring rain for some of the wire to be cut away from the Ford Ranger’s propshaft so we could continue on our journey.

The day was not done with us yet. What we thought was a bad dirt road, turned into a rocky, washed-out mountain pass from hell. It took more than two hours to cover in the dark and wind down to the safety of Katberg.

Food for thought

Somewhat exhausted, thankfully day three was uneventful and saw us head to the airport for our flight home after stopping at the Alice Primary School, where Ford donated a few more JoJo tanks and piping so the kids there could at least have running water during the day.

The Ford Ranger has always been able to hold its own against the Toyota Hilux when it comes to the high-end, luxury double cab part of the segment.

But when it comes to the single cab and extended cab workhorses, Toyota has led the way, and all Ford wanted to remind us that they have offerings that are well worth considering.