Ford unveils Wildtrak with bold design, smart tech

The new Ranger Wildtrak, the ultimate model in the Ford Ranger line-up, made its debut beginning of the month and is ready to take on the world with a new array of smart technologies and an even bolder look on top of that for one of the world’s toughest and most capable trucks.

To mark the Wildtrak clearly as the flagship of the Ranger lineup, the Wildtrak comes with projector head lamps and a bold trapezoidal grille with strong outboard nostrils finished in a dark, liquid metallic gray. The same accent color continues to the side mirrors, door handles, side air vents, bed rails and tail lamps for a dark, sporty appearance.

More aggressively styled, the new Wildtrak features design elements like rectangular fog lamps and a unique sports hoop that emphasise the unique nature of Wildtrak and gives it a more technical, refined appearance.

Sitting high on exclusive 18-inch alloy wheels, and with bold Wildtrak graphics, the new design communicates a fearless sense of adventure. Even the Wildtrak’s signature orange color has been tweaked to help it stand out from the crowd.

The Wildtrak is also available in cool white, black mica, aluminum metallic and metropolitan gray.

Inside, orange is used as a strong accent color to add a sense of sportiness to a strikingly modern and car-like interior.

It houses a dual-TFT instrument cluster, an eight-inch touchscreen and air conditioning registers. A soft-touch instrument panel top with an orange accent stitch imparts a premium feel to the cockpit without sacrificing toughness.

The new Wildtrak also features unique seats, including an eight-way power adjustable driver’s seat, with bold graphical elements and orange stitching that combine toughness, durability and sportiness. Sync 2, the latest generation of Ford’s in-car connectivity system, gives drivers smarter and safer ways to stay connected.

Using natural voice commands, like “temperature 20 deg C, “play Motörhead” or “I’m hungry”, the driver can control the car’s climate controls, entertainment system and navigation system more easily than ever before. An eight-inch touchscreen places more controls at the driver’s fingertips, with color-coded corners for easy menu navigation.

For extra convenience, the new Ranger features a 240-volt power socket to power a laptop or tablet computer anywhere, even far away from civilisation.

There is also an array of driver assist technologies that help to make your drive more convenient:

• Lane keeping alert and lane keeping aid.

• Adaptive cruise control.

• Forward alert.

• Front and rear park assist.

• Tyre pressure monitoring system.

• Electronic stability programme.

• Driver impairment monitor.

• Emergency assistance.

• Hill launch assist.

• Hill descent control.

• Adaptive load control.

• Emergency brake assistance.

With an ability to wade through water up to 800 mm deep, and with 230 mm of ground clearance, it can handle the most extreme terrains with ease.

A robust electronically controlled transfer case allows drivers in 4×4 models to shift on the fly from 4×2 to 4×4 high with a knob on the center console.

For low-speed torque or additional downhill braking, drivers can also engage low-range 4×4 gearing, while an electronic locking rear differential helps to improve traction in difficult conditions.

These off-road strengths are matched by towing capability of up to 3 500 kg and exceptional payload capacity. The latest generation of Ford’s globally proven 3.2-liter Duratorq five-cylinder TDCi diesel engine powers the new Wildtrak, and enables its impressive capabilities.

Putting out 147 kW of power and 470Nm of torque, the engine features upgrades including an updated exhaust gas recirculation system help to improve fuel efficiency by up to 18%.It is paired to a six-speed automatic transmission, carefully calibrated to maximise performance, refinement and efficiency.

The new Wildtrak will form part of the new Ranger line-up, which will be launched in South Africa in the fourth quarter of this year.