Overview
FORD Australia just lately introduced particulars of its limited-edition Ranger Tremor, an off-road oriented tackle the favored dual-cab utility now out there to order from $69,690 plus on-road prices.
This week, GoAuto was afforded the chance of some ‘wheel time within the Ranger Tremor, placing the mannequin via its paces at a disused quarry north of Melbourne.
However earlier than we get into the small print of the drive, a recap of the Ranger Tremor providing is so as…
The Ford Ranger Tremor comes geared up with the identical suspension upgrades because the Wildtrak X, together with specifically developed Bilstein position-sensitive dampers with exterior reservoirs, 26mm larger floor clearance and 30mm wider observe.
The Tremor additional options full-time four-wheel drive, and a specifically designed inside Ford says may be simply cleaned after off-road adventures.
Based mostly upon the Ranger Sport – and with simply 1150 items out there – the Ranger Tremor additional options 17-inch Asphalt Black alloy wheels shod with Common Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres, bolstered wheel arch mouldings, revised springs, heavy-duty steering rack, and a entrance metal bash plate.
The limited-edition variant is additional characterised by Tremor badging and embossed seats, black Ford oval badges, forged aluminium facet steps, a long-legged sports activities bar, honeycomb grille with auxiliary LED lights and Raptor-style overhead swap financial institution for fitment of aftermarket equipment.
Additional, the Ranger Tremor provides Ford’s Path Flip Help operate to enhance the car’s turning radius off-road, Raptor-sourced Path Management off-road cruise management, and Rock Crawl Mode for improved throttle management on unfastened and rocky surfaces.
As per the Ranger Sport, the Tremor is powered by Ford’s 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel creating 150kW and 500Nm. It’s paired completely with a 10-speed automated transmission.
The Ford Ranger Tremor is out there optionally with Ford’s Touring Pack ($1650), versatile rack system ($2800), guide curler shutter ($3000), idle-stop delete (NCO), and status paint ($700).
A brand new color, Conquer Gray, is unique to the Tremor and joins Aluminium, Arctic White, Blue Lightning, Meteor Gray, and Shadow Black.
Driving Impressions
As an out-of-the-box choice for leisure four-wheel drivers, the Ford Ranger Tremor is a terrific selection for novice and skilled adventurers alike – and one thing of a discount when seen towards its nearest rivals.
Boasting a lot of the off-road tech provided within the flagship Raptor, however with a price ticket nearer to that of the Toyota HiLux Rogue (from $71,530 +ORC), the Ranger Tremor’s solely appreciable downfall is the very fact there are solely 1150 examples on provide.
As talked about earlier, the important thing to the Tremor’s off-road talents are its improved clearance and observe, bolstered by a set of high quality Bilstein dampers, upgraded springs and respectable off-road rubber. The mix provides distinctive efficiency off the crushed observe, Ford’s intelligent digital aids making even difficult off-road antics a stroll within the park.
On street, the firmer rear finish stays, however the Ranger is hardly alone right here. Towards its closest rivals it stays the higher selection and can settle appreciably with a load within the again or a complement of passengers on board.
Whereas we gained’t go into the complete particulars of what makes the Subsequent Gen Ranger the decide of the bunch within the Twin Cab phase – having already achieved that numerous occasions in these pages – we’ll say the Tremor bundle makes an awesome ute even higher. It is a bundle that gives extra of what leisure consumers need with out the thirsty V6 engine.
The predictable and easy four-cylinder unit is a delight to drive should you don’t plan on towing the home and provides accessible torque from early within the piece to make even essentially the most demanding off-road work a doddle.
The ten-speed automated cooperates brilliantly to maintain the mill working in its candy spot. It’s by no means caught napping, seemingly all the time in the suitable ratio for the duty at hand – which is an effective factor contemplating how awkward some would possibly discover the gearshift mounted toggles which are positioned the place the locking mechanism often is (the shift toggles are positioned within the facet of the shifter whereas the locking mechanism is about on the shifter’s vanguard – it will probably take time to adapt to this association).
If we had any complaints from the driveline, it’s that gasoline financial system is a bit of larger than anticipated. On take a look at we managed 11.8 litres per 100km mixing freeway and off-road work.
Even when factoring in our time off-road, the result’s far larger than the official declare (8.7L/100km), putting the mannequin on par with actual world outcomes from the Toyota HiLux Rogue and Nissan Navara Warrior Pro4X (from $71,265 +ORC).
That mentioned, you gained’t discover these rivals providing something just like the off-road ‘smarts’ discovered within the Ranger Tremor.
Hill Descent, Terrain Management, Rock Crawl and Path Flip Help options are splendidly properly calibrated and simple to make use of. Faucet the display and go. It’s so simple that others within the phase may actually profit from a lesson in Ford’s method to tech achieved proper (GWM we’re taking a look at you).
In fact, the Ranger underpinnings praised in different evaluations proceed to shine within the Tremor bundle. The limited-edition variant provides the identical candy steering and progressive braking that has helped make this ute the very best in its class. It factors and rides with near-SUV ranges of poise, and is impressively quiet on the freeway, even with the extra aggressive all-terrain tyres fitted.
Actually, we reckon that with a bit of extra color selection out there within the line-up – and a tonneau cowl rolled into the deal – the Ranger Tremor would nearly be the proper $70K ute.
If you need an off-road-ready dual-cab able to getting farther from civilisation than any speedy rival our recommendation is to suppose fast. At this value – and with simply 1150 examples on provide – we reckon this Tremor will probably be offered out in two shakes… should you’ll pardon the pun.
