How does the new Ford Ranger Wildtrak Bi-Turbo ute fare in a long-range trip from Melbourne to Far North Queensland and back again?
I blame it on COVID. Why else would I want to drive 4000km from Melbourne to Far North Queensland and then a few weeks later drive back?
There’s no doubt the extended Melbourne lockdowns had driven us all a bit batty, so the desire to get away to some sun and fun was pretty intense – and not just for a few days.
The appeal of flying was at an ultra-low ebb and, besides, my wife Jane and I wanted to take our two Dachshunds Eddie and Lulu with us as well.
Throw in the chance of five weeks driving and getting to know the new Aussie-developed Ford Ranger Wildtrak 2.0 Bi-Turbo and it seemed like a pretty fair deal.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Day 1
Mornington Peninsula to Mittagong
Distance: 840.5km
Speed average: 89km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.8L/100km
Driving time: 9h 21m
A wee stop on the Hume Freeway near Glenrowan was the highlight of our first day’s travel. Not because of the weeing I should add!
A bloke got very excited when he saw us, rushing over to enquire whether I was an owner of the Ford Ranger Wildtrak or if this was a press test vehicle.
Turned out to be a Canadian by the name of Steve Siegal, a Ford engineer based in Melbourne who was part of the Ranger development program.
“We’re really proud of the work we did on this car,” he told me, his enthusiasm obvious and impressive.
We’d already had a good chance to understand why he was so proud. Our initial route around Melbourne’s east had taken us over some lumpen byways and the Ranger behaved with aplomb.
With two adults, two small dogs and about 100-200kg of extra gear onboard, it was supple and refined, much better than you would expect from a typical ute.
The only exterior mod was Rhino roof racks and a bike carrier to fit my Giant Anthem mountain bike. They set up a whistle that was to annoyingly accompany us throughout the trip.
Jane was more impressed by the intuitive adaptive cruise control and the subtle yet helpful lane centring during a freeway stint. Later in the day some extreme wet weather near Goulburn proved challenging for visibility, but not for grip.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Day 2
Mittagong to Nambucca Heads
Total distance: 1429.6km
Speed average: 90km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.4L/100km
Total driving time: 15h 46m
I’ve come to the conclusion people don’t care about new utes the way they used to care about a new Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon.
After two days on the road including various stops at places with plenty of people, Steve Siegel the Ford engineer remains the only person who has shown any sort of excitement about the new Ford Ranger.
I remember going through country towns on comparo tests involving new-gen Holdens and Fords that turned into mini motor shows as people poured out of pubs and shops to check out the new metal.
During a short stop to let Ed and Lulu have a leg stretch our gold Ranger parked nose to tail with a purple Ford Falcon XR6. Heroes of different generation of local Blue Oval development.
We negotiate Sydney’s freeways early on a Sunday morning, including the new NorthConnex tunnel that eliminates the schlep along Pennant Hills Road. The rain that activates the wipers as we emerge is a reminder of the crap weather that’s been going on too long here.
Our admiration for the Ranger remains high. However, that 10-speed automatic is still not quite as refined as Ford has suggested. Every now and then it will do something unexpected; there can be a clunk from the driveline at low speed or accelerating after a long, steady state run on a freeway.
It also dropped into gear rather agriculturally accelerating away from a stop sign and dithered for a few milliseconds between the gears. Disappointing.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Days 3-7
Nambucca Heads to Red Rock
Total distance: 2130.5km
Speed average: 77km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.3L/100km
Total driving time: 27h 28m
The tiny fishing village of Red Rock sits at the end of a back road north of Coffs Harbour. In itself it’s pretty old-school Aussie – some fibro shacks, a bowlo, a caravan park. Being north coast NSW, a headland and some glorious white-sand surf beaches are just a few steps away over a sand dune.
We’re here for a family reunion centred around my Dad’s 90th birthday. Our rental is the venue and the Ranger has been the transporter of a heap of stuff useful for the event. That lockable hard cover has been very handy as it has meant we haven’t had to unload everything at each overnight stop.
But at Red Rock just about everything comes out and with load lightened and some rough bitumen roads in the vicinity the Ranger’s ride has got that touch terser. It’s an unsurprising result and it’s still liveable.
More of this sort of around-town driving also means more cut and thrust for the engine. It’s not got the sheer oomph of the new V6 but it’s still darn strong.
In fact, there was nowhere during this trip where I desperately felt the need for the bigger engine. But our load wasn’t heavy and we weren’t towing, so there is that.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Day 8
Red Rock to Pomona
Total distance: 2654.8km
Speed average: 77km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.2L/100km
Total driving time: 34h 15m
It’s a late start today thanks to family farewells and it comes back to bite us when we get hooked up in Brisbane’s peak hour traffic heading north at the end of the day. That’s why the speed average stayed so resolutely low.
Up to now we’ve been impressed by the intelligent adaptive cruise control, but it gets flummoxed as we clear the traffic and pick up speed on the Bruce Freeway. It’s ignoring the digital 110km/h signs on overhead gantries and instead picking up the 80km/h off-ramp signage and slowing down.
On the flipside, the Matrix LED headlights are proving superb as we head off the highway and into country laneways in search of our accommodation.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Day 9
Pomona to Mackay
Total distance: 3160.4km
Speed average: 76.9km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.1L/100km
Total driving time: 41h 21m
The Sunshine Coast hinterland is a breathtaking combination of green vegetation and blue skies as we head out. The weather’s hinting at being hot, not just warm.
Our delight in the day wanes as the coastal beauty gives way to the grind of endless roadworks on the Bruce Highway. In a few years’ time it will no doubt be great – right now it’s a pain in the rear.
Not that the Ranger’s seats are. The new design manages a delicate balance of firm comfort, support and ample size that make long journeys more pleasant.
Other small touches like the ledge between the glove boxes is a very handy place to stow smartphones.
Less impressive is the lack of a sunroof and head-up display in a $70,000 pick-up. Dunno if that’s a deal breaker but they should be on offer.
Just near the Hervey Bay turn-off we see our first new Ranger – an XLS. Being backlit coming towards us it has an almost indistinguishable ute silhouette, but those C-clamp running lights are unmistakeable.
It makes me ponder how messy the front graphic of the Wildtrak is. There are horizontal bars, angled bits and stuff going everywhere. It kinda works, but there’s a lot happening here.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Day 10
Mackay to Bowen
Total distance: 3695.6km
Speed average: 76km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.1L/100km
Total driving time: 48h 17m
The Ranger Wildtrak comes standard with all-terrain rubber and on the coarse bitumen of the Bruce Highway they are making a bit of noise. Would highway terrain tyres make more sense for most people?
After yesterday’s endless roadworks there is more steady state cruising. The vegetation isn’t as lush either. We are getting into the Aussie bush. More bull bars are more evidence of that.
There are more trains too, as endless lines of freight are hauled both inland and toward the coast.
So many millions of people have trundled north on the Bruce Highway through the decades, seeking everything from winter sun to a change of life.
It is in a pretty crap state. Sections have clearly been affected by floodwaters. There are very wavy holes and lots of big undulations, but thankfully not so many sharp-edge tyre flatteners and wheel smashers.
On this surface it’s easy to feel that basic Ranger softness – an underlying gentle damping compression and release.
It’s comfortable, not jittery, a classic Ranger local tune. They really do it so well.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Days 11-31
Bowen to Magnetic Island
Total distance: 4489.1km
Speed average: 67.6km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.4L/100km
Total driving time: 77h
It was damp and a bit dreary leaving Bowen, but by the time we had completed the relatively short 200km drive to Townsville, done some shopping for provisions and lined up at the Magnetic Island car ferry, the sun was well and truly out.
In fact, for us poor lilywhite southerners, it was blisteringly out. Still, this is what we had come for.
The deep blue water simply looked gorgeous as we chugged across Cleveland Bay toward Magnetic Island, which itself looked deliciously inviting.
There’s no such thing as a long drive on Magnetic and you could certainly survive without a car thanks to the terrific bus network, but there’s also no denying the convenience of your own vehicle.
Sitting on the tailgate watching the sun set over West Point is an unforgettable memory – it’s a place accessibly by a bumpy dirt road the buses don’t travel along.
Driving down a back road to a far corner of Horseshoe Bay, windows down, Dachshund noses sniffing the air, is another joy of the trip.
The Ranger was also particularly handy because of its lockable load box, in which we kept beach and swim gear throughout the trip.
Just wish there was an overhead light in the sports bar so you can better see what you’re fossicking around for at night.
And please do get the FordPass smartphone app available with the Ranger and do sign up. We had to leave the car on the other side of the island from our accommodation overnight because it had locked itself tight as a drum with the key in the load box under the hard cover.
How, you might ask, did it do that? The key was in the side pocket of a beach bag that was among the first things loaded in the box after a pleasant afternoon at the beach. By the time I got back with the second load the car had locked itself because it judged the proximity key to be outside the cabin. Which it was, but it wasn’t outside the locking zone of the overall vehicle. D’oh!
The next morning, after the usual methods of breaking and entering employed by the local representative of the RACQ failed – to the accompaniment of much car alarm wailing – the cover was shoved open with the help of a jimmy bar and some muscle power.
The key was then retrieved and normal holiday service resumed. Thankfully there was no lasting damage to the load cover. And all that could have been avoided with membership of the app. Do it.
The Ranger also started attracting some attention here. Some bloke casually started chatting through the open window one day as we waited for the traffic to move on Horseshoe Bay’s waterfront.
And an island friend who owns an old HiLux was stunned by the sophistication of the interior, especially the huge touch-screen.
By now this feature was something I was adjusted to and almost took for granted. I remain convinced it’s set a bit too low and should be tilted slightly toward the driver. I remain thankful there are still dials and buttons for volume and air-con functions.
Familiarity hadn’t eased my antipathy toward the e-shifter though. It wasn’t quite the annoyance it once was thanks to a bit more familiarity and long hours of set-and-forget driving. But it remained frustratingly unfriendly when it had to be used.
New Ford Ranger 8000km round trip – Days 31-36
Magnetic Island to Mornington Peninsula
Total distance: 7836.6km
Speed average: 77km/h
Fuel consumption average: 9.4L/100km
Total driving time: 120h 09m
So let’s not break the trip home down by day. Let’s just say we weren’t as excited by the journey south as we were headed north. The Ranger bore our mood stoically. It strode on, devouring kilometres.
Over those few days the Bluetooth phone connection worsened. We could hear the calls coming in but they struggled to hear us. Was the Ranger warning us against reconnecting with the world?
Gradually, as we headed south, we crossed less and less Alligator Creeks and spotted more and more new-gen Rangers. A bloke even came over at petrol station to check out our Wildtrak and complain he’d bought one of the last examples of the old model when he should have waited for the new one. I assured him he still had a good vehicle.
The other ute brand we spotted commonly up north was the Chinese GWM. They were everywhere.
We drove out of the NorthConnex in Sydney and wouldn’t you know it, it was raining. We’d been here before.
After we crossed into Victoria, Eddie resolutely stared out the back window where we’d come. It was as if he was trying to remember the route so he could go back. Jane and I understood how he felt.
But our trip south was inexorable. At the finish of it all the Ranger Wildtrak stood in our driveway unphased. Nearly 8000km travelled without a mechanical issue or even a puncture.
Beyond reliability, it was the sheer competence and capability of the Ranger that stood out. It was a wonderful vehicle to choose for such a journey.
COVID pandemic or not, we’d happily do it again.
Keyword: An 8000km trip in the new Ford Ranger