insideKENT Magazine Issue 47 - February 2016 | Página 126

MOTORS
2016 FORD RANGER cont.

Ford Ranger 2.2
Duratorq TDCi 2198cc
Double Cab Limited 4x4
Price OTR: £24,671
Engine:
2.2-litre 160ps or
3.2-litre 5-cylinder 200ps, both
available in manual or automatic
Top speed: 109 MPH
0-62MPH: 11.8 seconds
Economy/CO2: 171 g/km
Fuel consumption:
43.5 MPG combined

Once you've finished playing with all the stuff
inside the Ford Ranger, you finally come onto the
very pleasurable experience of actually driving it
in the great outdoors; and it is definitely not an
anti-climax. Firing up the engine (which varies
from a 2.2l to 3.7l Duratorq TDCi depending on
which model of Ranger you choose) results in a
wonderful roar of purposefulness and potential
power, giving you an instant impression that the
Ranger is not to be messed with. As you roll
away, the 6-speed automatic transition gearbox
is smooth and efficient, selecting sensible
gears and allowing the engine to never sound
like it is struggling.
Usually we compare how a car performs on
country roads, motorways and in town. The
Ranger is great at all of these. Long distance
driving is comfortable and smooth, and the Ranger
also feels at home in the countryside, eating up
those windy lanes. As for in-town driving, okay
you'll need a bigger parking space, and you will
turn many heads with the Ranger's fine good
looks, but you never feel like your driving
something TOO big; somehow the Ranger
manages to fit right in.
But here's the really good bit: yes you can drive
in all those boring roady places, but it also drives
through rivers, and up and down the sides of

126

mountains, which is rather more interesting! The
Ranger can handle water up to 800mm deep
(that's nearly a meter of water – something that
would make most cars float off...) and its traction
control, hill start and hill descent control features
mean than the steepest of inclines and declines
should not phase you. Additionally, Load Adaptive
Control (LAC) allows the Electronic Safety control
ESC to adapt to the Ranger's current centre of
gravity, making it feel actually very safe at all
times, whatever you have in the back of the truck.
The Ford Ranger is not only big and tough, and
able to do the most rugged work, it is extremely
smart and handsome too. What we call the whole
package. When I was a kid I had a few toy trucks
and dreamed of owning one when I was a grown
up. I have a feeling a few other boys had the
same dream. The Ford Ranger, it seems, may
make those dreams come true.

Haynes Ford Transit-Centre
23 Ashford Road
Maidstone, Kent
ME14 5DQ
01622 616298
www.transit-centre.com