Ford Ranger 2024 review: Wildtrak X

You could never accuse Ford of not offering plenty of choice in its upper-echelon Ranger variants.

The big kahuna is, of course, the $87,990 Raptor with its mighty V6 petrol engine, and below that the V6 diesel Platinum at $78,190.

This car lands at $75,990, while the V6 Wildtrak lands at $72,390 and the 2.0-litre Wildtrak (on which this car is notionally based) lobs in at $68,490.

Just a couple of thousand shy of that is this car at $75,990, while the V6 Wildtrak lands at $72,390 and the 2.0-litre Wildtrak (on which this car is notionally based) lobs in at $68,490.

Which means, of course, is that the real question revolves around whether the letter X is worth the extra $7500 over the 2.0-litre Wildtrak.

You get plenty of extra standard kit as well as some important mechanical changes in the Wildtrak X.

In many ways, the answer is yes. That’s largely because you get plenty of extra standard kit as well as some important mechanical changes.

Those start with the full-time four-wheel drive setting which means the car can, unlike the part-time all-wheel-drive standard Wildtrak, be driven on tarmac in all-wheel-drive.

That gives it an extra performance dimension as a touring vehicle which is where Ford is pitching it marketing-wise.

Matrix LED lighting.

To help with that, the X gets a set of remote-canister Bilstein shock absorbers which aim to give the car enough bandwidth to cope with true off-roading as well as the sort of remote-area touring that Aussie families seem to enjoy, often towing a camper-trailer.

The shocks keep some of their damping fluid in a nitrogen-charged remote reservoir (rather than in the shock body itself) keeping the fluid cooler and extending the shock’s window of operation in really rough going.

The Ranger’s interior matches the car’s exterior… it’s huge.

There’s a tonne of room in the front and the chairs are generous and well padded. The rake and reach adjustable steering column is also good to see and some of the competition misses out on this.

The huge, portrait-oriented centre touchscreen seems to work well and the integrated navigation is about as good as it gets.

We would, however, prefer a switch for things like the locking rear differential, rather than having to find it in a menu on the touch-screen.

The huge, portrait-oriented centre touchscreen seems to work well and the integrated navigation is about as good as it gets.

Oh, and you’ve got to love the row of blank roof switches just waiting for the owner to wire up a few toys like extra lights, a fridge outlet and maybe even an inverter for charging phones and laptops in the scrub.

The wireless charging pad is a great idea but USB, charging and 12-volt sockets are limited to one of each in the front and rear.

The doors all have wide pockets, but they appear quite shallow for something top-heavy like a bottle. The upper and lower glove box is a his-and-hers masterstroke. But for some strange reason, the bonnet-release catch is on the passenger’s side of the cabin.

The rear seat is typical for this style of vehicle with a steep backrest and not a lot of plushness in evidence despite the leather and suede covering.

Air vents for the rear are limited to centre vents only and with the dark headliner, the rear compartment is a bit cave-like for some tastes.

Meantime, despite all that space, some will find the driver’s door opening a bit tight, especially if you’ve used the side-step to climb in.

And where are the paddle shifters for the transmission? These might seem trite in a pick-up, but off-road, they’re worth their weight in gold.

The tray is the usual mix of decent width with a wish for more length, but that’s dual-cab utes for you.

As it is, the tray can at least take a standard pallet between the wheel arches and the tub is lined with a tough, plastic material that, although it allows objects inside to slide around a bit, should be hard-wearing.

Plenty of tie-downs including moveable ones higher up are a great touch and the standard, electrically operated roller-shutter tonneau cover is nothing short of brilliant.

So is the flexible rack system which allows the load-bearing parts to be located anywhere along the length of the tray and even work in conjunction with the roof rails for really long loads.

The Wildtrak X breaks some new ground here, and while every other twin-turbo Ranger variant has used the part-time all-wheel drive system, the X is the first twin-turbo model to gain the Raptor’s full-time-capable four-wheel drive set-up.

The system still has a two-wheel drive mode but can be switched to high-range four-wheel drive with an open centre differential to cope with bitumen road use in that mode.

The catch is the Wildtrak X can’t be had with the V6 turbo-diesel, instead being fitted exclusively with the twin-turbo, four-cylinder turbo-diesel which nevertheless squeezes 150kW and 500Nm from its 2.0-litre displacement.

The X is the first twin-turbo model to gain the Raptor’s full-time-capable four-wheel drive set-up.

That’s actually down four kiloWatts on the non-AdBlue version of the same engine. The only transmission available is Ford’s 10-speed automatic, but there’s a locking rear differential as part of the package.

Even though it offers permanent all-wheel drive, there is a low-range function giving the necessary gear ratios for serious off-road work, and the full-time AWD platform also allows for 'Trail Control' which acts as a sort of low-speed, off-road cruise-control (below 32km/h).

There’s also 'Trail Turn Assist' which combines the vehicle's brakes with steering input to help initiate sharp turns in tight spots, again at low speeds typical of off-roading.

One of the Wildtrak X’s boasts is that it’s the first Ranger variant to meet the new Stage 6 EU emissions standard for light trucks. But to do so, it requires the use of AdBlue, so that will add a little to running costs.

You’ll need to fill the 18-litre AdBlue tank probably every 12,000 to 15,000km at a rough price of $100 depending on where you buy your AdBlue.

Our real-world test drive netted an average consumption figure of between 10 and 11 litres per 100km, but that included some slow, off-road track use.

Beyond that, the official combined fuel consumption figure is 8.7 litres per 100km which, combined with the standard 80-litre fuel tank gives the Wildtrak X a theoretical range of better than 900km.

Our real-world test drive netted an average consumption figure of between 10 and 11 litres per 100km, but that included some slow, off-road track use.

The importance of safety in commercial vehicles has never been higher than it is now, which is why the current Ranger platform was engineered with the latest passive and active safety gear in mind.

On the passive front, that extends to no less than nine air-bags including full-length side-curtain bags for all outboard seating positions as well as a full-length knee air-bag for both driver and front seat passenger. There’s also a centre airbag which is a novelty in this category.

The active side of things is the job of the latest driver aids including adaptive cruise-control with a stop-go function, lane-keeping assistance, traffic-sign recognition, cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, autonomous emergency braking, post-impact braking, evasive steer-assist, tyre-pressure monitoring and a 360-degree camera view as well as parking sensors at both ends.

It's also worth mentioning the Ranger line-up’s excellent in-built towing functions which not only make towing easier, but also safer in an overall sense.

Despite the fitment of the X model’s front bash-plate the Ranger’s maximum five-star ANCAP rating carries over to this car.