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What's the difference?
The Ford Ranger has been in a back-and-forth top-selling tussle with the Toyota HiLux for a few years now In Australia.
The Ranger line-up is already an extensive one but Ford has now added the limited-edition Tremor to its ute ranks.
Only 1150 Tremors are being sold in Australia and the vehicle is only available as a 2.0-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine in 4WD dual-cab guise, with a 10-speed automatic, and full-time 4WD – it and the Wildtrak X are the only non-V6 Ranger variants to get this more advanced four-wheel-drive system.
The Tremor also gets heavy-duty off-road suspension and steering tune, more ground clearance than a standard Ranger, as well as 17-inch alloy wheels, General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres, and off-road driver-assist tech including Rock Crawl mode and Trail Turn Assist.
The Tremor costs a little more than a Ranger Wildtrak but less than the Wildtrak X, so is it a worthwhile rival to such as the HiLux Rogue or Nissan Navara Warrior, or perhaps even a viable alternative to its stablemate the Raptor?
Read on.
The Cannon XSR is GWM’s new top-shelf ute variant.
This dual-cab 4WD ute is intended as an off-road-focussed vehicle and has visual and mechanical upgrades over the rest of the Cannon stable, including part-time 4WD (not the full-time 4WD on GWM’s lower-spec Cannons), a front differential lock (in addition to the existing rear diff lock), raised air intake (aka a snorkel) and Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres.
It’s priced from $52,990 drive-away, so costs about $7500 more than you’d pay for the standard Cannon X on which this special edition ute is based. But it still undercuts similarly-equipped top-spec Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux utes by about $20,000.
So, with twin lockers, a snorkel, underbody protection and all-terrain tyres, is the GWM XSR worth the extra cash?
Read on.
The standard Ford Ranger is a comfortable ute and a capable 4WD, and while the Tremor treatment doesn’t offer any real enhancement in terms of on-road comfort or handling, it certainly improves an already impressive 4WD’s off-road efficacy.
The Tremor is a sensibly upgraded package with real 4WD boosts across the board – full-time 4WD, heavy-duty suspension, more ground clearance, and decent all-terrain tyres – which make a meaningful difference.
Sure, it’s no Raptor, but it offers enough in terms of dirt-driving advantages over the regular Ranger to give the Tremor plenty of appeal – and it will likely rattle the cages of rivals like the HiLux Rogue and Navara Warrior.
In a very competitive ute market, the GWM Cannon XSR represents plenty of bang for your buck, but it’s just not as refined as you’d hope.
It should be better at this price-point, especially when it’ll be unfavourably cross-shopped with lower-spec variants in the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Toyota HiLux line-ups.
It’s a nice enough vehicle on-road, and the XSR is an effective 4WD on the dirt without ever being truly exceptional – but that’s fine for those who want to save big bucks and still drive away in a well-equipped twin-locked off-road vehicle.
The Tremor stands out from regular Rangers because of its taller stance, 30mm wider footprint (on chunky General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres), and greater ground clearance (second only to the Raptor).
It has a honeycomb grille up front, a bash plate, 17-inch alloys, pronounced cast-aluminium side-steps and a sports bar.
The Tremor also has a raised Tremor badge on the tailgate, Tremor stickers here and there on the outside, and black Ford oval badges at the front and rear are nice touches.
If nothing else, its exterior at least gives the impression that the Tremor is capable of serious 4WDing.
The interior has those aforementioned rubber mats and Tremor-branded stitching to set the Tremor apart from standard Rangers.
Overall, it compares well in the looks department with rivals such as the HiLux Rogue or Nissan Navara Warrior, who both also share an understated gnarliness about their appearance.
The XSR is 5439mm long (with a 3230mm wheelbase), 1958mm wide, and 1918mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 1965kg.
It looks like the mongrel child of a HiLux, Ranger and D-Max – in a good way.
The wider-than-standard wheel track, as well as the snorkel, sports bar, substantial bash plates, tyres and even red brake calipers add to this ute’s presence.
The Tremor cabin is simply a Ranger interior with a few brand-specific touches, so it’s a roomy and comfortable space and scores well in terms of overall practicality.
The multimedia system is a decent size with clear and crisp colours and is easy enough to operate – but you need to repeatedly stab your finger onto the screen in order to work your way through menus and sub-menus to figure it all out. My tip: get your head around all of its functionality – some of it counter-intuitive – while the vehicle is stationary. Also, the fact that some controls are on-screen and some are off-screen creates more than a little bit of confusion.
Driver and front passenger have easy access to storage options, such as centre console, cupholders, door pockets and a pocket-dump shelf, and charging points (wireless charger, USB and USB-C sockets).
There’s plenty of space for the driver and the passengers, front and back, and the seats are supportive and comfortable and only marginally less so in the back row. There’s enough room back there to hopefully avoid any whinging – I sat behind my driving position and had loads of space.
Second-row passengers get a fold-down centre arm-rest, door pockets, map pockets, air-con vents and controls.
The Tremor’s tub measures 1464mm long (at the floor; 1217mm between the wheel-arches), 1520mm wide and 525mm deep. Opening width at the tailgate is 1393mm.
The tub is standard Ranger stuff – with a sturdy-looking liner, four fixed-in-place tie-down points, a 12-volt outlet, and LED lighting – but it also has two sliding tie-down points mounted high on each inner sidewall of the tub and that adds some flexibility to the cargo area.
Noteworthy is the fact that the Tremor has a built-in step on both exterior sides of the tub towards the rear, providing a safe place in which to put your foot when you want to gain a higher position in order to pack or adjust something in the cargo area, or even climb into the tub.
The XSR’s five-seat interior is a neat and roomy space but, in line with most utes at this price-point, if you scrutinise it in a critical way you soon discover that some parts feel a bit cheap and flimsy, such as some buttons, dials and switches.
Up front there are two USB ports, a wireless charging pad, a 12V plug and a capacious centre console.
A pair of cupholders can be concealed under a sliding cover and the storage bin is on the right side of big.
The driver gets a six-way power-adjustable seat; the front-seat passenger gets four-way power adjustment. Both seats are comfortable without being too plush.
Second-row passengers get a firm but comfortable seat and amenities include a USB port, a 220V plug, and a fold-down centre armrest.
The second-row seat base can be folded up and out of the way to make room for more gear if only two people are travelling.
Build quality is generally okay, part from the aforementioned flimsy-feeling buttons.
The XSR’s business end, the tub, has a durable-looking tub liner, tie-down points and a handy pop-out step hidden in the top of the tailgate.
But it's worth noting this ute’s tailgate can’t be locked.
The Tremor has a listed price of $69,690 (excluding on-road costs). That price-point pits it against the HiLux Rogue ($70,760, or $71,530 with V-Active 48V mild hybridisation) or Nissan Navara Warrior ($71,265).
The Tremor is based on the mid-spec 2.0-litre Ranger Sport but, as mentioned earlier, it has the line-up’s full-time 4WD system, which is standard on V6 Rangers. It's not the part-time system used by other four-cylinder 4WD models.
But there’s more going on in the Tremor than that swap-out of the 4WD set-up.
It has electric power steering that has undergone a heavy-duty tune, heavy-duty off-road suspension including new springs and Bilstein dampers with external reservoirs (a set-up borrowed from the Wildtrak X).
The Tremor has a claimed 261mm ground clearance measure (more about that later), which means, in the Ranger line-up, only the Raptor has more with a claimed 272mm.
The Tremor also has General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres (LT 265/70 R17) on 17-inch Asphalt Black alloy wheels, and low-speed Rock Crawl mode, Trail Control (which adjusts throttle to suit low-speed low-range 4WDing), and Trail Turn Assist (which, at the push of a button, brakes the inside rear wheel to help the Tremor complete tight turns during low-range 4WDing).
Otherwise standard features onboard the Tremor include a 10.1-inch LCD portrait touchscreen multimedia system (with sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both wireless or wired), a wireless smartphone charger, dual-zone climate control, as well as LED headlights, cast-aluminium side steps, a sports bar and more.
The Tremor also gets all-weather Tremor-branded rubber mats and an overhead auxiliary switch console designed to house any aftermarket switchgear you might want to add to your Tremor (to control additional lights etc.).
Exterior paint choices include the no-extra-cost Arctic White, or Shadow Black, Aluminium, Blue Lightning, Meteor Grey, and Conquer Grey, which all cost $700.
Tremor’s options list includes a Touring Pack (which includes a cargo-management system, all-round-view camera system, and Pro-Trailer reversing system ($1650); a Ford roof-rack system ($2800); and a manual roller-shutter cargo cover ($3000).
The XSR has a manufacturer suggested retail price of $52,990 drive-away.
Standard features include a 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen system (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a 7.0-inch digital driver info display, quilted leather seat trim, quilted leather door trim, 18-inch black alloy wheels, a sports bar, an assisted tailgate (with a pop-out step) and roof rails.
It also has LED headlights with LED DRLs, side steps, powered mirrors, keyless entry, push-button start, power-adjustable and heated front seats, a leather steering wheel, single-zone climate control air conditioning, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, tinted rear glass, and a six-speaker audio system.
As well, the XSR gets a part-time 4WD system (with 2WD high-range, 4WD high-range and 4WD low-range), rather than full-time 4WD, which is on lower-spec GWM utes; a front differential lock (in addition to the existing rear diff lock) and Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres.
It also gets red brake calipers, an underbody bash plate, wheel arch flares, and a sunroof.
Elsewhere, it gets steel front and rear bumpers and a new black grille.
The Tremor has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel engine – producing 150kW at 3750rpm and 500Nm at 1750-2000rpm – and that’s matched to a 10-speed automatic transmission.
It and the Wildtrak X are the only non-V6 Ranger variants that get the more advanced full-time 4WD system. This set-up has selectable two-wheel drive (2H), four-wheel drive high-range (4H), four-wheel drive low-range (4L) and four-wheel drive automatic (4A = 4Auto) that sends drive to the front and rear axles as needed, and which can be safely used on high-traction surfaces, such as bitumen.
The Tremor has a variety of selectable drive modes – including Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Slippery, Mud/Ruts, and Sand – and a locking rear diff.
The XSR has the Cannon’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 120kW at 3600rpm and 400Nm from 1500rpm to 2500rpm.
It has an eight-speed automatic transmission.
As mentioned, the XSR has part-time 4WD – with 2WD high-range, 4WD high-range and 4WD low-range – rather than the full-time 4WD set-up that’s in standard Cannons.
The Ranger Tremor has an official fuel consumption of 8.7L/100km (on a combined cycle, with stop-start engaged) or 9.3L/100km (on a combined cycle) if you have Ford disable that system at no extra cost.
I recorded 10.4L/100km on this test. I did plenty of 4WDing but I also spent a lot of time on highways so that levelled out any impact the off-roading had on fuel consumption.
The Tremor has an 80-litre fuel tank so, going by my on-test fuel-consumption figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 770km from a full tank.
Note: the Tremor requires AdBlue diesel-exhaust fluid.
The Cannon XSR has a listed fuel consumption of 9.4L/100km on a combined cycle.
Actual fuel consumption on this test, from pump to pump, was 11.2L/100km but, as is the nature of my testing, I did a lot of low-range four-wheel driving.
The Cannon XSR has an 78-litre tank so, going by that fuel figure above, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 696km from a full tank.
Note: Drop 30km to 50km from any vehicle’s total calculated fuel-range figure for a better idea of that vehicle’s safe touring range – so, following that advice, the above driving range figure (696km) would become 666km after a 30km safe-distance buffer has been subtracted.
Also, remember that numerous other factors affect your fuel consumption and so impact your driving range, including how much extra weight you have onboard (passengers, camping gear, etc), whether your vehicle is fitted with any aftermarket equipment (bullbar, spare-wheel carrier, etc), whether you are towing (a camper-trailer, caravan, or boat, etc), your vehicle's tyre pressures, and the conditions.
Time and distance are two crucial factors that always help to crystallise accurate and objective scrutiny of a vehicle.
And so it was on this test.
Long stretches on open roads punctuated by short, sharp bursts of tough, technical 4WDing – and the Tremor did well in both realms but, of course, proved much better suited to off-roading.
The Tremor is nice to drive on-road – quiet, refined, comfortable and the engine and transmission are a relaxed and clever combination – but it’s off-road-suited suspension is firm through patches of chopped-up back-country bitumen and corrugated bush tracks and the like – sometimes jarringly so – and the chunky all-terrain tyres don’t help on sealed surfaces either. No surprise there.
But on the open highway at cruising speed, the Tremor exhibits all of those smooth-driving characteristics the Ranger line-up is so well known for. It sits on the road nicely, with that wider footprint yielding a settled stance, and this ute simply rumbles along the blacktop with nary a care in the world.
The brake pedal feels a tad spongy – taking some time between initial foot pressure to actually ‘biting', and then the brakes – discs all round – do clamp effectively into action.
Unsurprisingly, the Tremor does even better than a standard Ranger when 4WDing because that’s what it’s been engineered to do.
This ute is 5370mm long (with a 3270mm wheelbase), 2208mm wide and 1914mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 2419kg. This is not a petite ute by anyone’s measure but even with a turning circle of 12.9m, it manages to never feel unwieldy on bush tracks.
It’s based on the Ranger Sport, which is no slouch in the off-roading department but, as mentioned earlier, it has the line-up’s full-time 4WD set-up not the part-time 4WD system.
The 2.0-litre engine is rarely stressed, offers plenty of torque across a decent rev range and it never has to work hard to get through most obstacles or challenges.
The 10-speed auto transmission is clever – there’s no scrambling between ratios – and you can take over duties yourself you can do so via the manual shifter. The ‘e-Shifter’ is mildly annoying but it irritates me less every time I use it.
Low-range gearing is adequate and the Tremor has an electronic rear diff lock for more traction-boosting control. It’s worth noting here that the Raptor has front and rear diff locks.
There’s plenty of driver-assist tech onboard and off-road driving modes include Mud/Ruts and Sand. These are no substitute for track-worthy 4WD mechanicals, but these modes do effectively adjust engine throttle, transmission, braking, traction and stability controls to suit the driving conditions.
Driver-assist tech is sound: off-road applications are displayed on screen – with driveline/diff lock indicators, steering, pitch and roll angles depicted – and hill descent control held the Tremor to a controlled 3-4km/h as I tip-toed down to the bottom of a difficult slope.
The Tremor upgrades have further boosted the Ranger’s capabilities off-road.
The power steering, light and sporty in all scenarios, has been tweaked with a heavy-duty tune and retains a confident feel in difficult conditions.
The suspension set-up – working off IFS with wishbones and coils at the front and live axle on leaf springs at the rear – now benefits from heavy-duty off-road engineering with new springs and Bilstein dampers with external reservoirs.
Wheel travel – how far the axle can move up and down vertically wheel to wheel relative to the chassis – is slightly better than a standard Ranger’s, with this ute’s tyres stretching further than the regular version’s.
Rubber is all-important when it comes to 4WDing and the news is good here: the Tremor has General Grabber AT3 all-terrain tyres (LT 265/70 R17) and these light-truck construction tyres are grippy and effective in the dirt.
The Tremor benefits from more driver-assist tech including low-speed Rock Crawl driving mode, Trail Control (which adjusts throttle to suit low-speed low-range 4WDing), and Trail Turn Assist (which, at low-range 4WD speeds, brakes the inside rear wheel to assist in tight turns.
Where a standard Ranger might scrape its underbody when off-road terrain becomes particularly challenging, the Tremor is higher off the deck than its regular stablemates. Its claimed ground clearance is 261mm but is probably closer to 220mm. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth noting again: as with any measurements provided by any vehicle manufacturer (ground clearance, wading depth, towing capacities etc), consider those figures with healthy scepticism. I’m more inclined to avoid maxing out on any listed measurement, just to be on the safe side, rather than have complete faith in any car-maker claims and perhaps risk strife as a result.
Continuing on: wading depth is listed as 800mm and its off-road angles are sound for this part of the market: for your reference, approach, departure and ramp-over angles are listed as 32, 27 and 24 degrees respectively.
There are a couple of niggles, though.
I’ve previously expressed annoyance at the auto transmission shifter – a kind of joystick on a light cycle of steroids and just as touchy. It’s especially finicky on bumpy terrain but it’s another Ranger-based characteristic to which I’m gradually becoming accustomed.
The operation of some off-road driver-assist tech can be confusing as it’s divided between the rotary dial (to select drive modes) and the screen (to engage the rear diff lock etc). Not a deal-breaker, but it takes some getting used to.
Back to regular programming: the Tremor has a listed payload of 901kg, and towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked) and 3500kg (braked) – and that’s where it bests its Raptor stablemate, which can manage 2500kg.
It has a listed GVM (gross vehicle mass) of 3320kg and a GCM (gross combined mass) of 6350kg. Remember: any onboard loads – such as people, pets, camping gear or aftermarket equipment (bullbar, roof rack etc) – must figure in your payload and GVM equations.
If you’re not expecting a dynamic, sporty driving experience from the Cannon XSR, then you won’t be disappointed.
I’m enjoying the fact that off-road vehicles from China and India are improving all the time but there are significant trade-offs when opting for a much cheaper version of the ute you actually want.
The XSR is not an insubstantial ute, but that doesn’t excuse its less-than-ideal steering (which feels too loose) or its stiff ride on upgraded suspension which, even though it increases wheel travel (for 4WDing – more about that later), seemingly hasn’t been tuned to suit the XSR’s bigger tyres, wider wheel track and greater bulk than its lower-spec stablemates.
Also, this ute has an unwieldy turning circle of 13.7m, which makes it an interesting vehicle to manoeuvre along busy urban streets or through a bustling car park.
This is a well priced ute if compared to similarly equipped, much more expensive utes, but that doesn’t excuse its touchy throttle and thrashy transmission.
However, its engine, which can feel underdone when challenged, has a relaxed feel about it when open-road cruising and if you aren’t putting too much pressure on it you likely won’t think it’s much of a let-down.
Overall, the XSR does okay on sealed surfaces, without ever getting anywhere near great – it’s simply not as refined or compliant as it could – or should – be.
On the dirt track leading to our 4WD test track, the XSR was very skippy over corrugations and tended to thump through potholes.
This ute does go well off-road though when it comes time for low-range 4WDing but, equipped with front and rear diff locks, that’s to be expected.
Off-road traction control and other systems including hill descent control, are adequate without being as seamlessly smooth as the equivalent systems in more expensive vehicles.
It also has 'Crawl Mode' (allows for no-pedal, low-speed driving) and 'Turn Assist' (which brakes the XSR’s inside rear wheel to reduce the ute’s turning circle on traction-compromised surfaces).
The over-sensitive throttle is far from ideal during low-speed low-range 4WDing when you need absolute control for safe driving, but I did become used to it – or at least I put up with it.
As mentioned earlier, the upgraded suspension has boosted wheel travel, which means you’re more than likely able in the XSR to stretch a tyre to the dirt for better traction and controlled forward progress.
The XSR’s Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres help, especially when the dirt becomes sticky mud that would gum up a lesser tyre, and we had no strife getting up and over one of our more severe set-piece hill climbs on that rubber.
All in all, the XSR is a capable twin-locked 4WD without ever being exceptional – and that’s fine.
The Cannon XSR has towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked) and 3000kg (braked).
The Ford Ranger has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2022.
Standard safety features include nine airbags (front, side, knee and full-length curtain for the driver and passenger, plus a front-centre airbag), AEB, adaptive cruise control (with stop and go), lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring (with cross-traffic alert and trailer coverage), a reversing camera and more.
Off-road-specific driver-assist tech includes off-road driving modes, Rock Crawl Mode, Trail Control, and Trail Turn Assist.
The Cannon range has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating from testing in 2021, however the Cannon XSR is not covered by this rating.
Standard safety gear on the XSR includes seven airbags, AEB (sans pedestrian detection) forward collision warning, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assistance, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera and tyre-pressure monitoring.
It does not get front parking sensors, lane-change assist or a door-open warning.
The Tremor is covered by Ford’s five year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is the standard for dual-cab utes.
Roadside assistance is available for up to seven years as long as the Tremor’s owner has the ute serviced at an authorised Ford dealership.
Service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km and a fixed-price servicing plan applies to the first four years/60,000km if you pre-pay the $1385 required (GST included).
The XSR is covered by a seven year/unlimited km warranty.
The first service is scheduled at the six-month/5000km mark (and costs $260), then every 12 months or 10,000km, with each service costing $360 a pop.