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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.
There are currently 14 rivals competing for customers in the Light Duty or LD (3501-8000kg GVM) segment of Australia’s heavy commercial vehicle market. Business buyers and fleet operators are thick on the ground here and competition for their business is fierce.
Chinese brand LDV, a division of the huge SAIC Motor conglomerate which is now the seventh largest automotive company in the world, recently joined this battle with its new Deliver 9 van range that’s priced to entice. We spent a week aboard one to see how LDV’s claim of superior value stacks up when there’s work to be done.
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.
It has its flaws, like any vehicle, but it’s not as far away from segment leaders in terms of refinement and performance that its bargain-basement pricing might suggest. Whichever way you look at it, this is a lot of van for not a lot of money.
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.
If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then Ford should be blushing, because the Deliver 9 appears to draw a lot of exterior design inspiration from the Transit van. It’s a substantial vehicle, as they tend to be in this weight division, with a 3750mm wheelbase and 14.2 metre turning circle, length of almost 6.0 metres (5940mm) and width of 2466mm. Its 2535mm height excludes it from underground and shopping centre carparks with typical height limits of 2.2 metres.
The rear-wheel drive chassis construction is simple and robust, with MacPherson strut front suspension, multi-leaf live axle rear suspension with supplementary rubber cones to boost support of heavy loads, rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes. There’s also ample use of hard-wearing black plastic on lower body sections where most scrapes and dents appear.
The cargo bay is accessed by one kerbside sliding door and dual rear-barn doors with 180-degree opening. The walls are lined to mid-height and there’s no roof lining. Bright LEDs provide ample lighting and even though our test vehicle was not the high-roof model, there was enough headroom for tall adults to stand without stooping.
The cabin has a spacious and airy feel, even with a crew of three aboard, thanks largely to a banana-shaped dashboard with ends that curve towards the windscreen providing wide entry access and passenger legroom which is unusually generous for a commercial van.
The cabin has higher-grade look than you would expect at this price, with a tasteful two-tone blend of light/dark grey plastics and faux carbon fibre inserts on the dash along with comfortable, supportive seats with quality-feel fabrics.
However, there is room for improvement, as there’s no cargo protection for driver and passengers, no driver’s left footrest, crackly AM radio reception (too bad if you like talkback) and a poor-quality image projected by the reversing camera.
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.
Its 2358kg kerb weight and 4000kg GVM leaves a competitive maximum payload of 1642kg. It’s also rated to tow up to 2800kg of braked trailer but given the GCM figure (or how much you can legally carry and tow at the same time) is not published, we can’t tell you how much payload it can legally carry while towing that weight.
We struck a similar problem testing a G10 LDV van as far back as 2017, when LDV could not provide the GCM despite a direct approach to the factory in China. Why such a fundamental figure must remain secret is a mystery to us and could be a deal-breaker if you need to tow and carry.
The cargo bay offers a competitive 10.97 cubic metres of load volume. Its load floor’s 3413mm length, 1800mm width and 1366mm between wheel housings means it can easily carry two 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to four 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets, held in place by a choice of eight sturdy load anchorage points. There’s also a small cave above the cabin which is ideal for carrying straps, ropes, load padding, tarps etc.
There’s more than ample cabin storage too, with large-bottle holders and two levels of storage in each front door, numerous nooks of different shapes and sizes across the dashboard including a driver’s cup holder, plus a single glove-box and large overhead storage shelf with central sunglasses holder.
Pivoting the two passenger seat base cushions forward reveals another big storage area beneath them. The centre seat backrest also folds down to reveal a handy work desk on the back if it, which includes two cup holders. Overall, there’s smart use of space here.
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).
Our test vehicle is the long wheelbase mid-roof, which is part of a three-model Deliver 9 range offering mixed wheelbase and roof height combinations. According to local distributor Ateco, the van’s unusual name has no real significance beyond the fact that in China it’s sold as the V90, so given Volvo’s existing V90 nomenclature, LDV changed the name to Deliver 9 in export markets.
Available only with a 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine, the standard transmission is a six-speed manual or there’s the optional six-speed automatic like our test vehicle, which has an RRP of $44,726. Needless to say, that’s a massive saving compared to top-selling van rivals like the Ford Transit 350L LWB RWD auto at $54,090 and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 314 CDI LWB RWD auto at $66,240.
Colour choice is limited to Blanc White or Pacific Blue. It comes equipped with 16-inch steel wheels and 235/65R16C tyres with a full-size spare, plus checker-plate-pattern rubber flooring throughout, LED cargo bay lighting, big truck-style power adjustable and heated side mirrors with indicators, seating for three including an eight-way adjustable driver’s seat with fold-down inboard armrest and an multimedia system with big 10.1-inch touchscreen, two USB ports and Apple CarPlay (but no Android Auto) to name a few. There’s even a rare and endangered cigarette lighter and ashtray.
LDV also offers a $1500 options pack which adds 236-degree rear door opening (except mid-wheelbase model), blind-spot monitoring, lane-change assist and remote keyless entry with push button start.
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.
LDV’s Euro 5-compliant 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel produces 110kW at 3500rpm and 375Nm between 1500-2400rpm, which is adequate but not class-leading. It also offers a choice of Eco and Power driving modes and auto stop/start.
The six-speed torque converter automatic is smooth-shifting and easy to use. It also has the option of sequential manual-shifting which can be handy at times when hauling heavy loads, particularly in hilly terrain to save the transmission from continually hunting for gears.
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 dash display was showing an average combined figure of 11.0L/100km at the end of our 290km test, with the auto start/stop function disabled and about a third of that distance hauling maximum payload. Our figure crunched from fuel bowser and tripmeter came in at 12L/100km, so you could expect a real-world driving range of around 660km from its 80-litre tank.
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.
It’s pleasantly civilised to drive unladen, even on bumpy roads. With rock-hard tyre pressures (front 51psi, rear 71psi) recommended for load-carrying, the unladen ride remained disciplined and relatively smooth, so LDV has done a good job with the suspension tuning.
We were also pleasantly surprised by the low internal noise levels, not only in city and suburban driving but also at highway speeds. We can only assume that the load floor’s thick rubber flooring, which also covers the rear wheel housings, is effective in reducing the higher noise levels typically experienced in vans without cabin bulkheads like this one.
There are clear eye-lines to the door mirrors and the view through the rear doors using the central mirror is also uncluttered. There’s evenly-balanced elbow support for the driver between the fold-down inboard armrest and door moulding. However, we did miss having a left footrest.
With maximum torque available across a broad band between 1600-2400rpm, the engine displays good flexibility in city and suburban driving, even though it lacks the instant punch of rivals like the Transit’s stellar 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine when operating in its peak torque zone. The engine only needs 2000rpm at 100km/h and 2250rpm at 110km/h, but the degree of push required on the accelerator pedal to maintain it feels like it’s punching above its weight a little in either drive mode.
Our only major gripe is the adaptive cruise control. Usually these systems will automatically resume their pre-set speed, after being given clear road ahead following a lane change from behind a slower vehicle. However, our test vehicle required tapping the accelerator each time a lane change was made to resume the set speed. It also required this reset technique after downhill braking, so some refinement here would be welcome.
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.
There’s no ANCAP required in the 3501-800kg GVM class but it comes well equipped for the money with AEB, lane-departure warning, reverse parking sensors and wide-view reversing camera, hill-hold assist, adaptive cruise control and stability control. There’s also driver and passenger front, side and curtain airbags. No cross-traffic alert but blind-spot monitoring and lane-change assist are available as part of the previously mentioned options pack.
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).
LDV’s national network of 82 dealers inspires more confidence than the three years/160,000km warranty, which is less than the major players – but then its purchase price is much lower too. Scheduled servicing is six months/5000km then 12 months/35,000km whichever occurs first and 12 months/30,000km after that. Capped-price servicing program of $1895 covers the first three years or 95,000km whichever occurs first.