2019 Ford Ranger vs Holden Colorado

What's the difference?

The 2019 Ranger XLT with twin-turbo 2.0-litre diesel and 10-speed auto offers 10kW more power and 30Nm more torque than the venerable Duratorq 3.2 litre five-cylinder alternative, along with superior fuel economy. Although Aussies traditionally lean towards large capacity engines, based largely on perceptions that smaller ones have to work harder to do the same job, there was no evidence of that during our test.

Indeed, it hauled its one tonne payload up long and steep climbs with an effortless ‘you call this a hill?’ arrogance and with plenty in reserve. Pub-test perceptions are powerful things, of course, but so too is this new engine which makes light work of hard work.

The Colorado deserves its hard-won status as an increasingly strong contender in the local 4x4 dual cab ute market. Our main criticisms are its lack of AEB (but it’s not alone there), overly tall highway gearing and no steering wheel reach adjustment. Beyond those gripes, it’s hard to fault and one of the best all-rounders in a fiercely competitive segment.

The Ranger’s rugged ladder-frame chassis rides on a big 3220mm wheelbase and with the XLT’s overall length of 5426mm and 1977mm overall width it remains one of the largest in the dual cab ute segment. 

Coil-spring independent front suspension and a leaf-spring live rear axle combine with electrically power-assisted steering and front disc/rear drum braking to produce a well-rounded chassis package, with excellent ride and handling for such a high-riding vehicle. Front seating is spacious and comfortable while the rear is a bit of a squeeze for three adults, particularly the one in the middle who loses the paper-scissors-rock shoot-out.

The Ranger’s off-road highlights include 237mm of ground clearance, 29 degrees approach angle, 21 degrees departure angle, ramp break-over angle of 25 degrees, 800mm wading depth and 12.7-metre turning circle.

The Colorado is one of the larger and more imposing dual cab utes on this segment, perched 1800mm high and riding on a 3096mm wheelbase, with 5361mm overall length, 1874mm width and 12.7-metre turning circle.

It’s built for hard work or play with a rugged steel ladder-frame chassis, double-wishbone front suspension and leaf spring live rear axle. Like the Ranger, the rack and pinion steering is electrically power-assisted and front discs/rear drums provide ample stopping power.

The dashboard has an intuitive and logical layout, sharing the chunky look and feel of its Chevrolet Silverado big brother. There’s generous space for driver and front passenger, with big grab handles on both A pillars to aid entry and exit.

There’s no grab handles for rear seat passengers, but they do get one of the roomiest seats in terms of leg room. However, the relatively short height between floor and base cushion results in a high knee position for tall adults, who may also find limited headroom. Like all dual cabs there is seating for three adults, but we would suggest restricting this to two if tackling long trips.

The rear seat base cushion has a 60/40 split and both sides can swing up through 90 degrees and stow in a vertical position for extra cabin storage if required. This also reveals small storage pockets in the floor, with the right side loaded with wheel-changing equipment and the left side available for storing smaller items out of sight.

The XLT’s kerb weight of 2197kg combined with its 3200kg GVM results in an excellent payload rating of 1003kg, which means it’s a genuine ‘one tonner’ in local ute lingo. 

The load tub has a floor length of 1549mm and width of 1560mm, with 1130mm between the wheel arches. There are also four tie-down points, a 12-volt outlet, night-time illumination, a lift-assisted tailgate and protective liner

The XLT is also rated to tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer, but when you deduct 3500kg from the XLT's 6000kg GCM rating (or the most you can legally tow and carry at the same time), that leaves only 2500kg. 

And if you then deduct the 2197kg kerb weight from that figure, you’re left with only 303kg of legal payload capacity. Which is enough for two to three adults  before you can think about adding luggage, so do your sums if you plan to tow this heavy.

We don’t know how some manufacturers work out their towing/GCM ratings, because they are often as rubbery as their fuel economy figures. Our best advice, for real world driving, is to interpret any 3500kg towing limit as a 3000kg limit, to give you much needed legal and safety margins.

Like all Rangers the XLT offers numerous cabin storage choices including a large bin and bottle holder in each front door, along with a single glove box and overhead glasses holder. The centre console has an open storage bin at the front, two bottle holders in the centre and a lidded box at the rear which is also cooled and doubles as an arm rest. 

Rear passengers get a storage bin and bottle holder in each door, flexible storage pockets on the rear of each front seat and the centre armrest folds down to reveal two more cupholders. The lower seat cushion also swings up through 90 degrees and can be stored in an upright position if more internal floor load space is required.

The Z71’s standard kerb weight is 2143kg, but it was higher on our test vehicle given the various accessories fitted. Even so, based on Holden’s figures, the Z71’s 3150kg GVM rating allows for a genuine one tonne-plus payload of 1007kg.

It’s also rated to tow up to the class-benchmark 3500kg of braked trailer, but the maximum payload would have to be reduced by a massive 650kg to avoid exceeding the 6000kg GCM. And that would only leave 357kg of payload capacity, which would be barely enough to cater for a driver and three adult passengers with no luggage (even less with our accessories fitted).

Fact is, most folks don’t need to tow 3.5 tonnes, so our best advice is always to base your maximum braked towing weight on the tow vehicle’s GVM. In this case, the 3500kg threshold drops to a still substantial 2850kg and the payoff is that the Z71’s big 1007kg payload capacity is retained.

The cargo tub, which has four sturdy tie-down points, is 1484mm long and 1534mm wide with 1122mm between the wheel arches, which like most utes is too narrow to take a standard 1165mm-square Aussie pallet. The sports bar’s large ‘sailplane’ shroud adds style and useful shade for rear seat passengers. However, it also extends prominently into the load area, which may restrict the Z71’s utility if tall loads need to be carried.

Cabin storage includes a bottle holder and bin in each front door plus prominent cup holders on each side of the dash, which look like fold-away items but protrude permanently below the air vents on each side. There’s also a shallow storage bin in the centre dash pad, a single glovebox and a centre console offering two more cup holders, small oddments storage and a lidded box which doubles as an elbow rest. There’s also overhead glasses storage.

Rear seat passengers get a bottle holder and small storage bin in each door plus flexible storage pockets on each front seat backrest. However, there are no cup holders to be found anywhere, including the central fold-down arm rest, which is a flaw in terms of passenger comfort and convenience.

Our test vehicle is the Z71 dual cab with six-speed auto priced at $57,190. The Z71 used to be the top-shelf model in the Colorado range, commanding a $4500 premium over the LTZ on which it’s based.

However, the Z71 has since been usurped by the Z71 Extreme which, with its even more lavish equipment list, bumps the price up to $69,990. So, the Z71 now shares sub-prime status with rivals like Toyota’s HiLux Rugged X ($63,690) and Ford’s Ranger 3.2L Wildtrak ($62,760) but at a significantly lower price.

Unique Z71 features include Arsenal Grey Metallic 18-inch alloys with 265/60R18 tyres and full-size spare, ‘sailplane’ sports bar and side rails with Z71 graphics, unique soft tonneau cover, leather-appointed seat trim with heated front seats, Z71 embroidered front seat headrests, Z71 bonnet decals, black exterior door handles, mirrors and body side mouldings, unique front fascia with integrated nudge bar and gloss black grille and roof rails.

Our test vehicle was also fitted with several items from the Genuine Holden Accessories range which would push the Z71 beyond $60K, including Safari bull bar, LED light bar and wheel arch flares.

Ford’s latest member of the Ranger engine family is capable of meeting Euro 6 emissions with AdBlue, but it’s a simpler Euro 5 specification in Ranger. With the latest in sequential turbocharging, this engine produces 157kW at 3750rpm and 500Nm of torque within a 250rpm band between 1750-2000rpm.  As peaky as that may sound, in reality the two turbos working in sequence provide more than ample flexibility either side of this narrow band width. 

The 10-speed torque converter automatic’s closely-spaced gears have overdrive on the top three cogs for economical highway cruising and in Sport mode can be shifted manually via a small toggle switch on the side of the shifter. 

Its low 4.7:1 first gear, combined with the part-time dual-range 4x4 transmission featuring shift-on-the-fly engagement, 2.7:1 low range reduction and 3.73:1 final drive, provides a useful 47:1 crawler gear for tackling the toughest off-road terrain. There’s also a rear diff lock.

The Colorado’s Euro 5-compliant Duramax 2.8-litre four cylinder turbo-diesel is one of the best ute engines on the market. Designed and built by Fiat-owned engine maker VM Motori, it used to be  harsh and noisy until Holden’s excellent NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) upgrades in 2016 resulted in today’s much smoother and quieter Duramax 2 version.

With 147kW at 3600rpm and 500Nm of torque at 2000-2200rpm, these figures are still among the strongest in class making the Colorado a very capable all-rounder in both off-road performance and load hauling.

The six-speed torque converter automatic also benefited from the wave of Holden’s NVH wand. It’s smooth and intelligent, with grade logic braking that automatically starts downshifting on steep descents to assist foot braking. This is a great feature when carrying or towing heavy loads, along with the option of manual sequential shifting when you need to hold certain gears, particularly in hilly terrain.

For off-road use the part-time, dual-range 4x4 transmission features a 2.62:1 low-range reduction and 36.4:1 crawl ratio, but there’s no rear diff lock.

We put Ford’s fanciful combined figure of only 7.4L/100km to the test using trip meter and fuel bowser readings. Our first refill, after 538km, including a full GVM test, worked out at 10.65L/100km, which wasn’t far off the dash readout of 10.1. 

Our second refill, after 445km of mostly light and medium loads, improved slightly to 9.9L/100km compared to 9.7 on the XLT’s computer. So, based on our best figure, you could expect a realistic driving range of around 800km from its 80-litre tank.

Holden’s official combined figure is 8.7L/100km but after our 392km test over a variety of roads with mostly light loads the dash display was showing 10.7, which was close to our own figure of 11.2 calculated from actual fuel bowser and trip meter readings.

We can’t say that is peak efficiency, given that the benchmark 3.0 litre V6 engines in both the VW Amarok (10.7L) and Mercedes-Benz X350d (9.6L) offer superior fuel economy (based on our own road test figures) with more power and torque to boot. Even so, you could expect a useful ‘real world’ driving range of around 680km from its 76-litre tank.

The Ranger is a comfortable drive around town. Ford has also done a good job with NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) suppression too, particularly with the 2.0-litre diesel and its under-bonnet surrounds.

It’s an excellent engine for this application, with acceleration that feels more energetic than the ‘high performance’ Raptor, even though they share the same drivetrain. The XLT fairly leaps away from standing starts at full-throttle and surges towards triple km/h figures with a vigour not shared by its desert raider cousin.

We can only put this down to two variables. One is the XLT’s superior power-to-weight ratio, because it’s a massive 135kg lighter. The other is that the Raptor’s larger diameter tyres result in slightly taller gearing. So if you want more get-up-and-go, the XLT would be the better option.

The intelligent 10-speed auto is a smooth operator, with largely seamless shifts between its closely-spaced ratios. The over-driven top three are great for fuel economy at highway speeds although top gear in full lock-up seems a bit tall for this engine, given that peak torque is between 1750-2000rpm yet it’s only doing 1500rpm at 100km/h and 1600rpm at 110km/h.

You can also select ‘S’ for sport and shift gears manually using the toggle switch. However, we found it worked best when left in auto mode, as it quickly adapts its shift protocols to suite different driving styles and begins downshifting with enthusiasm when you start braking, particularly on steep descents.

We put the XLT’s 1003kg payload rating to the test by strapping 890kg into the tub, which combined with the driver resulted in a 990kg payload. The stout rear leaf springs compressed only 60mm (about half that of any coil-spring ute we’ve tested) resulting in a near-level ride height with plenty of rear bump-stop clearance.

With this load it maintained good handling and ride quality over a variety of sealed and unsealed roads. If anything, such a large amount of sprung weight improved the ride, with a hint of bottoming only being detected on the largest of washouts and road dips. 

It also powered effortlessly up our 13 percent gradient 2.0km set climb, self-shifting back to fourth gear at 2400rpm all the way to the top, with the right foot barely touching the accelerator pedal. Most impressive.

Engine braking on the way down, though, was minimal but not unusual for small capacity diesels. Our only other gripe was a slight but noticeable driveline shudder from standing starts between 0-10km/h. It was also evident when unloaded, only less noticeable. 

Like all post-2016 Colorado utes, the Z71 has a solid well-built feel. The ride is squeak and rattle free and NVH levels are pleasantly low for an all-terrain commercial vehicle.

Engine performance is amongst the best in class. Powerful and refined, it provides plenty of punch from standing starts, strong acceleration and excellent load-hauling power. Although its 500Nm of torque peaks within a very narrow band between 2000-2200rpm, it’s a very flexible engine which pulls strongly from as low as 1500rpm regardless of load.

The steering’s electrical power assistance is nicely weighted and responsive, along with reassuring braking and handling which add up to a positive and enjoyable driving experience.

We only have two criticisms. One is that the gearing is too tall for highway cruising, particularly under heavy loads, with only 1500rpm at 100km/h and 1700rpm at 110km/h in full lock-up. In both cases, the engine sounds and feels like it’s really labouring, given that peak torque is some 500rpm higher in the rev range and the auto stubbornly refuses to kick down a cog. A quick manual shift back to fifth gear proves this, as the engine instantly finds its much smoother sweet spot at 2000rpm.

The other is a lack of reach adjustment for the steering wheel, which is a constant source of frustration for tall drivers. With the seat slid back far enough to provide adequate left knee clearance from the lower dash/console, the driving position is too straight-armed for our liking. Reach adjustment would fix this.

Scored a five-star ANCAP rating when last tested in 2016, but with no AEB could only score a maximum of four stars if tested now. Even so, there’s seven airbags, ISOFIX child seat attachments on the two outer rear seating positions and three top tether child seat restraints.

There’s also rear park assist and a rear-view camera, plus an extensive electronic stability control menu that includes trailer sway control. The Z71 grade adds forward collision alert and lane departure warning plus front park assist, tyre pressure monitoring and rain-sensing wipers.

The Ranger XLT is covered by Ford's five year/unlimited km warranty. Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. And capped pricing for first five scheduled services ranges from $360 to $555. Roadside assistance is available for up to seven years if the vehicle is serviced at a participating Ford dealer.

Five years/unlimited km warranty. Service intervals of 12 months/12,000km whichever occurs first. Capped price for first five scheduled services varies between $299 and $499. Complimentary roadside assistance for up to five years from date of first registration, if serviced by a Holden dealer.