Review: Ford Ranger XLT Plus – Not the desirable flagship, but it’s just as good!

Launched locally in the middle of last year, the latest generation Ford Ranger sees the mighty Blue Oval marque giving its evergreen pick-up truck offering a complete do-over inside and out. Though it still retains the same T6 chassis bones from its predecessor, the changes performed were substantial enough to warrant claim of being relatively ‘all-new’.

Like before, the range-topping Wildtrak variant still remains the much sought-after trimline as it gets all the bells and whistles primed. However, having recently sampled the XLT Plus variant pictured, which slots below said Wildtrak flagship, there’s still much to bask in this ‘mid plus’ offering.

In fact, some will even argue this flavour of Ford’s latest pick-up perhaps holds greater value, and that’s despite its rather premium price tag compared to the bulk of its rivals. Allow us to digress further, then.

OVERVIEW

On the surface, the exterior makeover is rather striking to say the least, with this truck now looking more like its full-sized, US-only F-Series cousins. Compared to the outgoing model, this new one is clearly much more squared and boxy in appearance, thus giving it a tougher stance as a result too.

Apart from that, there are several key design touches to amplify that too, like the front fascia that now sports a prominent and shiny new front grille flanked by a pair of new headlights brimmed with striking C-shaped LED DRLs. At the rear, the tailgate gets a more visible contour line plus ‘RANGER’ model lettering stamped into it, plus a set of redesigned taillights too.

As far as the exterior goes, the new Ranger in this mid-plus trimline arguably looks as tough as the flagship Wildtrak it slots under. Apart from the familiar 17-inch alloy wheels recycled from the outgoing model, we’re certain pick-up truck fans will indeed love how this new Ranger looks, even in this XLT Plus form. Climb aboard into the cabin and the news is rather similar so to speak…

ON THE INSIDE

Like the exterior, Ford given the new Ranger a rather complete makeover on the inside as well, and this is evident with the way the dash is redesigned featuring a new portrait-oriented central touchscreen infotainment unit, as well as the adoption of honeycomb patterns in the air-cond vents, fabric seats, and fabric door trims.

One novel change here is the new and repositioned door release latch, which is now integrated into the armrests of each door. While this spec loses out on the plush leather upholstery seen in the Wildtrak, the fabric upholstery primed doesn't feel too shabby, as does the rich use of soft-touch plastics for key touchpoints and cabin trims.

Overall space for the front and rear are decent to say the least, though rear passengers will need to live with the typical pick-up truck quirks of sitting a little more upright than they would in say a crossover SUV.

What’s certainly nifty here is the presence of both rear air-cond vents plus a 12-volt socket. Up front, key tech present include dual USB-A and USB-C charge ports plus a wireless charging pad, which goes well with the massive new touchscreen mentioned earlier that offers Apple CarPlay and reverse camera view amongst many other functions.

Drivers, on the other hand, will be chuffed to see the updated new digital instrument panel, which even sports a novel start-up and shut-down animation on top of increased interactivity. Altogether, it’s easy to see that despite this not being the flagship variant, Ford gave similar treatment to this as one, and the results are indeed very telling, and things only got better as we started it up and got going…

DRIVING

Ever since the T6-platformed Ranger was first introduced, what has always kept it ahead of its rivals is the peppy powertrain and highly refined drive dynamics it boasts, the latter coming without costing anything to this truck’s off-road and utilitarian capabilities too. For this latest generation Ranger though, these traits are refined and amplified even further.

We’ll start with performance and, aptly, this stems from the revised 2.0-litre 4-cyl bi-turbo diesel mill Ford has opted to endow the XLT, XLT Plus, and Wildtrak variants with. There’s 207 HP plus a rather meaty 500 NM of twist available on tap, the latter from as low as 1,750 RPM in fact, thus making this truck quite the hauler and towing machine, especially when set in its new ‘Tow/Haul’ drive mode.

In XLT Plus form as tested, said mill is primed exclusively with a 10-speed automatic transmission and a proper 4x4 driveline, the former feeling rather slick when managing all the available torque the mill offers. The result of both is a truck that drives and performs almost similarly to how a petrol-powered car or crossover SUV would, just as how its predecessor did.

What’s also almost car or crossover SUV-like is the ride and handling, and that’s despite the fact that this new generation Ranger still rides on traditional leafsprings at the rear. Key to this is the right levels of damping and suspension tuning dialled into all four corners, which makes this truck feel a lot less utilitarian as how most of its peers do – a fact further bolstered by the cabin’s high noise suppression too.

Given its ride height, size, and heft, this truck’s agility is still nowhere near that of a car or crossover SUV though, but we reckon the ultra-light but precise electric power steering primed further adds to the ease of managing this truck – even for ladies. As far as on-road manners go, this new Ranger is once again a cut above the bulk of its peers, and the same praises apply towards this truck’s off-road abilities too.

Like before, the Ranger feels just as good off the beaten path as it does on pavement, with Ford making it a lot better here now too thanks to the inclusion of dedicated ‘Off-Road’ and ‘Slippery’ drive modes, as well as a Hill-Descent Control module to boot. In short, if you find yourself needing to traverse terrains, the Ford Ranger XLT Plus as featured is no slouch with said task indeed.

SAFETY

On the safety front, prospects will be glad to know that Ford has opted to prime this mid-plus spec variant with some key basics besides six airbags lining the cabin and the usual ABS + Stability Control combination.

Present on board this variant too are several basic active safety functions such as forward collision warning (FCW) with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), as well as lane departure warning and keeping assist (LDW + LKAS). Compared to rivalling mid-plus variants from the usual Japanese suspects, these features are absent and are instead reserved for their respective flagship variants.

Whilst here, it’s also worth noting some of the practical features this truck is endowed with. These include useful bits like the presence of another 12-volt socket and strategically placed cargo hook anchors, not forgetting built-in accessories mounting points, which are all present in the flatbed.

Altogether, all these make this XLT Plus variant of the new Ranger worthy of a serious look indeed, especially for those seeking a package that holds a little more value for price.

RUNNING COSTS & RELIABILITY

In terms of running costs, pick-up trucks as such usually stand relatively frugal, though this greatly depends on what sort of driving and usage it’s subjected to. Whilst we didn’t lug any heavy and oversized cargoes during our testing stint, we did find ourselves stuck in urban traffic for the most parts, thus explaining our higher than average 11.2 litres/100 KM fuel economy readout.

Nevertheless, drive this truck right and you’ll be able to see at least 600 to 700 KM of travel with every full fill-up of its 80-litre tank, which will roughly cost you anywhere between RM172 to RM188 at present, depending on which diesel blend you opt for.

On the reliability front, Ford’s latest 2.0-litre bi-turbo mill has seen its fair share of issues of late, but we reckon the decent 5-year or 160,000 KM warranty package offered by distributors Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC) ought to offer peace of mind.

SHOULD YOU BUY ONE?

Commanding a base price tag of RM142,888 sans insurance, the Ranger XLT Plus as tested is not the cheapest offering abound. In fact, said figure sees it matching the bulk of the flagship variants of its Japanese rivals. But evidently, the premium is somewhat justified by the fact that you are getting the peppiest and perhaps most well-endowed mid-plus spec truck abound.

Unlike the bulk of similarly-specced rivals, the Ranger XLT PLus stands a little more versatile too, making it perfect for those seeking a truck that can double up as both a good workhorse and reliable daily driver. The latter gets bolstered by the added creature comforts and refinements endowed in this spec, not forgetting the arguably better styling it boasts too.

Yes, this is one pricey truck, but it has a package that will be hard to resist, even for those who are new to the pick-up truck game.

SPECIFICATIONS