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Off Road Taking the Ranger from highway to off-road is like leading the ugly duckling to the swan pond. The stiff suspension, torquey engine and high ground clearance are fully realized when the Ranger goes off the beaten path. In fact, in the lahar dunes of Central Luzon is where the Ranger really struts its stuff. Taking this practically new facelifted Ranger XLT on some ‘light off roading’ courtesy of the Ford Outfitters program, this vehicle ended up having every conceivable bit tested—this isn’t the way Collin McRae or Richard Burns would do it—they wouldn’t have the guts. When the people from the Subaru or Mitsubishi rally teams are content racing on muddy, snowing and gravel-type terrains, the Ford Ranger endured a more varied type of punishment. There’s the usual dusty dry mud terrain, but there are some more interesting parts such as a river crossing, soft lahar (similar to wet , sticky sand), bushy fields and boulder-filled crossings. All in all, the Ranger got out of all of these potentially sticky situations without a slightest glitch, scratch or mechanical imperfection. Surely the turbocharged diesel engine helped a lot in the entire event. Calling upon all the 280 Nm of torque—which is a class-leading figure, coupled with a low range 4x4 transfer case, made sure that the Ranger could take on any obstacle with ease. The increased ride height, which dulled the Ford’s ability on the tarmac proved to be the only shield between the treacherous terrain and the sensitive undercarriage—soft roaders, eat your hearts out! What’s more, the stiff chassis and the standard all-terrain tires made sure that the Ranger stays focused giving no sense of wallow or difficulty when steering in the soft terrain. Although the ride is more jarring sending ten times more needles up our spine, the mere fact that this time we had smiles on our faces proved that this is where the Ranger really belongs. After nearly two hours on single lane terrain, we approached a breathing space on a former river bed that was turned into a lahar-filled channel. Since rain poured the night before, there were spots of wet sand, pockets of water and some things in between. We thought—this is the perfect place to stretch the Ranger’s legs. Turning the river bed into a makeshift rally cross, we gave our black weekend Ford Ranger all it had: at full acceleration, 4x4 high mode it carved through water, mud and sand quite easily like a hot knife through butter. Handling is very predictable and very precise in these conditions, and the visibility was not the hindrance it was on-road. In the course of the Ford Outfitters event, we were able to meet several Ranger owners as well (about half of those who joined had various types of Ranger 4x4 XLTs). One guy, owning a stock Pinatubo Conquest I edition Ford Ranger said that this was the second time he joined the Outfitters customer’s program. He mentioned that he is very fond of this Ford’s ability to get out of any situation and still provide some sort of entertainment. He added that he uses his Ranger on everyday trips to logging yards on unpaved roads near the Quezon province. “Wala kahit isang beses akong nasiraan o pumalpak ang kotse ko. Matibay ang Ranger na ito—kaya nga dinala ko ang mga anak ko sa Outfitters para makita nila” (There wasn’t even one time that my car failed me. This Ranger is very tough—that’s why I brought my children with me on the Outfitters program so that they may see). A testament from a long-time Ford Ranger owner. |
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