D R I V E N

Two years ago, armed with a Mazda B-series chassis, Ford Philippines came rushing in the market with their compact pick-up entry, the Ranger.  Relying on a revised styling, which handsomely picked up cues from its bigger corporate brethren, competitive price and durable build—it didn’t manage to capture the public’s taste buds.  Not wanting to be left behind in the dust, Ford designers, with the help of the huge Thailand-based R&D center, went back to the drawing board—redesigning the Ranger as a competitor truly worthy of the decisively eye-candy Mitsubishi Strada and the undisputed leader, the Nissan Frontier.  With huge amounts invested in redeveloping the Ranger, does it finally have what it takes to knock the socks off the competition?

Like any good software out there, Ford Ranger Version 2.0 isn’t just a patch to fix up all the bugs from the previous model.  It does, however, manage to include nifty new features further strengthening the Ranger’s core value.

Though the Ranger is still mechanically similar, the biggest and most obvious change will have to be the packaging.  Cosmetically, the 2003 model manages to close the gap since it now manages to have less-than-ordinary styling.

From the outside, it grafts on the face of the US Super Duty pick-up range—the most evident cue of which is the chromed grille with an egg-crate and mesh combination design.  It has been chromed up and bug-eyed as well—something to satisfy the Asian perception of luxury.

Of course, toughie-looking features weren’t removed, rather have been enhanced even further: the fat, body-colored mouldings on the wheel arches; standard two-tone paint (silver at the bottom); the addition of inner tie-down on the cargo bed (the largest in its class); and the fattest, and I mean, the FATTEST tires to ever grace a pick-up: 265/70 R 15 all-terrain Michelin tires mounted on new six-spoke alloys.

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