Ford Ranger 2014 Wildtrak

[WalFish]

Anyone got a Ford Ranger Wildtrak and not like it? My brother has an auto XLT Highrider and loves it. He is a shearer and does a lot of country and dirt road driving and cant speak highly enough about his Ranger. Also, anyone fit an ARB Ascent canopy and like or dislike? Any other suggestions?

I have a JGC and cant get rid of it soon enough- 2011 diesel model.

Thanks

[Funchy]

You bought a jeep???????????????


..............


Sorry couldn't help it


I have heard good things too about the Ranger and though I am a Holden man on the day of Bathurst I will be trading in the Triton on a new Ranger. Seems to be the pick of the bunch right now in the dual cab category..... but thats only my opinion....

Cheers

[AndrewB]

I have a Ranger XLT great car but dicky electronics.
Cant connect up trailers with Led lights without an adaptor.
They have a stupid 'smart' charging system that you should get disconnected by Ford, 5 minute job. The smart charge give better fuel economy (extremely marginal) but never charges the battery fully. Open the doors and the lights go on, have to hit the high beam twice to cancel. I have had mine for 20 months and battery has gone flat around 4 times.
Ford have their head in the sand as far as the battery issue is concerned, there is plenty to goggle on this issue.
Apart from battery issue great car.

[GBC]

Liking the central locking on that canopy. I have the classic canopy on my px and locking 6 handles does get tiresome at times. Is there a roofrack option on them?
I've got nothing bad to say about them. Get the smart charge turned off if you are running dual batteries etc. I have a solar panel on the rack of mine so batteries going flat isn't an issue.
Fuel economy isnt amazing but it isnt bad either. Hook up 3 tonne and see the usage only lift by 3 litres per hundred and you soon see what they are good at. Mine's auto - wouldnt ever have manual again in a new car.

[Greg P]

I took a plunge on one 2 years ago for my company car lease as I just couldn't justify the price of a Hilux (at the time) with the std options they had compared to the Ranger. We also had a new (2009) fleet of Luxes as our light vehicle field service trucks and they were terrible with lots of niggly problems.

Over 85,000 kms on it now and it has been faultless aside from two recalls (air con actuator and some coolant hose replacment program). The engine and transmission (auto) are a fantastic combo and make light work of towing my 6.6m boat. Off road they are very capable for an IFS/leaf spring combo especially with the elc diff lock as standard on most. Pretty comfortable inside as well. Ability to run 33 with no rubbing is also a big plus. With a lift kit, diff drop, front locker and sliders they make a pretty good tourer.

Couple of things that personally I think they needed to and have addressed in the upcoming update model is change the dash set up and put in a decent touch screen and not the poxy set up currently. It works well but very limited quality options to replace head unit. The other is lack of a reverse camera in all but the Wildtrak. Ridiculous idea to not have them standard or an option across the range for such a large DC. The plow on the back is not real flash for tracks but it has never held me up personally.

All up has been a good truck. I have never had the flat battery issue on mine and only just recently turned the smart charge off when I was looking to put in a dual battery system. As mentioned the LED trailers need the patch but I think that is a common problem on some new cars (Amorak etc) and not specific to Rangers. The new update looks good and with some of the new Everest technology will be better especially the terrain management system and Sync touch screen looks spot on.

I am getting rid of mine this year after the 3 year lease is up. Not going again with one but not because I dont like it or had bad experience but looking for a LC200 or a good deal on a Y62 Ti-L Patrol to keep for long term after lease expires. New Hilux will be interesting but I expect Toyota to be conservative as usual - V6 TTD would be nice but I think it will just be a new version of the 3l D4D with maybe twin turbo???

[Lovey80]

I've had Hiluxes in the past and Toyota would need some huge improvements to come close to the Ranger IMO. The battery issue is a real pain in the arse. Tell the dealer you're going dual batteries straight away and the LED issue needs fixing from the start. I've had a fair amount of time in the manual and would certainly pick the auto if buying new now.

[WalFish]

Thanks fellas. Looks like I will be putting a deposit on a chilli orange auto demo model with about 6000 km on the clock. Doing a novated lease thing for the first time - any tips for rookies in this area?

Thanks

[bluefin59]

I used credit one or one credit to do my lease and got it at 6 percent through Macquarie banking I believe , my accountant gave me direction but it's the best think I have done in recent times too easy and trouble free . Matt

[Greg P]

Novating can be a good thing if you intend to unload after the lease and have picked a winner in terms of resale. Have a look at the ATO for the set residuals and check car sales for similar models at your predicted lease term/kms. Some you can make a little others you can get burnt. No problem if you intend to keep after the initial novation period or you chose to extend (5 yrs i think is max).

Just a heads up from my personal experience with Novating an XLT. I did mine with our company preferred supplier and have done several prior. On this one they had a bit of a problem due to classifications rules of the XLT payload of over 1 t (1041 kg) which meant part way through my lease we had to change from pre-tax payments to purely post tax payments and the novation company now pays me the difference in benefit I would have had. Some lease companies get around this by adding weight to the vehicle with canopies, bullbars etc but mine would not. I think the Wildtrak payload rating is down to 1000 kg on the mark due to the shutter system I suppose.

I did a fully maintained lease incl fuel,tyres. At the end of the term if you have money in the facility left you get it back after paying tax on it but next time round I will look after maintenance, fuel and tyres myself especially if I can lock down fixed price services and extended factory warranty option. Fuel you pay a set amount per litre based on KM /pa which is always more than bowser price but you do get so get something back at the end if your paying $2 litre etc.

You need to check with your accountant what is best depending on tax bracket etc. Other option they offered is an associate lease if your Mrs doesnt work or part time. Have a google or look on whirlpool if your not familiar with it. Not a bad scenario that one if it works for your personal circumstances.