Australia’s highest selling vehicle in 2024 was the Ford Ranger. It’s no moot point, but it slung a heavy burden on this writer. You see, yours truly had the privilege of road (and dirt) testing three of the four top selling dual cab utilities in Australia.
That list included the Toyota Hilux Rogue 48V, the Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain and the updated Mitsubishi Triton GSR. This was the missing vehicle to complete the foursome. Finished in striking Aluminium, it proves to be almost iridescent in the sun.
It’s not a colour we see often, which is a shame because it really accentuates the boxy lines of the Ranger. Set against the various blackouts and charcoal metallic finishes across the body, it makes for a pleasing visual.
Contacting terra-firma are brushed aluminium and asphalt black 18-inch wheels wrapped in Goodyear all-terrain rubber. The latter are a $700 option, but an asset when testing off road (more on that later).
Ultimately, the combination means the Ranger looks bigger and burlier than any of the competition. Reaching for a door handle grants keyless access to the ebony-coloured cabin. Leather accented bucket seats present.
These had the no-cost optional Apex embossing on the seat pads and backs, along with white stitching. They’re comfortable too, with electric adjustability for the driver, and manual for the passenger.
Climbing in is easy thanks to a sidestep, while the driver hangs on to a vinyl covered steering wheel with a smattering of switchgear. The first thing you notice is the huge 10.1-inch portrait-oriented infotainment screen.
Reminiscent of the F-150, it really grabs attention, but is also clear and responsive to the touch. We did at times find that steadying a hand to touch a button resulted in several incorrect phone calls, but we guess this would get easier with more seat time.
The dash itself is a mix of gloss black vents, soft touch materials and clever storage options. We particularly liked the open shelf in front of the passenger, complete with rubberised material to hold things like phones or keys in place.
The console below the screen holds rotary dials for air conditioning (yes!) and volume controls. Further down sits an electronic shifter and controls for the transfer case, along with a couple of cup holders.
The dark tones are only broken up by the headliner, where you can also find a nifty bank of switches, part of the optional $1650 Touring Pack. A handy addition for those who like to accessorise.
Rear seat passengers get ample space. In fact, we had two comfortable adults front and rear at one point on a highway trip, and two little ones back there the rest of the time. Floormats and charging ports are missing from row two though.
Hitting the steering-column mounted starter fires up the 184kW/600Nm turbo diesel V6 hiding under the bonnet. After a brief startup cycle it settles down to a muted and smooth idle. The operative word is smooth.
No other dual cab of this size, let alone the top four sellers, provide a similar powerplant. It’s mated to a 10-speed gearbox and largely, they work well together. There were times when the combination took a moment to work out the best gear.
That’s particularly so when overtaking or tackling a highway-based incline, but outside of that it proved to be a tractable pairing. Power delivery is strong and devoid of the expected diesel cacophony from smaller 4-cylinder units. This is especially relevant in the cabin.
The driveline provides a level of ride and interior refinement that simply cannot be matched by the competition. If we had one complaint about the ride itself, it’s that it feels a little firmly sprung when unladen, on pockmarked roads.
It’s relatively frugal too. Our high was a figure of 14.9-litres/100km when beach driving (it’s got a transfer case, of course we did it), with a low of 10.6-liters/100km following a return trip down to Canberra from Sydney.
Loading the tray with boogie boards for dune surfing, chairs, food and cooking gear was easy. An integrated step in the trailing edge of the tub meant gaining access was a cinch, while the $3000 optional manual rolling hard cover provided protection for everything.
We were surprised to find a 400w power outlet back there too. Our Ranger also had the $2800 optional flexible rack system. It allows the over-tub hoop to move anywhere along the tray itself and lock in place.
In concert with roof rails which have inserts that can be adjusted horizontally, the Ranger Sport provides a handy factory roof rack system for carrying longer loads. Once we’d aired down in the carpark it was 4H and easy driving until we found a spot to park up.
Stockton Beach’s soft sand is popular among gangs of phone holding pundits waiting for someone to get bogged, and gain the inevitable Insta-fame. They weren’t getting any joy from us this day.
The tractability of the driveline was a real boon, nothing ever felt stressed despite the softness of the sand. There are various drive modes available, but we did everything we needed too in “Normal” mode.
It was just as pleasant on the freeway trip home. We’d like to quote the minimal revs on the dial in 10th gear, but the dash simple doesn’t have these outputs available. What we can say is that it just chugged along quietly.
It gave us ample serenity to listen to our favourite tunes through the 6-speaker stereo, facilitated by wireless Apple CarPlay. We did it safely too, with a full complement of tech onboard, including nine airbags, lane keep assist and blind spot monitoring.
There’s also Cross traffic alert and an overly hasty driver monitoring system. All that’s left is the sticker price. At $80,190 plus on-roads (as tested), the 2025 Ford Ranger Sport lands in some interesting territory.
Unticking the entire option list will bring things back to a base price of $71,340 plus on-roads, bringing it closer to the Triton GSR and D-MAX X-Terrain, but shy of the HiLux Rogue (worth noting they’re all top-spec models for their respective ranges).
But with all the boxes ticked, one finds oneself in Wildtrak territory, competing with Ford’s own product. Regardless, make sure you tick the “V6” box, because doing so makes this the smoothest and most comfortable dual-cab-ute in this pack of four.
You can find out more on the Ford Australia website, or by talking to your local dealership. To get a low rate finance quote, talk to Australia’s best reviewed car finance broker; Credit One. To see a great range of vehicles for sale, check out OnlyCars.com.au.
Our test vehicle was provided by Ford Australia for independent review purposes.
