What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

Choice has not been something the pick-up truck segment has been blessed with in recent years, but Ford is changing that. It’s been many years since the market has had the option of more frugal engines alongside potent V6 powertrains – Mercedes-Benz X-Class aside, you have to go back as far as the previous generation Nissan Navara to find a V6 being sold along with a more conventional four cylinder. 

While there have been Amaroks in various configurations (including a V6), not to mention the immensely successful 3.2-litre five-cylinder versions of the Ford Ranger being sold alongside a 2.2-litre and then a 2.0-litre option, it’s only now that a real – and difficult – choice has been on offer. 

Ford is the protagonist behind this change, or perhaps it’s Volkswagen – whose Amarok, made by Ford, it insisted had to have a V6 diesel. Needless to say, however, in the UK it is the Ranger and more specifically the Wildtrak trim level that will be the big seller. 

Previously the pinnacle of the Ford Ranger line-up, the Wildtrak is now being pushed towards the middle, but it’s in the middle ground where you will find choice as the Wildtrak will be the only trim available with both four-cylinder 2.0-litre and V6 3.0-litre diesel. If you want a more basic and affordable truck, lesser trims are available but they only get the 2.0-litre engine. Equally, if you want a more extravagant lifestyle pick-up it is only possible to have the new range-topping Platinum with the V6 diesel. Wildtrak is the mid-point, the crossover, the sensible option. 

Which engine in the Wildtrak will be the biggest success is anyone’s guess, but given the massive uptake of the 3.2-litre engine in the previous Ranger, the smart money would be on the 3.0-litre V6 doing well – if only for some customers to avoid being labelled as having the “lesser” Wildtrak.

Aesthetically, there’s little to differentiate the two. Except for a V6 badge on the front wing of the truck, the two engine choices are visually identical. For your money – a £4,500 premium over the 2.0-litre you get a 35hp increase in power to 237hp, and 600Nm of torque rather than 500Nm. The V6 gets the same quick steering, decent cornering abilities, limited body roll and high levels of grip, not to mention peerless off-road performance as the 2.0-litre. Instead, what you get is a taste of performance. The new power, guts and full-blooded mechanical oomph that the Ranger hasn’t previously possessed. 

With 600Nm of torque, and a ten-speed gearbox with short low ratios, there’s enough muscle under the bonnet to pull a locomotive, or if you’re running light and being over exuberant, simply spin its wheels as you lose traction in the lower gears. It’s immensely and impressively powerful and although not quite on the same level as a Ranger Raptor when it comes to sheer performance or driving character you know that the V6 Wildtrak is a real grafter.

From the gruff engine note, to the new moulded footstep in the rear bumper, the Wildtrak means business. It manages smooth and pleasant driving manners with little in the way of cabin noise. The seats are comfortable for driver and passengers and the interior quality is more SUV than pick-up with full-leather seats and the impressive portrait touchscreen. The only real negative is that the V6 engine is pretty thirsty and while the 27.9mpg claimed by the WLTP test may seem palatable, in reality during our short drive it would seem that a figure in the low 20s is more realistic. That’s a long way off the efficiency of the 2.0-litre engine that is almost a straight carry over from the previous Ranger.

Although the V6 carries with it an air of frivolity – especially when there’s a more affordable and cheaper to run option in Wildtrak trim – it doesn’t feel like overkill. The V6 configuration might be a throwback to pick-ups of the past, and to a time when fuel was far cheaper, but it definitely works and has a place in a commercial vehicle such as this. 

It shouldn’t be forgotten that despite its smart new looks, technologically advanced and upmarket interior the Ranger is still a working vehicle. 

Buyers will make obvious comparisons between the Ranger Wildtrak and the high-end Volkswagen Amarok trims Panamerica and Aventura, but despite now being a shared platform vehicle they are remarkably different.