The What Van? Road Test: Ford Ranger (2019)

Date: Thursday, March 11, 2021

Cab

Interior and equipment

Manual air conditioning forms part of the four-door five-seater’s specifications, as do a pair of 12v power points on the fascia.

Big, electrically adjustable, heated exterior mirrors are included in the deal – but a shame there is no separate wide-angle section – as are electric windows in all four doors. Cruise control with a speed limiter is fitted too, as is an onboard computer. The windscreen and the cab’s rear window are heated.

A DAB radio with a 3.5in multifunctional display featuring Bluetooth connectivity is the centrepiece of the fascia. However, it is a basic package, with no satnav.

Storage facilities for all the bits and bobs drivers carry around with them include bins in each of the doors, a tray on top of the dashboard, another tray at the bottom with a USB socket, and a big, lidded, but not lockable glove box.

Between the front seats you will find a pair of cup holders, plus a lidded box with a tray beneath the lid.

Both the driver’s seat and the steering wheel are height-adjustable.

Each of the three rear seats has a lap-and-diagonal belt, plus an adjustable headrest. The occupants can access a 12v power point mounted in the back of the console separating the front seats.

Pull down a section of the back of the rear middle seat and it turns into a table with a couple of cup holders.

The legroom offered to rear passengers is fine for short local journeys, but could turn out to be insufficient for long motorway trips.

A stop/start system is fitted to help keep fuel consumption down, but this can be switched off as well.

Ventilated disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the back provide the stopping power, and a comprehensive onboard safety system should help keep most drivers out of trouble. It includes ABS, emergency brake assist and electronic stability control (which can be turned off) with roll over mitigation and load adaptive control. Lane keeping aid, traffic sign recognition, hill start assist, hill descent control and trailer sway control are provided too.

Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian protection is included as well as intelligent speed assistance. The latter identifies the speed limit on the road you are currently on and adjusts your maximum speed setting accordingly.

Driver and front passenger airbags, as well as side, curtain and driver’s knee airbags, are provided in case all the onboard safety systems fail to protect against catastrophe.

Other useful features include front fog lights and a Thatcham Category 1 security package with an alarm and an immobiliser.

A double-wishbone suspension setup with coil springs helps support the front, while leaf springs and an anti-roll bar do the honours at the rear. Our Ranger’s 16in steel wheels were shod with Continental Cross Contact LX 255/70 R16 tyres.

Boosted by electric power assistance, the rack-and-pinion steering delivers a 12.7m kerb-to-kerb turning circle.

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