Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/773724
OFF WE GO In the city or on the road, at normal weather conditions, all you need is the two-wheel drive and the car behaves correctly. Thanks to a high torque, Ranger starts quickly at traffic lights and has a surplus of power needed for overtaking. When you have nothing in the back of the car, you might feel almost all holes and bumps. Problems appear when parking or reversing – well, the size of this car make the turning radi- us almost 13 meters. That's a lot. When reversing, in the rear window, you mainly see the trunk of the pick-up, while side mirrors do not show the whole space around the car. Fortunately, the rear-view cam- era and parking sensors come to the rescue. After some practice, you will be able to park even i narrower spaces. The size of the car, however, makes the driver feel safer, while the height of the car re- sults in a very good field of view in front and on the sides. The fun starts when you go off the road. As long as the forest roads of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland did not pose any problems, even with the two-wheel drive on, the more difficult terrain forces you to use the drive selec- tion switch to the proper position. 4H adds the front axle and sets the drive to four-wheel drive. 4L is the reducer torque reducer, which joins the action in case of issues on a more demanding surface. We tortured the Ranger on sandy areas and hills of former proving grounds. There, on the loose sand, as if at the beach, the car per- formed during ascents even better than Toyota Hilux that was tested multiple times (and it did not manage to drive on the most inclined slope). We were surprised since we expected Ranger to be a truck with the possi- bility of riding off the road rather than an efficient off- road vehicle. Dynamic drive through bumps, taking turns – no problems at all. You drive the car reliably and feel how it sticks to the surface. The ride height of 232 mm helps to overcome obstacles. The hill descent control system also worked perfectly. We did all the maneuvers with standard tires – I guess the car would perform even better with off-road "rubber". Ranger may also overcome water obstacles of depth up to 80 centimeters. However, we did not find such deep ponds nearby. CONCLUSION I must confess that I always wanted to have a pick-up truck. After a week with the Ranger, I want it even more. I don't know if it will be Ranger Wildtrak, but I know that driving that car brought me a lot of fun. It is very com- fortable and performs really well off the road. The only disadvantage is the loud engine of this monster. Ranger will do great as a car for working at a construction site, in rural areas, as a commercial car for deliveries; it will get anywhere. It can also serve as a vehicle for outdoor activities – camping in difficult terrain, transporting equipment enduro bikes or ATVs, or several mountain bikes. The back of the car is very capacious. You may load onto it a ton of goods or a large quantity of weap- ons for the shooting range, while the fuel consumption is not that horrible as it would seem. It is an amazing ride. Now I just need to start saving money. To pretend high class while wearing Wellingtons: Plassky about the Ranger NI have never expected that I will give a positive opin- ion about a pick-up truck full of chrome elements, with www.fragoutmag.com