Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/773724
leather interior and a relaxing, ambient lighting of the cab. When I first saw Ranger I just said no. The reason was a simple one – too many. Too many pipes, too many chrome emblems and stickers, gadgets directly modelled on passenger cars that were supposed to make the driver feel more com- fortable and, at the same time, amuse the driver's ego. A convenient position behind the steering wheel, per- fect visibility (that's something normal when you trav- el a whole story above other drivers), good audio sys- tem, and – what I found interesting – a relatively low noise level inside the car at a standard travel speed. Everything builds an atmosphere of laziness and relax, or even drowsiness. Some of you might think that I am older than cunei- form, but I must confess that my first experience with a pick-up truck was driving a Tarpan with the ancient M20 engine, which could hardly, really hardly, tow a trailer with two Omega yachts. Maybe that Tarpan had its vices, but it had been serving our yacht club for over 25 years. And that is what I call a pick-up. A car that is practical as hell, does not intend to resemble any- thing, and is a hard-working beast. Similarly to Hilux from the previous generation, in which the passenger sitting in the backseat (or rather a park bench), could barely hear the conversation of the driver and the pas- senger in the front because the load trunk, placed on a frame that was separated from the road with a prehis- torical silencing solution – leaf springs – would make the cabin resonate. Simplicity, purity of form, abso- lute functionality that is more important than design, but give warranty of reliability – for me, those are the crucial elements of a pick-up truck. Ford Ranger Wildtrak is a perfect example of how de- signers try to "civilize" work vehicles, filling them with solutions taken from "civilian" cars. When driving a Ranger, I did not even felt as if travelling with an al- most 5.5 meter long mammoth. The steering works pleasantly clearly and very accurately as for that class of cars. The car informs the driver about its operation on an ongoing basis, patiently overcoming all the im- perfections of the road. The few moments spent off the beaten track might be described only by using su- perlatives – the car was dignified, brave, and reliable. It overcomes all irregularities, bumps, and ruts without hesitation, which can only highlight the "rural" nature of this car. vehicles