Will the 2019 Ford Ranger double cab be a good fit for your family?

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13 Feb 2019 · 07:36Buying a Car

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By Ané Theron

If you're planning on buying a double-cab bakkie, you're probably not going to use it exclusively for off-roading on weekends, but as your school-run vehicle during the week as well. So, is the soon-to-be-launched Ford Ranger one to consider if you want the best of both worlds?

New safety features

If it's your family we're talking about, you probably want the best safety features your money can buy. The 2019 Ranger is specced to the hilt with active and passive safety equipment, which includes premium features such as Ford’s Pre-Collision Assist using Inter-Urban Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) with Vehicle Detection and Pedestrian Detection. In English please? Should a car drive in front of you or a pedestrian walk in front of your car, the Ranger will stop without your intervention. This will most probably be an option on XLT models, while it may very well come as standard in the Wildtrak and new Raptor. Sounds almost like we're talking about a Volvo, doesn't it?

Other new features include traffic sign recognition, Lane Keeping Aid and Lane Departure Warning, and Adaptive Cruise Control with Forward Collision Warning. And if you hate parallel parking as much as I do, a welcome addition to the top-tier Rangers' talents is Active Park Assist which steers the Ranger into your chosen parking spot, while you look on in amazement.

A spacious, high-tech interior & convenience features galore

Back when I was a young kid going on holiday with the folks, we had to entertain ourselves in the car. Never mind today's iPads and smartphones; we were lucky if we felt the air-conditioning or heard a radio! Modern families nowadays it much easier. In the MY19 Ranger, chances are you'll have the 8-inch SYNC3 system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (with Google and Apple Maps) as well as built-in sat-nav and reversing camera. SYNC3 will probably be optional on XLT-variants, and standard in Wildtrak/Raptor models.

(SYNC 3 also includes Emergency Assistance as standard, which uses the Ranger’s Bluetooth phone connection to automatically call emergency services in the event of a serious accident.)

New engines and gearboxes...

As much as you're buying a bakkie with your head, your heart also has a say. The new locally-built 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo engine mated to a 10-speed torque converter automatic gearbox will put a smile on Dad's face, and give Mom the acceleration power she needs when she's shuttling kids to sports practice. The Bi-Turbo takes advantage of sequential turbocharging for more grunt with less diesel usage.

“The new BiTurbo delivers 500Nm from 1750rpm, giving customers access to more torque, more of the time,” said John Willems, Chief Program Engineer of the Ford Ranger.

But do not fear, the rest of the diesel engines probably aren't going anywhere. See figures below to find out what we can expect (but bear in mind that this isn't written in stone, SA models may be slightly different:

Verdict

The new Ranger is going to be one helluva bakkie, for you, as well as your loved ones.

(Click to read Ford lays out R3 billion to build more Rangers and new Raptor.)

MY19 Ford Ranger powertrains (Australian models)
Engine	Power	Torque
Duratorq 2.2L	118kW@3200rpm	385Nm@1600-2500rpm
Duratorq 3.2L	147kW@3000rpm	470Nm@1750-2500rpm
Bi-Turbo 2.0L	157kW@3750rpm	500Nm@1750-2000rpm

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Will the 2019 Ford Ranger double cab be a good fit for your family?

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