Ford Ranger Sport 2022 Review

As mentioned, the 2022 Ford Ranger Sport snugly slots into the gap in the range between the XLT and Wildtrak.

Pricing starts at $63,690 plus on-road costs when fitted with the 2.0-litre biturbo four-cylinder diesel, while the 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel fitted to our test car adds another $3000.

Throw in $675 for prestige paint (any colour other than white), $500 for Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tyres and $900 for the Touring Pack, consisting of a 360-degree parking camera, puddle lamp mirrors, zone lighting and an integrated trailer brake controller, and the as-tested total is $68,765 plus ORCs.

It presents an interesting buying conundrum. It’s not a huge step up from the $64,190 (+ORCs) Ford charges for the XLT V6, but then the Wildtrak isn’t a million miles away at $70,190 (+ORCs) and is actually cheaper than our Sport tester if you forego the V6.

It puts the Sport directly head-to-head against the likes of the Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain and Nissan Navara PRO-4X Warrior, while also in the ballpark of the updated Toyota HiLux Rogue and Rugged X, though they are more Wildtrak competitors.

Like all Rangers, the Sport is covered by Ford’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and the first four services will cost you $329 a pop, with intervals of 12 months or 15,000km.

The 2022 Ford Ranger Sport sits very neatly within the wider line-up. Ford has clearly spent a lot of time figuring out the hierarchy and which carrots to dangle in front of customers to entice them into the next model up.

The XLT scores all the basic goodies. Externally, this means alloy wheels, a sports bar, a 12V socket and illumination in the tray, LED headlights and a tow bar.

Step inside and there’s keyless entry and start, dual-zone climate control, a large portrait-style touch-screen with wireless smartphone mirroring, digital radio, native sat-nav and FordPass app connect.

Stretching to the Sport adds 18-inch wheels, two front-mounted tow hooks, a skid plate, dark exterior accents, LED fog lamps, wireless phone charging, an off-road screen in the infotainment and leather-accented seats with the driver’s now being eight-way power-adjustable.

However, it feels important to note what you miss out on by stopping one short of the Wildtrak. The flagship scores the Touring Pack gear and all-terrain tyres as standard, in addition to heated and eight-way power-adjustable front seats, park assist, a larger 12.0-inch infotainment screen, ambient lighting, pull-out cup holders, upper glove box, park assist, roof rails, adjustable aluminium tie-down rails and a powered roller shutter.

As such, the Sport is well equipped, but it does miss out on some juicy gear which makes the extra $3500 for the Wildtrak a tempting proposition. That said, with high Wildtrak demand, chances are you’ll be able to land a Sport in your driveway much sooner than the range-topper.

The new Ranger is a comfortable place to be and it’s much easier to find an appropriate driving position thanks to a steering wheel that is now reach- and height-adjustable.

Material quality is, in general, impressive, with softly padded surfaces for the glove box lid and upper door trims. The exception is the steering wheel, which feels closer to plastic than the leather it boasts.

Storage areas are well-sized and relatively plentiful, including the vaunted fries holder head of the gear shifter, though there’s no storage bin atop the dash like in some rivals and the lack of handy pop-out cup holders either side of the dash leaves two gaping holes.

One of the new Ranger’s headline acts is its giant portrait touch-screen, and while the Sport has the smaller 10.1-inch unit it is by no means inferior to its bigger brother. Expand smartphone mirroring and it actually ends up bigger than on the 12.0-inch screen and functionality seems unaffected.

While there are masses of functions, it’s easy to navigate, quick to respond and, happily, there are physical HVAC and volume controls for these frequently-used functions.

Safety is another Ranger strong point, with even the base XL scoring nine airbags, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

By the time you get to the Sport, front parking sensors have also been added though the optional Touring Pack includes the handy 360-degree camera.

The majority of the safety gizmos are unobtrusive, with no phantom AEB warnings in our experience, but the lane keep assist does intrude regularly.

The Ranger’s size plays its part. While it’s far from the biggest vehicle on the market it’s still 5.5m long and 2m wide and thus takes up a lot of real estate, filling the majority of your typical lane.

Ford hasn’t yet released official dimensions for the new Ranger’s tray but our tape measure says it’s a tick over 1.5m square and 500mm deep with 1220mm between the wheel-arches.

There are six tie-down points, side lighting and a 12V outlet, while the tailgate has clamp points and an integrated ruler which could come in handy on the job site.

The 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel has impressed us mightily in the Wildtrak and its installation in the 2022 Ford Ranger Sport doesn’t change that opinion one bit.

It growls away unobtrusively in the background and while it doesn’t necessarily feel as potent as the 184kW/600Nm outputs suggest – partially due to the 10-speed automatic’s super-close ratios never really letting it get into its stride – its smooth, quiet operation is one of the new Ranger’s greatest virtues.

To fully explain the previous point, the 10-speed shifts smoothly and does a good job of selecting the right gear at the right time – which is just as well, as the manual selection system, using buttons on the side of the shifter, is a faff.

But with so many gears, acceleration tends to come in a series of short breaths rather than one, long exhalation.

You’re likely to pay a small fuel economy penalty by opting for the V6, but it’s slight. We averaged a tick over 9L/100km in a week of varied driving which isn’t too far from its 8.4L/100km official combined claim, though obviously the figure will vary wildly if you’re towing or spending bulk time in traffic.

Don’t be fooled by the name – there is nothing sporty about the 2022 Ford Ranger Sport. For that you’ll need to stretch to the wild twin-turbo petrol V6 Ford Ranger Raptor.

Instead, the Sport is an impressive 4x4 dual-cab that’s very capable in a variety of conditions. The engine’s refinement is complemented by direct steering and, in general, a decent unladen ride.

The Sport does feel fussier and more unsettled over poor surfaces than the Wildtrak driven recently, though without a direct back-to-back drive on the same roads it could be just placebo, as there’s no obvious reason one would be better than the other.

Despite the odd shimmy, the Ranger remains composed and aiding this is the ability to run the car in permanent all-wheel drive. While not a ground-breaking technology by any means, it’s a handy feature to have on wet or unsealed roads, especially as 600Nm and all-terrain tyres mean traction is easily lost if you’re a little eager with the right foot.

The Sport adds the Sand and Mud/Ruts off-road drive modes to the standard Normal, Eco, Tow and Slippery modes, all of which are easily selected via the rotary dial on the centre console.

Various vehicle parameters are adjusted automatically – for example, Mud/Ruts selects four-high, locks the rear diff and adjusts the throttle, traction control and ABS for off-road work – allowing the Ranger to be adapted to the prevailing terrain in moments.

The new Ranger is one of the more capable utes off-road in standard guise. A 50mm wheelbase stretch has improved the approach (+1 degree) and departure (+4.6 degrees) angles – though at the cost of the ramp-over angle (-3 degrees) – plus there’s underbody protection, the ability to wade up to 800mm, a rear locker and those optional all-terrain tyres.

Of course, it would be possible to get a Ranger Sport stuck, but you’d have to be trying pretty hard and it’ll take you further off the beaten track than most.

Assessing the 2022 Ford Ranger Sport is both very easy and very difficult. In a vacuum, it’s an excellent ute – quite a lot of money, admittedly, but packed with plenty of features and equipment, very safe and one that works very well both on road and off.

But is it the best Ranger? That’s a trickier one. One the one hand it fills the gap between XLT and Wildtrak nicely, which is proving a popular combination.

On the other, however, there’s not a lot wrong with an XLT or, in the other direction, the $3500 extra for the Wildtrak feels like money well spent given the features it adds.

In a nutshell, our advice would be to stretch to the Wildtrak if you can, but if you can’t – or don’t want to wait – then the Sport is a more-than-acceptable compromise.

How much does the 2022 Ford Ranger Sport V6 cost?
Price: $66,690 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel
Output: 184kW/600Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 225g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested