Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 2022 Review

With waiting lists stretching out beyond 12 months, the all-new 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 is obviously much anticipated.

The flagship of the mainstream Thai-built Ranger line-up (remembering the crazy new Ford Ranger Raptor is still yet to launch), the Wildtrak comes only as a dual-cab and only as a 4x4.

While you can still get a 2.0-litre biturbo, the new 184kW/600Nm 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 is peak Wildtrak and the one we’re testing here. Both engines are offered only with a 10-speed auto.

Priced from $70,190 plus on-road costs, the V6 is $3000 more expensive than the biturbo, which itself climbs $1100 compared to the old model.

That pricing places the Wildtrak V6 slightly above the flagship Isuzu D-MAX and Mazda BT-50 3.0-litre four-cylinders and right up against the Toyota HiLux Rogue and (discontinued) Rugged X 2.8-litre fours.

It’s also up against the top end of the outgoing Volkswagen Amarok V6 range, which still pips the Ford for power. Of course, the next-gen Amarok is a close relation of the new Ranger but it doesn’t arrive here until 2023.

Being the flagship of the line-up, the Wildtrak gets more gear than lesser Ranger models.

Some of it is big-ticket stuff; it’s the only model to get the biggest 12-inch colour touch-screen. But some of it is in the details too. For instance, it’s the only Ranger to get a second glove box and some soft padding on the window sills.

In fact, the many and varied ways Ford has plucked gear and cost from lesser Rangers is fascinating. Watch out for our full range review coming this week, and check out our separate story on the model walk.

The Wildtrak hasn’t missed out on that pruning process altogether. Back when we drove a prototype Ranger V6 at Ford’s You Yangs proving ground last year, the model was fitted with a widescreen digital instrument cluster that included a full-sized tacho. Hooray, a huge improvement from the old scrunched-up design.

Trouble is, the production Wildtrak doesn’t get it. The top-spec digital cluster is reserved for the Raptor and the forthcoming Ford Everest Platinum SUV. Sorry for misleading you folks; it never pays to jump to conclusions.

Externally, the Wildtrak is distinguished from other Rangers by its own grille, roof rails, sports bar with integrated tie-down rails, 18-inch alloy wheels mated with Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain rubber, a powered roller shutter for the load box and exterior mirrors with puddle maps and zone lighting.

Apart from the aforementioned touch-screen and glove box, key interior equipment Wildtrak alone offers standard includes ambient lighting, pull-out cup holders, eight-way power-adjusted and heated driver and passenger front seats that are leather accented and embossed with the Wildtrak name.

Orange stitching that relieves the unremitting darkness of the cabin is also unique to the flagship.

An overdue new feature is the ability of the steering wheel to adjust for reach as well as rake. The front passenger also gets into a new seat design to nestle into.

Exterior equipment shared with less expensive Rangers includes LED headlights and C-clamp driving lights, a drop-in bed liner, rear box illumination, side steps and an embedded modem that enables the FordPass smartphone app.

Inside there is dual-zone climate control with rear vents for the first time, the SYNC 4A infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, USB-A and USB-C points front and rear, embedded sat-nav and voice assistant, wireless charging, an off-road screen for the touch-screen, six-speaker audio, a smart key and push-button start, a new e-shifter for the gear-change and an electronic parking brake.

The Ranger comes protected by Ford’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. It has 12-month/15,000km service intervals, with the cost of each of the first four scheduled visits capped at $329.

The 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak benefits from a sizeable uplift in safety equipment over the old MY21.75 model.

For a start, it now comes fitted with rear disc brakes, as do several other higher-spec models that also bin drums.

As per all dual-cabs, the Wildtrak’s airbag count grows from six airbags to nine, with centre-head and knee airbags for front passengers added.

The old Ranger had autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection and some related driver assist features, and the Wildtrak and XLT were also fitted with adaptive cruise control.

Thanks to a new wider-view camera along with radar, the Ranger’s AEB adds cyclist detection and intersection assist to its capabilities. The adaptive cruise in Wildtrak adds stop and go and an intelligent function paired with traffic sign recognition that can automatically adjust your speed to the legal limit.

Other new features added to the latest Ranger include blind spot detection that takes your trailer into account if you are towing.

There is also rear cross traffic alert with reverse brake assist, evasive steer assist, road edge detection, post-impact braking and a split-screen 360-degree camera.

The active parking assist has been developed so it is feet- as well as hands-off and the Wildtrak continues to have front and rear parking sensors.

The Wildtrak is the only model to be fitted standard with an integrated trailer brake controller for towing. Fitted into the dashboard, it links into an enhanced trailer sway control system that reacts automatically when appropriate.

There is no ANCAP safety rating for the new Ranger as yet.

The 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 is part of the second-generation range of T6 utes to be developed in Australia by the Blue Oval’s Victorian-based design and development team.

The new Ranger is based on the third-generation ladder-frame architecture that also – with variations – underpins the Raptor, Everest SUV, the US Ranger and the hard-core left-hand-drive-only Bronco.

There are fundamental changes to the chassis this time round. The whole thing is stronger, the engine bay is now hydroformed rather than sheet-metal panels to aid fitment of the V6 and improve cooling, the track is 50mm wider and the wheelbase is 50mm longer.

The Lion V6 is the big news among the powertrains. This engine has been around for ages in one form or another and a 2.7-litre version even spent time in the locally-built Ford Territory SUV.

But to fit in the Ranger (and Everest) it’s been extensively modified. For instance, the turbocharger housing is new. And to cope with the wide-ranging driving demands there have been other changes like a new sump.

In its local spec, the 60-degree single-turbo engine makes 184kW at 3250rpm and 600Nm of torque from 1750-2250rpm. There are no performance claims but there won’t be many stronger utes around if our experience is anything to go by.

Its claimed combined-cycle fuel consumption average is 8.4L/100km with the assistance of a smooth automatic engine idle-stop system. Our more varied high-range driving stints returned trip computer figures in the mid-nines.

The V6 mates to the same 10R80 10-speed auto as the carryover biturbo 2.0-litre engine picks up. But they diverge from there, because the 3.0 has a new BorgWarner transfer case that offers a set-and-forget 4Auto mode as well as the usual 2Hi, 4Hi and 4Lo modes. A rear diff lock and hill descent control provide more assistance.

Speaking of off-road, the V6 gets the same air inlet set-up on top of the radiator as the 2.0. It’s not as well protected from water ingress as the old 3.2 five-cylinder diesel. A snorkel is one of hundreds of accessories offered by ARB. There is space under the bonnet for a second battery.

The mainstream Ranger line-up now has drive modes that affect the behaviour of throttle, gear shift, traction and stability control, anti-lock brakes and more. The Wildtrak gets six modes: Normal, Eco, Slippery, Tow/Haul, Mud/Ruts and Sand.

The Wildtrak’s chassis continues with independent double wishbones up front and leaf springs at the rear, although the rear shocks now sit outboard of the frame rails to aid with ride, handling and stability.

Steering remains electric-assist rack and pinion and the brakes – as previously mentioned – are now discs all-round.

And so to the numbers. The new Ranger Wildtrak measures up at 5370mm long, 1918mm wide, 1886mm high and has a 3270mm wheelbase. The old Ranger is 12mm longer (comparing without a tow bar fitted), 51mm narrower and 36mm lower.

Other key numbers confirmed for Ranger include 3500kg braked towing capacity, 800mm wading depth and an 80-litre fuel tank. Specific Wildtrak V6 figures include a 2399kg kerb weight, 951kg payload, a 3350kg gross vehicle mass and 6400kg gross combined mass.

How all that translates into the real world of towing and tow ball weights is explained here. Bottom line? It’s better.

Thanks to the track increase the tray is wider and can now fit an Aussie or Euro pallet. Ford is very proud of the box step located at each rear corner of the tray that aids access. Pop-out capping is standard.

The tailgate has integrated cup holders and can act as a work station. The Wildtrak also gets load-box tie-down rails.

Get in the 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak and you’re going to notice a couple of things pretty quickly. And they aren’t good things.

First off, that digital instrument cluster. For a vehicle that’s around $75,000 on the road it’s significantly underwhelming. The tiny little bar graph for the tacho is almost useless.

Select the ‘classic’ screen in the sub-menu and a crescent graphic appears around the digital speedo and that’s it – no analogue dial. It disappears again if you bring up a menu item such as the trip computer. The Wildtrak should have the premium IP like Raptor and Everest Platinum.

And then there’s the e-shifter. Ford has replaced the traditional lever with a fat little mound that looks like a leather-wrapped burger bun. It requires a fully stretched hand to clasp it, press the detente and move through the gears.

The resistance of the shift is not pronounced enough. Overshooting when shifting from drive into reverse and ending up in park was a common experience.

There’s no manual shifting by the lever or by flappy paddles either. The only way to manipulate the gearing is via push buttons on the side of the e-shifter. It’s clumsy and awkward, perhaps even worse than the rocker switches on the old Ranger.

Not having an easily operable manual mode wouldn’t matter so much if there was a Sport mode to sharpen up throttle and gear-change a bit more. But that’s restricted to Raptor.

One more item before we get rolling and that’s rear seat space. Despite slightly more shoulder-room being eked out, it actually feels a frag tighter in here. It’s knee-room where things seem a little truncated. Maybe the new front seats have a deeper backrest?

Okay, having got all that out of the way, the good news is the Wildtrak V6 is a bloody good drive.

The engine is a winner. Going into the experience you might think the sheer acceleration would be the wow factor, but it’s the refinement that stands out more.

Yes, this engine accelerates strongly once it gets over a little tip-in throttle hesitation, but it’s the clean and quiet way it rolls out, merging almost seamlessly with the 10-speed auto that impresses most.

It feels more like a petrol than diesel engine. Add 500kg to the tray and it still feels keen to get on with it.

Hopping into a biturbo four – a very decent drivetrain – was to be reintroduced to vibration, a less salubrious soundtrack, a more obvious transmission interaction and less enthusiasm from low to middling throttle. This is where a Sport mode would most obviously help.

Ride and handling behaviour continues the strong tradition of the old model. The Ranger V6 feels a tad tightly set-up when unladen, but it settles into the road with a load onboard.

Stability is a strong suit. On its wider track there’s a flatter stance mid-corner. The precise (for a ute!) bitumen handling and body control isn’t sacrificed when load-hauling, it just loses a little of its edge. The uprated brake package felt up to the task throughout.

The steering is light for a He-Man truck, making it great for slow-speed work. Happily it does that without sacrificing security at higher speeds. The lane keeping assist is one of the more sympathetically tuned systems around, but still can feel artificial and intrusive. It is easy to switch off.

Roll onto the gravel and left in set-and-forget 4Auto the Wildtrak V6 displayed exemplary manners. This thing is going to be awesome for Outback treks such as the Simpson. Not that we got to sample conditions like that during the rain-sodden launch. Instead it was more about slip-sliding on churned-up clay that stretched our A/T rubber to the limit rather than the vehicle’s sheer potential.

The forward-facing camera in the off-road screen was helpful over some steep drops. Hill descent speed could be adjusted via the cruise control on the steering wheel’s left spoke but only after you got rolling.

All driving challenges were comfortably handled from within the cabin. The driver has plenty of adjustment on offer, although seat height only changes at the rear, the pedal box is sizeable and includes a left foot rest and the driving position is appropriately high and mighty.

The touch-screen in the centre is mighty as well (in terms of size), but it actually sits a bit low for my taste. I’d prefer it to be slightly angled toward the driver too.

It’s commendable Ford has retained hard buttons for temperature and volume, but being at the bottom of the screen they are a long way away. Some of the identifiers on buttons and controls on the dash and steering wheel are a bit small to decipher with ageing eyes.

The embedded sat-nav map isn’t as distinct as the ones on offer through CarPlay either.

Trying to navigate around the cluster and the touch-screen menus and sub-menus also took some learning for an old luddite as well. The back button got a hefty workout!

Storage in the cabin is pretty generous, reflecting Ranger’s fundamental tradie brief. There are big door bins in the front and back, all those glove boxes, a sizeable centre lidded bin and some other storage holes tucked away.

There are dual seatback pockets and a fold-down centre arm rest in the rear with a double cup holder.

There are some nice details like the spring-loading and rubber bottoms for the cup holders in the centre console. Conversely, spars that connect the centre stack to the console actually make it more difficult to access the phone charger and USB plugs.

As per the previous generation, the unchanged rear seat backrest folds down and the base flips up to aid versatility. Most utes only do one or the other.

Could the 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak V6 live up to sky-high expectations? Maybe not, but it’s hard to imagine many people being disappointed by the fundamental way it behaves.

The V6 is a big win. It’s a gentle giant with charming manners and endless stamina. It’s bit like Max Gawn (go Demons!).

The rest of the driving package coalesces around it in a way that’s familiar from the last T6 Ranger. It’s just that bit more grown up, without losing its keen edge.

It’s the cabin tech that in the end is a bit less whelming. That instrument cluster really is a bit cheap and nasty and the e-shifter is endlessly annoying.

The negatives aren’t enough to downgrade the new Ranger Wildtrak that much. It’s an impressive achievement that will sell by the thousands.

Oh that’s right, it already is.

How much does the 2022 Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.0L V6 cost?
Price: $70,190 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel
Output: 184kW/600Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 222g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested