Test drive Ford Ranger Wildtrak pickup: good - both on the asphalt and in the forest - part 3

 The rear section deserves special praise: spacious and comfortable! I'll start from the beginning: the door is not too large in size, but it gives a correct rectangular opening and opens at a very large angle - almost perpendicular to the body. The rear seats greet passengers with excellent spaciousness and a good tilt of the seat back: yes, there are almost passenger conditions for life! All that is missing are ventilation deflectors, but the armrest, cup holders, two sockets, niche-stash under the seat - everything is in place. And the organization of the cargo area is good: the usual protective coating and fastening loops are complemented by an arc with lighting and a rear miracle board. Now I will explain: in general, the rear side of a pickup is a huge piece of steel with dimensions of about 1.5x0.5 meters, inside which a lock is equipped: lifting it is still a pleasure. But in the Ford Ranger Wildtrak pickup, the tailgate is cleverly made: there is a torsion bar that works like a spring "to return" and helps to raise the side.

 The cabin is spacious, comfortable, beautiful: large seat-armchairs give an imposing fit with normal geometry on the legs / arms / steering wheel / pedals, yellow stitching and Wildtrak inscriptions add a feeling of exclusiveness, there is plenty of space in the back in all directions. In front of the driver is a dashboard with a large speedometer and two small displays. In the center of the front panel there is an 8-inch touchscreen display and ventilation deflectors. The body is well thought out: lighting is provided in the decorative arch, and the side is easy to lift.

 Finally, a couple of words about off-road and cross-country ability. In this case, the determining factor again is the comfort of the suspension, as well as the ground clearance of 237 mm (for the Wildtrak version, the regular versions of the Ford Ranger offer a clearance of 232 mm). The combination of these two factors means that on a regular forest dirt road you can roll at a fairly high speed and in complete comfort: the car sways up and down, but with such a huge ground clearance, it still will not catch on bumps. When it comes to climbing hills or driving in deep mud, four-wheel drive and forced-lock rear differential will help. By the way, there is virtually always a "center" lock - since there is no center differential itself: the Ford Ranger pickup offers all-wheel drive of the Part-Time type. This does not allow the use of four-wheel drive on good roads and you have to drive on a rear-wheel drive, which can sometimes be dangerous given the high power - sometimes, when trying to make a sharp turn on a slippery road after rain, the pickup was set sideways, you had to steer: in a word, you need to "keep your ears open ". And if you turn on the four-wheel drive on an ongoing basis and drive for a long time on the asphalt with turns, then you can also "sentence" the transfer case. But for forest, primer, snow, ice, mud - this type of all-wheel drive is suitable. Plus there is a decreasing row. True, when the latter is turned on, serious loads from the torque are walking through the transmission: each wheel slip is noticeable, the car starts and stops with jerks from the "automatic". But in 4L mode, the Ford Ranger Wildtrak pickup rushes forward so that it seems that only a brick wall can do it.