LONG-TERM UPDATE 2 | Our Ford Ranger Tremor unshaken by trucks, trails and potholes

As expected, fuel consumption in the Ford Ranger Tremor has reduced with some mileage under its belt. When the big double cab arrived at our offices fresh out of the box for a long-term test a few months ago it averaged 11.2l/100km, but is now sipping a more respectable 10.2l after we’ve put just under 5,000km on the odometer.

Our travels in the blue oval bakkie included a recent road trip to Mozambique with four people and a load bay stacked to the brim with camping gear. It was the heaviest we’ve laden the Tremor so far and the powerful diesel didn’t struggle with the load, hauling it without fuss. The single-lane roads en route to the Kosi Bay border post were clogged with trucks and the Ford made light work of punching past them.

In a standing start there’s a touch of typical high-altitude turbo lag in Gauteng, but the big bakkie makes an easy cruiser with its burly outputs of 154kW and 500Nm of torque — the latter on call from just 1,750rpm. It is a smooth engine, lacking the tractor-like note associated with workhorses of yore.

With many of the roads in poor condition, the Tremor’s adventure-focused tyres and suspension came into their own. Compared with regular Rangers, the Tremor has uprated suspension with Bilstein position-sensitive dampers and chunky all-terrain 265/70 tyres, a set-up that allowed it to cruise over bumpy, potholed tar without reducing its passengers to quivering wrecks.

I’ll never understand why low-profile tyres are ever fitted to 4x4s. For looks? Bah humbug, I’ll take the pothole-soaking comfort of high-profile tyres any day.

The Tremor has a 30mm wider track and 24mm more ground clearance than standard Rangers, which gives it more off-road capability. Our Mozambique trip included long sections of soft sand but nothing that really challenged the bakkie. The efficacy of the steel bash plate under the vehicle was not tested as we left it in 4H mode and it ho-hummed its way through the soft, bumpy turf without breaking a sweat.

For more serious off-road escapades, the Ford is equipped with a Trail Turn Assist system that applies brake pressure to the inside rear wheel to reduce the turning circle. The Ranger also has a selectable low range, rear diff lock and an on-demand four-wheel drive system with seven drive modes: Normal, Eco, Tow/Haul, Slippery, Mud/Ruts, Sand and Rock Crawl.

A 360º camera provides digital eyes on the surroundings to help with parking, off roading or hitching a trailer — a handy feature in a bakkie as large as this. The exterior view is shown on the 12” centre multifunction touchscreen, which houses most of the Ranger’s features.

The roomy double cab accommodated four adult passengers in comfort over the long road trip, with no complaints about lack of leg space.

Priced at R978,600, the Tremor isn’t as well equipped as the more expensive Ranger Wildtrak X and comes with manually adjusted instead of electric front seats. The upholstery is artificial leather instead of the more dapper suede/leather of the Wildtrak X and it has vinyl in place of a leather-covered steering wheel.

Vinyl flooring takes the place of carpets in the Tremor, making the interior easier to clean after muddy adventures.

The Tremor isn’t spartan with luxuries however, boasting features such as wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless smartphone charger, six-speaker audio system, automatic on/off headlights and rain-sensing wipers. There are USB charging ports in front, while the rear has a 12V socket.

The 1,233l loadbox accommodated an impressive stack of camping gear, including all our tents, fold-up chairs and stretchers. One thing we missed on the road trip was a cover for the luggage — the Tremor doesn’t come standard with one — and instead we used a ground sheet we tied to the load bay’s internal hooks. The latter task was simplified by the rear box steps, which provided a convenient leg-up into the load bay.

The box steps were a new feature introduced in the latest generation Ranger as part of a raft of conveniences to make the bakkie a more user-friendly workhorse. It includes an easy-lift tailgate that can be raised and lowered with one hand, and doubles as a mobile workbench. Two clamp pockets concealed by spring-loaded caps in the tailgate are designed to help secure timber or other project materials.

A power socket in the load box allows appliances to be plugged directly into the Ranger and the bed liner has slots so owners can create segmented DIY storage spaces by sliding pieces of wood into them.