The Ranger Platinum flaunts Ford’s talent for pick-ups

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Car Reviewed: Ford Ranger Platinum 3.0L V6 EcoBlue 10-speed Auto AWD

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The Ford Ranger Platinum has just made the choice of SUV or pick-up easier. You wouldn’t mind showing your friends this well-specced, luxury version of the Ranger. A full five-seater with an electric roll-top over the pick-up bed and an £1800 option; when did these utility vehicles get so good?

Ford has always had the talent for building pick-ups. This Ranger Platinum, for watchers of Kevin Costner’s epic Yellowstone on Amazon Prime, Ford brings the smaller Ranger version of the all-American pick-up to the UK; we don’t get the larger F-150, which is very popular stateside and the mammoth six-wheel pick-ups in the show probably wouldn’t fit well on our roads.

The Platinum is quite the beauty, not having the rugged go-anywhere look of the more specialist Ranger Raptor, it’s cheaper but more exclusive, shiny brightwork, quality leather, more subtle colours, and a look of elegance in a utility vehicle kind of fashion. And it’s over £six grand more than the Ranger Wildtrak, an already excellent pick-up, but this certainly looks smarter.

The interior of the Platinum is a bold, impressive combination of comfort, luxury, and functionality. The seats are upholstered in high-quality leather, giving the cabin a premium feel. The dashboard is adorned with sleek, metallic accents that add a touch of refinement to the overall look at night, and neon-style strips illuminate the cabin.

Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment system is intuitive and easy to use, even on the move. The 12-inch large touchscreen display is responsive and clear. The ten-speaker B&O sound system adds the pick-up soundtrack with wireless Apple carplay and Android Auto. The wireless charging pad beneath was well-positioned and worked effectively. Climate controls are also on the screen, adjacent to some buttons, all placed at the bottom of the screen and easily accessible. The Ford quickclear windscreen is a must-have in any cold conditions.

The cabin slightly austere in all black with a few wood trim flashings is easily, spacious enough to accommodate five passengers comfortably, and there is ample storage space throughout, including a large centre console and door pockets. In the front, very comfortable heated and ventilated seats for driver and passenger with ten-way adjustment. Large mirrors and a selection of cameras assist with manoevrability, the bird eye view is just so helpful.

Lighting is worth mentioning; many cars are more interesting these days, being driven in the dark and having driven the car for a week in windy, cold, icy conditions. The Platinum includes Matrix LED headlights with predictive curve light, which enables the lights to detect and illuminate the direction of the road before the wheel is even turned, also allowing optimum illumination without dazzling other drivers.

On the road, the Platinum is big; the 3.0-litre V6 is smooth and refined with 240PS and a rather lovely 600Nm of torque; it’s not the most rapid pick-up, 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds but fast enough, light to steer, smooth and comfy. It’s pretty refined on the motorways, and the adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go and lane centring makes long distances more manageable and improves the economy. We drove for the week and achieved a reasonably steady 25mpg in varying conditions.

Ford Rangers in 4-wheel drive have always been superb offroaders; there is a selection of driving modes for all conditions, Normal, Eco, Slippery, Mud and Sand, with a towing setting to assist with the impressive 3,500kg towing ability. All are easy to switch to on the fly. It’s a long vehicle, over 5.3 metres; choose parking spaces wisely as it sticks out a bit.

We tested a model stuffed with options adding over £4k to the price, things like a very cool Moondust silver metallic paint, roller shutter, lined bed and a somewhat helpful bed-divider: 20″ machined alloys, the body protection pack and the technology package topped it off.

The World Class Ford Ranger will be around for a long time and the Platinum adds a refreshing new dimension to the range.