Ford Ranger Tremor Review
There are times I think a manufacturer has made a master-stroke in product strategy, and then kept it pretty much to themselves. A prime example of this is the Ford Ranger Tremor – a product towards the bottom of the Ranger line up, but one that offers some practical and financial benefits.
Where does it fit?
There’s no doubt that the Ranger Raptor has made a name for itself as providing perhaps the ultimate in off-road performance in the pickup sector, thanks to some clever engineering combined with the inclusion of Fox active shock absorbers. It’s truly awesome under the most demanding conditions. Raptor is well equipped, too, providing the driver with plenty of bells and whistles. But, at £49,130 + VAT for the 2.0-litre diesel version, it’s not cheap. And, for the business user, due to the sub-1000kg payload, the inability to reclaim almost £10,000 of VAT means that the truck netts out at almost £59k.
Enter stage left, the Ranger Tremor. Let’s be frank, it’s no Raptor. But, the truck shares the same 205PS diesel engine and 10-speed automatic gearbox and more importantly to the demanding user, it has high performance, position-sensitive Bilstein dampers, increased ride height, the wider track featured on Raptor and all-terrain tyres. But the clincher has to be the price. £36,881 + VAT. For the VAT-registered business that’s a saving of over £22,000 over the Raptor.
A stripped back Raptor?
Tremor is essentially the XLT workhorse with the off-road upgrades. You won’t find leather seats or climate control, the multimedia screen is 10” in size rather than the 12.4” on the higher spec models, and some (but not all) of the bling is missing. The Tremor can’t be called basic though. Despite that attractive price tag, the pickup comes with side steps, a roll bar to the exterior and some nice, black alloy wheels. Extended wheelarch mouldings are present, also in black matching the door handles and mirrors. In the cab, there’s manual air conditioning and that multimedia screen is of the latest SYNC4 variety, and as it includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration, the lack of satellite navigation isn’t really an issue. Although vinyl in flavour, the front seats are heated, and the steering wheel is trimmed in leather. You’ve a heated windscreen, and safety tech is extensive including speed sign recognition, post-impact braking, intelligent speed assistance, active speed control and a lane-keeping aid (an acquired taste, in my opinion). There’s also a reverse parking aid and camera, and a Thatcham alarm.
The cab environment
The Tremor certainly doesn’t feel basic when you step inside, probably because much of the materials and design in the cab is shared with the more upmarket models. In fact, I’d had the truck for more than a day before I noticed that the seats were not of the leather type. It’s wide, comfortable, and whilst I’m not a fan of the fuel level and oil and water temperature gauges used on all the latest Ford commercial vehicles, otherwise the instrument panel is clear, the computer simple to navigate, and the SYNC4 unit is in easy reach. Overall, a pleasing environment.
On the road
Unfortunately, and it’s a big unfortunately given the overall theme of this review circumstances meant I had no opportunity to take the truck off-road. Other reviewers have commented that, whilst not quite having the capability that Raptor offers, the Tremor provides a very worthwhile upgrade to the off-road experience offered by the likes of the Ranger XLT or Wildtrak. And don’t forget that £22k price saving…
Otherwise, on more vehicle friendly surfaces, the Ranger drives very well indeed. Most worthy of note is the 10-speed automatic transmission which is probably the most sublime in operation of any other commercial vehicle that I have driven. Changes are often almost imperceptible but are made at precisely the right time with none of the needless over-revving that is prevalent in some, such as the Isuzu D-Max. The 205PS 2.0 litre diesel engine provides a more than adequate amount of power, and the hefty 500Nm of torque will be appreciated by those utilising the 1000kg+ payload and 3500kg towing capacity. Ford quotes a 0-62mph time of 10.5 seconds and a top speed of 111mph.
Fuel consumption is perhaps a little disappointing with an official combined cycle figure of 27.4 mpg not quite being achieved by myself in a couple of hundred miles of pretty gentle driving. Compare this to the 40mpg on offer from the D-Max and it has to be an important consideration.
Conclusion
If you have a budget for a new pickup that needs to be kept to, you have a priority for some decent off-road performance and are willing to sacrifice a few bells and whistles, the Ranger Tremor is worthy of serious consideration – and it’s hard to think of anything other manufacturers can offer to directly compete. It’s a great proposition for some, but not everyone – Ford Pro just needs to promote the Tremor a little more as it seems to be a closely guarded secret.
