Overview
SEEMINGLY from nowhere, the Ranger has risen to class contention in just one generation, thanks to one of the largest and most far-reaching engineering projects ever undertaken by an automotive manufacturer in Australia.
So has the resulting T6 (PX) one-tonne pick-up got what it takes to topple the top-selling Toyota HiLux?
In range-topping XLT guise, we think you could do far worse than driving the Ranger before deciding.
Model release date: October 2011
Previous model
The PK-series introduced the Ranger name in 2007, but it was merely an update of the much older Courier, which was originally developed by Mazda in the 1990s and was also sold as the BT-50.
Ditching the Courier’s V6 petrol engine option, only a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel was offered, delivering 105kW of power and 330Nm of torque, while a 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel with 115kW and 380Nm was also made available.
Towing capacity was increased from the Courier’s 1800kg to 2250kg for the 2.5-litre diesel, rising to 3000kg for the 3.0-litre model.
Transmission choices were five-speed manual or five-speed automatic.
There were single-cab, super-cab and crew-cab models.
A premium Wildtrak model was added later.