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.