Ranger Wildtrak X to return to Ford showrooms

FORD Australia has revealed the highly specified Ranger Wildtrak X will be making a return to local showrooms for the 2021 model year, priced $200 higher than before, from $66,490 plus on-road costs in 3.2-litre form.

Also available with the more powerful twin-turbo 2.0-litre engine ($67,990), the Wildtrak X is priced $2200 upstream of the regular Wildtrak automatic and offers a heap more visual flair over its donor vehicle.

Included as standard is a genuine black Ford nudge bar, Lumen 20.5-inch LED light bar, unique black 18-inch alloy wheels, ebony black wheelarch flares, unique front grille with sabre accent ‘nostrils’, rear sail plane, roof rails, box rails, lower front bumper insert, rear bumper, headlight/foglight bezels, mirror caps, fender features, door and tailgate handles, black side steps, illuminated front scuff plates and leather-appointed upholstery.

Due in showrooms from early next year, Ford Australia and New Zealand president and CEO Andrew Birkic said the Wildtrak X had always been a hit with customers.

“Since we first launched the Ranger Wildtrak X in late 2019, it has proven popular with customers because it built on those core thoroughbred Ranger qualities, while offering more personalisation for family weekends away,” he said.

“With the arrival of the more aggressively designed 2021 Ford Ranger Wildtrak X, we aim to ensure it remains front-of-mind for intending customers.”

While it once served as the bridge between the regular Wildtrak and the flagship Raptor, the new Wildtrak X will now slot into line behind the upcoming FX4 Max as the third-highest specced Ranger pick-up.

Whereas the Raptor and FX4 Max score upgraded suspension components, the Wildtrak X’s upgrades are limited solely to those outlined above, meaning all of underpinnings and running gear is the same as the regular Wildtrak and therefore the rest of the dual-cab Ranger pick-up range.

As mentioned before, both the 3.2-litre turbo-diesel five-cylinder (147kW/470Nm) and 2.0-litre twin-turbo-diesel four-cylinder (157kW/500Nm) will be available with gear shifting duties being taken care of exclusively by the familiar six- and 10-speed automatic transmissions.

Standard equipment on all Wildtraks includes an 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, DAB+ digital radio, satellite navigation, FordPass Connect embedded modem, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, rain sensing wipers and power roller shutter.

Safety features meanwhile consist of autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, hill descent control, hill launch assist, tyre pressure monitoring system and active park assist.

Ford Australia has sold 30,185 Ranger 4x4s this year ending October, enough to see it claim top spot ahead of the Toyota HiLux (26,459), accounting for 24.9 per cent of the off-road ute segment.

2021 Ford Ranger 4x4 pricing*

*Excludes on-road costs