The Irish Farmer’s Journal (IFJ ), has awarded its inaugural ‘Farmer’s 4x4 Pick-Up 2016’ award to the Ford Ranger. The IFJ award is designed to highlight the best 4x4 pick-up on the market that meets the particular needs of farmers across Ireland.
“We are delighted that the Farmer’s Journal expert panel has picked the Ford Ranger as the most suitable 4x4 pick-up for Ireland’s farmers”, said Ciarán McMahon, managing director of Ford Ireland.
“Our Ranger provides customers with an unbeatable combination of four-wheel drive and class-leading wading capability; stand-out styling; and great fuel efficiency, towing, and payload capacity.”
The Ford Ranger came out on top of the Farmer’s Journal Machinery and Motoring team’s stringent testing regime which was carried out during a day of testing on a Co Wexford farm.
The 4x4 pick-up testing included off-road driving, trailer towing, and all-round serviceability tests. For the towing test, each vehicle was fitted with a tow hitch and full trailer lighting kit in order to tow a tandem axle braked trailer with a secure one tonne load on board. Additional tests included fuel economy and off-road driving ability (without a trailer ).
In 2016, Ford promises that we will see a new and even more efficient version of the Ford Ranger with additional engine options offering improved fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions.
With a choice of 150PS 2.2 litre TDCi or 200PS 3.2 litre TDCi highly efficient stage V powertrains, the Ford Ranger has a gross payload of up to 1,340kg and can tow up to 3,500kg.
The six 4x4 pick-ups tested in the IFJ Farmer’s 4x4 Pick-Up Award programme included the Ford Ranger, Great Wall Steed, Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi L200, Toyota Hilux, and Volkswagen Amarok.
