Needed a new ute. Didn't get a 130, but it's got a 130" wheelbase!

[spudboy]

I have strayed from the LR brand!

I did think about a 130 Defender, but after test driving brand new Hilux and and an Isuzu and a Ford Ranger, I've gone for a Ranger!

Mrs Spud is totally shocked :D Said she though I'd never be seen dead driving a Ford!

I didn't think the Isuzu was in the same league as the other two, so that got scratched. Nice engine though, even though (on paper) it was well down on power compared to the other two.

The Hilux was OK, but I thought it'd be a lot better, having only been released in the last month or so. With the latest technology I thought it would do better than 12L/100Km.

Ranger grabbed me the most. Quite a lot of technology on board. Love the adaptive cruise control, which was a surprise on a ute. Manual gearbox is great. Ride/steering/handling surprisingly good for a 2 tonne vehicle with rear leaf springs. 5 cylinder engine reminds me of my TD5, but with a good deal more grunt from 3.2L instead of 2.5L.

Lots of little 'nice' things that wouldn't make you buy it necessarily but add to the experience: Tray liner is standard; Tow bar is standard; Has DAB (digital Radio); TPMS. Also comes with a 150W 240V power socket which will be useful.

So, we'll see how I enjoy being a Ford driver. Hopefully it'll be a reliable beast. They seem to have a reasonably good reputation.

Am going to sell my 110 PUMA, so that's the next job to get it all cleaned up and ready for sale.

Cheers
David

It'll look like this:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/11/220.jpg

[debruiser]

I had the 07 version of this... yes I know it's a fair bit different to the latest. but I was happy with it's performance on road and in general it was pretty good. A nice Car.

I had the hi-rider 2x4, it was useless off the bitumen :(

[spudboy]

This one will be 4x4 with a rear diff-lock + traction control, so should be good off road.

Glad to hear you had a good run with yours. Seems to be the general consensus.

[Homestar]

They are miles ahead of the Hilux, which even in its latest guise is still woefully short on features compared to the rest of the market. Hope you get a good run out of it. :)

[AllTerr]

Can't go wrong with a Ford, my friend. I had 3 in the states. Pretty much bulletproof. Congrats on your purchase

[BMKal]

Mate of mine has had a dual cab also with the 3.2 litre diesel for a couple of years now. Brilliant ute, and I've never heard of him having any problems with it at all.

He also has a 200 series twin turbo diesel which he bought for towing a very large enclosed trailer (more like a large heavy duty caravan) for his business. Since buying the Ranger, he now uses this for pulling the trailer, and says that it leaves the 200 series for dead.

If I was in the market for a ute, the 'extra-cab" Ford shown in your photo would probably be my preferred choice (though I also like the Amarok - but the Ford has way more grunt).

[scarry]

Can't go wrong with a Ford, my friend. I had 3 in the states. Pretty much bulletproof. Congrats on your purchase

Ah,so you got the military model??:D

My LR tragic brother has been looking at those as well,his D1 has done over 350000K's and is just about shagged.

Doesn't want a highly complicated D4....i don't blame him.

[spudboy]

They are miles ahead of the Hilux, which even in its latest guise is still woefully short on features compared to the rest of the market. Hope you get a good run out of it. :)

Yeah - I was really surprised that the Hilux wasn't better, after all the "first model upgrade in 10 years" hoopla.

Drove both vehicles down the same dirt tracks at the same speed, and the Hilux was really severe and crashed through where the Ranger was much more composed.

[spudboy]

If I was in the market for a ute, the 'extra-cab" Ford shown in your photo would probably be my preferred choice (though I also like the Amarok - but the Ford has way more grunt).

I didn't really look at an Amarok. Someone here had really bad problems at low KMs with theirs, and Volkswagen seemed of little help. That really put me off. Plus all the other dramas that VW are having with their diesels at the moment, just seemed better to give them a wide berth.

Also the Amarok does not have low range.

[spudboy]

This was the thread that put me off: http://www.aulro.com/afvb/american-manufactured/186952-amarok-failure-80k-complete-destruction.html

[debruiser]

They are miles ahead of the Hilux, which even in its latest guise is still woefully short on features compared to the rest of the market. Hope you get a good run out of it. :)

So they are much like a defender on the features list :wasntme:

[Homestar]

So they are much like a defender on the features list :wasntme:

Very close...;) Lucky the Defender has other things going for it, the Hilux doesn't that I have been able to find. I've driven the new one and a lot of the previous model and none of them have thrilled me at all. My biggest bitch with them all is how uncomfortable the seats are for even short times spent behind the wheel.

Before you say anything else, I can sit in a Defender seat all day without discomfort. :D

[ramblingboy42]

I have a 2.2 manual single cab 4x4 with huge tray.

Can't say very much wrong about it. The 2.2 , same engine as Defender is surprisingly very grunty....it's very quick in 1st,2nd,3rd gears and never need to take it past 3500rpm even though it will easily rev to 5000.

Fuel economy is only slightly better than the td5 at 10.2lt/100km average over 10,000km.

Smooth gear changes are an art.

The footrest is a pain if any sort of boot is being worn.

The petrol cap is an absolute piece of ****....now modified.

In a couple of days will be fitting egr blank.....needs it more than the td5 did.

It also drives the SA desert tracks with more grace than the D2 did.

D2 overall comfort and driving leave it for dead.

[spudboy]

Tell me more about fitting the EGR blank.

From what I've read, the ECU triggers an error unless there is a 10mm hole in the blank, which sort of defeats the purpose of blanking it off.

Are you getting ECU mods to cater for this?

[whitakerb]

I have a 2.2 manual single cab 4x4 with huge tray.

Can't say very much wrong about it. The 2.2 , same engine as Defender is surprisingly very grunty....it's very quick in 1st,2nd,3rd gears and never need to take it past 3500rpm even though it will easily rev to 5000.

Fuel economy is only slightly better than the td5 at 10.2lt/100km average over 10,000km.

Smooth gear changes are an art.

The footrest is a pain if any sort of boot is being worn.

The petrol cap is an absolute piece of ****....now modified.

In a couple of days will be fitting egr blank.....needs it more than the td5 did.

It also drives the SA desert tracks with more grace than the D2 did.

D2 overall comfort and driving leave it for dead.

I have a 2.2 as a work Ute, and their well built but the engine is woefully disappointing. It has loads of grunt, but if you have to pull out in traffic, you put your foot down and count to three before the engine actually revs up and crawls out into the traffic. I'm waiting to get t-boned.

Hopefully the 3.2 is better than this.

[MrLandy]

If you need a new ute, yes Rangers look like the go at the moment. What I can't get over is the size of them. I drove an Amarok for a while and parking it was a nightmare. So long! And poor visibility. The Ranger is even bigger.

I love the dimensions of a 110. And the slab sided, upright seating position, and vertical glass visibility. Easy to park, can see all corners. It's the slouching seating style of the dual cab Utes that let them down for me too.

Not so long ago, who would have thought that Ford would take the lead! And with Defender engines too! Intriguing.

[Redback]

I didn't really look at an Amarok. Someone here had really bad problems at low KMs with theirs, and Volkswagen seemed of little help. That really put me off. Plus all the other dramas that VW are having with their diesels at the moment, just seemed better to give them a wide berth.

Also the Amarok does not have low range.

Only in the auto, the manual still has low range, I understand the whole give VW a wide berth though and yes, customer service is a problem with some dealers.

Our Amarok has been good so far, but ours is in the recall for the emissions problem, we have joined the class action too, the fix they have for the Amarok is not good enough and involves extra on going running costs, less fuel economy and less power.

[ramblingboy42]

Tell me more about fitting the EGR blank.

From what I've read, the ECU triggers an error unless there is a 10mm hole in the blank, which sort of defeats the purpose of blanking it off.

Are you getting ECU mods to cater for this?

No mate...that's only in the pk and older models.

the blank ...fully blank....just slots in between the gasket....the holes are relieved on one side to allow this....you just loosen the screws ....with difficulty and slide it in.

if it's a manual takes about 15mins if auto a bit longer due to transmission cooler I believe.

apparently no ecu mods are needed unless you want them done. most owners claim a performance or driveability improvement.

I have taken my muffler out of the exhaust system and its completely free flow with very little change in exhaust note. that definitely made an improvement.

[ramblingboy42]

I have a 2.2 as a work Ute, and their well built but the engine is woefully disappointing. It has loads of grunt, but if you have to pull out in traffic, you put your foot down and count to three before the engine actually revs up and crawls out into the traffic. I'm waiting to get t-boned.

Hopefully the 3.2 is better than this.

I dont understand that.

mine responds immediately, no lag , and would absolutely kill the td5 in roll on accelleration.

[Ranga]

I'd like a Ranger except for the lack of rear coils.

Owning a Trayon slide-on camper, I love the rear bags with which I replaced the coils. This allows me to lower the Defender and drive-away, and makes leveling out very easy when sleeping in the Trayon whilst still attached. Also allows very easy adjustment of ride height and stiffness with loads at either end of the spectrum.

The only new dual-cab utes other than a Defender I know of are the new Navara and apparently the Ssangyong Actyon, neither of which interest me.

[ATH]

I've got a mate who's had a Ranger for 170K with very few problems and it has gone everywhere we went in the Deafener.
Now he's gone for a BT50 as it was 15K cheaper than a new Ranger but still with the 3.2 engine.
I may well do the same after Xmas as the Puma is probably going..... much to the Cooks annoyance. :p
AlanH.

[BMKal]

My young bloke's best mate has had a BT50 with the 3.2 litre engine for over a year now, and he loves it. Only thing he doesn't like about it is he says the headlights aren't very good. It's basically the same ute as the Ford, except I just can't handle the look of the thing. I reckon that Mazda employed the bloke from SsangYong with his big ugly stick when they did the front and rear end design on this model.

As for the Amarok - as Baz has said, you can get low range with the 6 speed manual version. Shaun's is an 8 speed auto, and seriously, you don't need low range with that transmission. His is the latest model that is not affected by the recent pollution trickery issues, and not subject to any recall or modifications. I've driven it plenty of times and find it quite a good ute to drive - a bit harsh in the rear end because he has the heavy duty suspension package rather than the "comfort" option, but a bit of weight thrown in the back improves the ride significantly. I certainly don't see any issues with the size of it, nor with the ability to park it / manoeuvre in tight areas etc - but I'm used to large vehicles having owned a Ford F100 for a long time before buying my first Disco. The Amarok is no more difficult to drive / park than the Disco. The only "issue" with the Amarok is that, with the heavy duty rear suspension fitted, the ute has a "nose down" attitude which is a bit annoying. Shaun is looking at upgrading the front suspension because of this.

For his birthday last week, I bought him a data cable and licence to software from a company in the US that allows him to plug into the Amarok's computer and change a lot of the settings in there. Turns out that there are a lot more "changes" you can make to VW / Audi vehicles using this software than are available with the Land Rovers (can even adjust the accuracy of the speedo). He's been having fun playing with this over the past couple of days, and already has a number of people he knows wanting him to plug it into their VW's / Audi's (the software will work with all VW group vehicles to some extent or other - wonder what he could do with it plugged into a Lamborghini). :o

[spudboy]

No mate...that's only in the pk and older models.

the blank ...fully blank....just slots in between the gasket....the holes are relieved on one side to allow this....you just loosen the screws ....with difficulty and slide it in.

if it's a manual takes about 15mins if auto a bit longer due to transmission cooler I believe.

apparently no ecu mods are needed unless you want them done. most owners claim a performance or driveability improvement.

I have taken my muffler out of the exhaust system and its completely free flow with very little change in exhaust note. that definitely made an improvement.

Thanks for that info. A blanking plate will be a cheap fix for the EGR issues.

Wonder if Ford can pick it up when they service it, and if it invalidates the warranty. Am guessing so!

[ramblingboy42]

There is a lot of talk and speculation about this but on their forum no one has yet been challenged by Ford for having one fitted.

It's not fitted in the upper part of the system like the LR but down underneath on lhs of engine.

Unless Ford got a bee up their arse about it being blanked , I can't see any issues. The engine actually runs cleaner.....I'm waiting for mine to arrive in the mail and once fitted can report back.

[spudboy]

OK - that's very interesting.

I'll see how you go fitting yours (I hear it is a bit of a bugger to fit) and what you think.

Thanks

[pibby]

Our Amarok has been good so far, but ours is in the recall for the emissions problem, we have joined the class action too, the fix they have for the Amarok is not good enough and involves extra on going running costs, less fuel economy and less power.

got any link back to volkswagen for this comment? i've got a vehicle with the engine in question. haven't followed this issue much at all - still early days i thought. not sure who is worse - VW or the lawyers circling.

[MR LR]

What a good decision!

Imagine if they put the 3.2 in the Defender! They might actually sell some to people other than hipsters!

[ramblingboy42]

OK - that's very interesting.

I'll see how you go fitting yours (I hear it is a bit of a bugger to fit) and what you think.

Thanks

Its in , cost $6 posted from Melbourne.

Yes , it's a bit of a bugger on your own.

You need about 500mm of 3/8" or 1/4" socket extensions with a universal joint before the 10mm (thinwall if possible) socket.

Right where you want to put the socket on the top bolt are the breather pipes for diffs and xfer case.

If you have someone to help from the top , push the pipes out of the way while you undo top bolt.....about 6 half turns out. Then do the bottom one , the plate slips in very easily. Tighten up in reverse procedure.

The difference is quite amazing , noticeable smoothness, especially changing gears as the throttle/egr interlink, which activates as soon as you back off
throttle , no longer gives the manifold a gutful of hot dirty air.

The fuel consumption is immediately noticeably improved as well , by what appears to be a significant amount. I'm not sure if eliminating that ****ty air into the inlet manifold could make that much difference , but of course the engine is now getting nice clean air from the intercooler at all times.

My recommendation , do it asap.

If you need pics goto the Newranger forum......theres heaps there, search just like here, you can see lots of piccys.

Take the time to get underneath with a good light and the bonnet open and identify the bolts on the flange , be careful....many have cut their fingers pushing and pulling , I don't know how , but you can can see pics of bloodied fingers in their forum as well.

Good luck with it mate.

Dennis

[spudboy]

Thanks a 1,000,000 for all that!

And 'by omission' I gather you've not had an Engine Light Fault, which is good news.

I'll do a search on that forum for some pictures of how it's done.

Cheers
David

[spudboy]

My ute turned up today! Pretty happy about that.

I've already taken off the alloys and put on a set of steelies with the tyres off of my 110 Defender. Got the rims off of eBay for $180 (4 genuine Ford rims + a brand new spare on a rim) so that was a bargain. Painted them Ford white (they were silver when I bought them).

The tyres are the bog standard 235/85R16s so a bit skinny probably, but that's what I had in the shed.

The original grille was this hideous chrome monstrosity, so I talked them into swapping it for a simpler black grille from a base model. Looks much more restrained.

This is how it looks at the end of my first day of ownership:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/12/394.jpg

I think the running boards might be coming off next.

It comes with lots of nice touches. Am happy to have a 240V outlet in the back, so I can charge my laptop or my camera whilst driving. How good is that! Straight from the factory. Land Rover could learn a lot from one of these... for the new model Defender.

[frantic]

They are a good looking ute.:D

The only thing I would suggest is get a towbar from elsewhere and see it fitted first as the ford factory one cuts into the departure angle massively. Ive seen one that was like a steel cover at mid-bumper height with the tow point in the middle.
like this: http://liveimages.quicksales.com.au/quicksales/general/classified/gc5607816128870454670.jpg?width=830&aspect=fitwithin&padcolor=ffffff

This is the factory look: http://www.witter-towbar.co.uk/images/detailed/25/Ranger_2012_2.jpg

Another suggestion for the grille is the ford / raptor look.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7567627202_3d9858c77b.jpg
http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mDsk19AZCgVST7EUMY3j0uQ.jpg

P.s they almost where the base of the new model defender. 130in wheelbase, puma engines, same gearbox, clamshell bonnet(aka RRC) And now a 7 seat wagon called everest. Ford would have let them do a unique nose/grill and their own suspension tweaks/interior design same as they did with Mazda BT50 (who made it pig ugly from the front without a bulbar) but the divorce cut that.

[spudboy]

Yeah - the factory towbar is definitely an 'afterthought' that was tacked on.

When I get some more funds together, I think I'll replace the whole back bumper/towbar assembly with ARBs offering:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/12/385.jpg

[rar110]

The TR system icons look the same as D4. The Everest also has rear coils and 2/3 row seats that fold flat like a D4. The Ranger & Everest look a good package.

[ramblingboy42]

you can't beat Ford...

my normal rims are silver , while my spare is black.....I've done a full rotation so one wheel on the car is black.

I think the hilux, trilux, rodelux , navlux and isulux wheels all fit the ranger. plenty to choose from.

my towbar appears to be a grader but looks are deceptive....I haven't bottomed it yet. I'll check my departure angle and report back.

[Xtreme]

If doing your own engine oil change on the Ranger be warned that you need to refill within a certain time of draining, otherwise apparantly the oil pump needs to be reprimed, which is a Ford workshop task. :o

[Robmacca]

Do these rangers have a DPF installed in them ???

[spudboy]

If doing your own engine oil change on the Ranger be warned that you need to refill within a certain time of draining, otherwise apparantly the oil pump needs to be reprimed, which is a Ford workshop task. :o

Have heard of that. 10 minutes max apparently.

[ramblingboy42]

Do these rangers have a DPF installed in them ???

the european models do....

[ramblingboy42]

If doing your own engine oil change on the Ranger be warned that you need to refill within a certain time of draining, otherwise apparantly the oil pump needs to be reprimed, which is a Ford workshop task. :o

might have to look into that one......is that on the 3.2?

if its on the 2.2 then every defender would be subject to it happening.