In the same way toothpaste giant Colgate fills supermarket shelves with different flavours – to outnumber the competition with more variety from the same essential ingredients – Ford has added yet another model to the Ranger line-up, to fill any potential gaps and make sure it leaves no stone unturned in its efforts to stay at the top of the sales charts.
There are now 10 model grades – and five engine choices – in the new Ford Ranger line-up (listed below, just in case you don’t believe us), making it the most comprehensive ute range in Australia.
The Ford Ranger Tremor sits between the Wildtrak and Raptor as an off-road-enhanced model with beefed up suspension and tyres.
In the same way the Wildtrak X was a limited edition (with about 1000 sold), Ford Australia says it will bring in 1150 examples of the Tremor.
As with the Wildtrak X, the Tremor gains heavy-duty Bilstein suspension with external reservoirs, highly-regarded General Grabber off-road tyres – which, combined, deliver 26mm more ground clearance and 30mm wider footprint – and improved off-road ability.
The Tremor is powered by the same twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine (150kW/500Nm) paired to a 10-speed automatic and four-wheel-drive hardware as the Wildtrak X.
Notably the Ford Ranger Tremor will also require AdBlue diesel exhaust fluid (as with the Ford Ranger Wildtrak X).
All other diesel Ford Ranger models for now do not require AdBlue as they are rated to EU5 emissions, and AdBlue does not apply to the petrol-powered twin-turbo V6 Ford Ranger Raptor performance model.
The RRP for the Ford Ranger Tremor is listed at $69,690 plus on-road costs such as registration and stamp duty.
This is a lower starting price than the Wildtrak X and the Ford Ranger Raptor (which remains the flagship of the company’s off-road focused pick-ups).
Photos show the Ford Ranger Tremor also gains the extra lights mounted inside the grille that were also fitted to the Wildtrak X.
There’s a roof-mounted auxiliary panel to save owners from butchering the dash with makeshift switches for aftermarket accessories.
The Tremor also comes with branded rubber floor mats, Tremor stitching in the seats, a 3D Tremor badge on the tailgate, and Tremor decals on the rear fenders.
Some buyers may be put off by the addition of the AdBlue diesel additive, but it will be compulsory on new diesel vehicles by the end of the decade, so expect to see more utes turn up with this technology.
Helpfully, unlike other utes we’ve tested, the Ford Ranger Tremor has a digital gauge in the instrument cluster to give the driver plenty of warning when the AdBlue tank is running low – much like a fuel gauge.
Other unique features include a new sports bar, adjustable tie down points in the tray, a drop-in tray liner, and a 12V power socket at the rear.
The Tremor might look inconspicuous in these photos – and it doesn’t have the same visual presence as the Raptor – but it delivers enhanced off-road ability, diesel power, and a 3.5-tonne tow rating (the Raptor has a 2.5-tonne towing capacity).
While the Wiltrak X was based on the luxury Wildtrak edition, the Tremor is based on the next model down – the Sport – which sits above the XLT.
The other recent addition to the Ford Ranger line-up – the XL Black Edition (pictured above and below) – gives the bare bones XL model a boost.
It gains black wheels, a sports bar and the optional twin turbo 2.0-litre diesel engine is standard.
Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, most of that time with Fairfax (The Sydney Morning Herald), News Corp Australia (Herald Sun and News.com.au), and most recently Drive.com.au (owned by Nine Media). He is also a World Car of the Year judge, has won numerous journalism awards, and test drives up to 200 cars per year.
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