Thread: New Ute Dilemma

Originally Posted by Dicko

Go for a ride in one. It’s more than looks. But they also look ok.


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Again, with an unloaded vehicle on standard suspension on smooth highway, yep awesome ride. Load the thing up and take it out the west coast on the back roads and you can't count the number of times you bottom out per KM. You either need aftermarket suspension or a mod of some sort like supplementary airbags, but to be fair this isn't just a Ford complaint. I also do not like the design of the current model ranger, the uplift on the front corners of the bonnet is an arse for downward visibility over the front end on narrow, steep offroad tracks. You probably won't notice until you hop out of a PX series into the new one, but the vis is definitely not as good over the front end.

All the new utes need under body protection and better tyres for more serious off road use. Maybe then a lift then. I kept my old modified 1HD Prado for the bash and scratch jobs. its lifted, hd sprung, 180 l tank, bars and winch...Rides rough unloaded though.

On the new Ford, the ride and handling with light to reasonable loads (like hunting and fishing camps) is good. It maybe different with canopies and heavy tool boxes. I use my head for a living not my hands so thats for others to work out. For trade use you buy a poverty pack and turn it into a work truck which then is not ideal for civi use. Horses for courses...

The v6 180 KW, 600 NM motor and 10 speed box is smoother than a 4/5 cyclinder and quiet, no diesel rattle like in my old Toyota. All round disc brakes are great, should be mandatory on all new utes now.

They are big. The bonnet is a bit harder to see over. Makes the Prado feel like a jeep. Longer wheel base, turning circle is larger but probably similiar to the Lux. However you've got cameras over every wheel and front and back that can help with gutters, holes, rocks, slow 4wd crawling and a camera showing you where your wheels will track when in 4wd at low speeds. In fact the tech is a bit of a mind mess. Electric brake package std etc.

I work in agriculture and you are seeing plenty of them in the bush now, with growers and rural reps, Wrightson types etc.

Would i buy a new ute and smash it up the Rakia R. etc...probably not but for Thar's use, hunting, pulling the trailer like its not there, doing the longer miles, not pulling up sore on arrival, heated seats when sneaking home to town early morning are all pretty nice..

Originally Posted by Dicko

All the new utes need under body protection and better tyres for more serious off road use. Maybe then a lift then. I kept my old modified 1HD Prado for the bash and scratch jobs. its lifted, hd sprung, 180 l tank, bars and winch...Rides rough unloaded though.

On the new Ford, the ride and handling with light to reasonable loads (like hunting and fishing camps) is good. It maybe different with canopies and heavy tool boxes. But for trade use you buy a poverty pack and turn it into a work truck which then is not ideal for civi use.
The v6 180 KW, 600 NM motor and 10 speed box is smooth and quiet, no diesel rattle like in the toyota. All round disc brakes are great, should be mandatory on all utes now.

They are big. The bonnet is a bit harder to see over. Makes the Prado feel like a jeep. Turning circle is larger but probably similiar to the Lux.However you've got cameras over every wheel and front and back that can help with slow 4wd crawling and a camera showing you where your wheels will track when in 4wd at low speeds. In fact the tech is a bit of a mind mess.

I work in agriculture and you are seeing plenty of them in the bush with growers and rural reps, Wrightson types etc.
Would i buy a new ute and smash it up the Rakia R. etc...probably not but for Thar use, heated seats sneaking home to town late are pretty nice..

You've just nailed the main problem with the new ranger. The V6 option only comes in at the premium end, Ford man reckons he can't get one in the poverty pack. If you are running heavily loaded, or towing and want the V6 you only have one option currently and that is the last remaining Platinum editions if there are any left, otherwise he reckons end of 2025 to start of 2026. Or, you get the 2L two hair drier model which pulls OK once the revs are up but can struggle at low speeds (same as the earlier Amarok with the 10 speed auto and 2L 2hair drier setup). Also, the 2L does not have much in the way of engine braking, and at full load they eat brakes. Best effort I hear of is rotors and pads after 9000K's - this at long runs downhill where you need to middle peddle it to haul the combination up and keep it under the speed limit.

My current problem child is one of the first of the PXII series ranger XLT's, six speed manual 4wd 3.2L. Had to wait for the PXII as they were the first Rangers to carry the 3500Kg tow rating (earlier versions were all 3250Kg). It's on aftermarket 7leaf+overload spring packs with foam cell shocks, and a tweak up front to level the thing back out. It rides fine not a problem on the road provided it doesn't have the ute drawer taken out, and is good all the way up to full load with trailer. It can be done without giving a crap ride, but a lot of the factory aftermarket gear is not built for that purpose it's either play lift, heavy winch bar setups, or full commercial with fully loaded being the norm. You don't often get a truly versatile setup off the shelf, to tweak essentially a factory setup and improve the ride and load carrying.

I'll add to my comment on the V6 option, they tell me it's due to the calculated CO2 emissions of the two motors vs what Ford wants to pay in climate tax. I asked how the hell that works out considering the 2L blows a shiteload of black smoke when towing and I offered to take the dashcam footage in to show them. er, ahh, um, mumble ahh erm yes well hmm no that's OK thanks. The 2L motors are totally reliant on the forced induction, and the slight lag on foot down before the turbo's decide to play means unburnt fuel. The V6 is much better in this regard, producing the goods at lower RPM. No replacement for displacement unfortunately but they tell me the calcs are all done on track testing and at pretty much unloaded...

Originally Posted by Hugh Shields

Personal bias, I like Nissan Navarra and old school.

I drive a 2003 Nissan Navarra 3.0ltr DC manual five speed which I bought at 198,000 and is now approach 240,000 on the original everything. It has absolutely NO bells and whistles, no flashing lights (like in the wing mirror!!!!WTF!!!!), no LCD touch screen or phone Bluetooth, no lane assist, collision warning or even cruise control. And I love it! Being manual I can slip it into neutral and coast the downhill gradients with the engine on idle eg Transmission Gully is 27km long, I can coast 15kms of it at speeds ranging from 130kmh to 70kmh. When I'm on the highway therefore typically not many other vehicles around, so nobody is inconvenienced. I think I'm saving diesel!?

Can you even buy a manual ute these days?

Anyway, back on topic, I agree with @7mm tragic about Rangers giving trouble at 200,000. Reason I say that is when I bought my Nissan I took it to an engine reconditioner to pressure check the turbo operation, it was fine. But his comment was, "The engine I get in most to recondition is the Ford Ranger. It may just be because it is the biggest selling vehicle on the road? But the engines all seem to get to 200,000 then just crap out!"

I know I'm probably going to get knee capped by every Ranger owner whose ute has done 250,000 but that's what the recon mechanic said.

The other thing I don't like about the Ranger, and modern uses general, is they are dimensionally HUGE! To lift something over the wellside you have to be 6ft 8" TALL. There was a sales rep in the City branch who was height challenged. She carried a small wooden box with her so she could climb up into the Ranger!!!

Buy a Nissan!

Wife and I needed to upgrade our 2008 Nissan K/C F/D manual to do a month towing 1.7 tonne caravan on South Island trip.

Bought a mint 2019 Mazda king cab? flat deck auto and had a great trip. Towed well but cab noisier than Nissan and harder riding (expected)

Getting home and hopping back into the Nissan which is the lower suspension model they discontinued in 2016 I realised how well it suited me.

Smooth, quiet ride, radio with knobs and buttons, and more storage for "stuff" that lives in your hunting wagon.

Lots of other bits and features were a pain including not really keen on scratching hell out of a $40k vehicle.

The Mazda is going into car sale yard tomorrow.

Will lose heaps but sometimes new ain't better.

I did like my 2007 D22 Navara, 3.0L version with the ZD30. One of the most capable factory setups I've had offroad, it just couldn't pass anything it was totally gutless.

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Just go full Philipo and get a Dodge Ram

The Ram? You sure? That `s a big sucker....Have you watched the last episode of "Yellow Stone"?

no one has talked Isuzu D max whats thoughts on those- my cocky mate loves his once he got the lane departure warning switched off he said that bloody thing was scary he is on his second Dmax

Originally Posted by Dicko

The v6 180 KW, 600 NM motor and 10 speed box is smoother than a 4/5 cyclinder and quiet, no diesel rattle like in my old Toyota.

I wouldn’t touch that engine with a bargepole. The idea of being caught with one of those out of warranty would fill me with utter dread.

The Ranger 3.0 V6 is the “Powerstroke” American evolution of the Ford / PSA Lion series engine used in the Land Rovers and Jaguars that was so disastrous reliability wise, with a shocking rate of catastrophic engine failures. You can spend an entire day watching / reading about that particular debacle. Ford’s Dagenham manufacturing plant and the various parts suppliers came in for scathing criticism for the amount of serious breakages - snapped cranks, all sorts.

When Ford took the Lion engine to America, Ford America redesigned the bottom end in an effort to fix these problems. It was sold in the F150 for a very short period of time before it was abruptly discontinued for reasons that Ford didn’t really discuss. Probably because it simply wasn’t popular, but it also had lots of niggly problems (not unusual for American engines).

The Powerstroke is still relatively unproven in terms of high mileage reliability. Definitely not for me no matter how smooth and powerful. If it was going to be my forever ute I’d want something that’s got a lot more / better reputation behind it.

Originally Posted by Black Rabbit

The Ram? You sure? That `s a big sucker....Have you watched the last episode of "Yellow Stone"?

Used to be just the small wiene guys drove them, now every second builder has one or their coming out of the closet. At 120k they make a top end Hilux or Ranger look reasonable.


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Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

Just go full Philipo and get a Dodge Ram

Phillipo's has got a whine in it.

Originally Posted by No.3

You've just nailed the main problem with the new ranger. The V6 option only comes in at the premium end, Ford man reckons he can't get one in the poverty pack. If you are running heavily loaded, or towing and want the V6 you only have one option currently and that is the last remaining Platinum editions if there are any left, otherwise he reckons end of 2025 to start of 2026. Or, you get the 2L two hair drier model which pulls OK once the revs are up but can struggle at low speeds (same as the earlier Amarok with the 10 speed auto and 2L 2hair drier setup). Also, the 2L does not have much in the way of engine braking, and at full load they eat brakes. Best effort I hear of is rotors and pads after 9000K's - this at long runs downhill where you need to middle peddle it to haul the combination up and keep it under the speed limit.

My current problem child is one of the first of the PXII series ranger XLT's, six speed manual 4wd 3.2L. Had to wait for the PXII as they were the first Rangers to carry the 3500Kg tow rating (earlier versions were all 3250Kg). It's on aftermarket 7leaf+overload spring packs with foam cell shocks, and a tweak up front to level the thing back out. It rides fine not a problem on the road provided it doesn't have the ute drawer taken out, and is good all the way up to full load with trailer. It can be done without giving a crap ride, but a lot of the factory aftermarket gear is not built for that purpose it's either play lift, heavy winch bar setups, or full commercial with fully loaded being the norm. You don't often get a truly versatile setup off the shelf, to tweak essentially a factory setup and improve the ride and load carrying.

I'll add to my comment on the V6 option, they tell me it's due to the calculated CO2 emissions of the two motors vs what Ford wants to pay in climate tax. I asked how the hell that works out considering the 2L blows a shiteload of black smoke when towing and I offered to take the dashcam footage in to show them. er, ahh, um, mumble ahh erm yes well hmm no that's OK thanks. The 2L motors are totally reliant on the forced induction, and the slight lag on foot down before the turbo's decide to play means unburnt fuel. The V6 is much better in this regard, producing the goods at lower RPM. No replacement for displacement unfortunately but they tell me the calcs are all done on track testing and at pretty much unloaded...

Years ago in HB contractors flocked to the 2.5 Ford utes. Some wit called them Spinning Jennys. Unfortunately contractors put heavy loads on the trays. They all struggled to get up Titiokura. As you said no replacement for displacement. Those Fords disappeared quicker than the Italian army on the battle field.

Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

no one has talked Isuzu D max whats thoughts on those- my cocky mate loves his once he got the lane departure warning switched off he said that bloody thing was scary he is on his second Dmax

I have one as a work vehicle and have to turn the lane departure "Grandma grabs the wheel" feature off every time I start it up
Don't forget the AI that is as smart as a retarded child which brakes randomly for things that it thinks look scary, often with no warning

I hate my DMax with a passion and curse it every day but with free diesel on a 2 hour commute I suck it up

Originally Posted by mikee

Have you considered the Mitsi Triton?
If purchased new get a 5 year warrenty with 10 years on drive train I believe.
I will be looking hard at one when we replace our Colorado.
Family has owned 5 Pajeros and still own 3.
Quite under rated and we have had less troubles with them than the "other brand" utes we have owned "far less" km's on modern utes too.

Have a good read of the fine print

@Gamehunter yes I was going to mention how quiet the Nissan is. It's actually quieter than my wife's Mazda CX3 which has only done 60,000kms. I think good tyres are part of the equation. Can't remember the Brand? But they don't let go on wet corners are are OK for the moderate off road driving I do.

I have the 04 zd30, they don’t get stuck. As far as gutless, they are a little detuned from factory I think, probably because they come out turbo with no intercooler. There is a heap of mods to do that will up the power, but makes it technically illegal. Mine has no cat converter and is free flow from turbo back, egr is deleted, the butterfly setup that goes with it is re vacuumed to open permanently instead of rev activated, I have a remapped computer for it. It goes a noticeable 15-20 % better than stock. The Aussie blokes intercool, high flow turbo and that seems to get them really cranking. Doesn’t take away from the fact that you have to do al this to a factory vehicle in order to get half decent performance