Only a few cars can give a girl a sense of power and status on the road and lately, a bakkie is one of them.
You may have come across double cab bakkies in every corner of your hood buzzing up and down and, probably serving the same purpose. But, never one that stands out from the rest like the Ford Ranger FX4 “Panther Black” Special Edition! At least that’s what I thought the first time I laid my eyes on it – stylish with lots of street pizzazz. You might confuse it with the XLT or Wildtrak if you’re not attentive to detail but its exterior makes it easier to differentiate it from other Rangers. The black body paint that extends to its alloys, radiator grille, fog lamp bezels, exterior mirrors, roof rails as well as the door and tailgate handles makes you notice its uniqueness. To complete the look, its side steps, tubular sports bar and fitted bedliner are also black. Seeing how appealing it is, why wouldn’t a girl want to drive such a truck? I asked myself! So I hopped in and headed straight to Dullstroom (Mpumalanga) because longer distances are a better way to test drive a car.
You would expect a Bakkie SUV like this one to have a start-stop button like the Ford Fiesta, there was none. But that didn’t dampen my mood as this model was a 6-speed automatic gearbox so it meant I was up for a smooth and comfortable ride. The interior isn’t different from the regular Ranger XLT except for the user friendly Sync 3 Infotainment System with navigation – that’s an upgrade from the Sync 2 Infotainment System. This system allowed me to listen to my playlist via Bluetooth or connect via USB slots. The voice control commands provided a hands free environment so I was able to focus on the business at hand – driving. Another helpful feature is the large touchscreen interface when navigating via satellite on the road especially in terms of exceeding the speed limit, it gave me a few warnings here and there whenever I got a little bit tempted. However, I realised on some roads such as the N12 it would not pick up the correct speed limit therefore at times, I depended on road signs. The touchscreen also features a rearview camera for a simpler yet safer reversing and a sensor to prevent getting too close to another object. Other safety features include driver and front passenger head and seat-side airbags, full length side-curtain airbags, three-point lap-sash belts, head rests for all passengers and ISOFIX.
Unfortunately I couldn’t take Panther Black FX4 off-road but according to most reviews; it is an excellent performer. When off-road; the safety features consist of dynamic stability control (DSC) which include emergency brake assist, hill descent control, hill launch assist, load adaptive control, roll over mitigation, trailer sway control and tyre pressure monitoring, however, there is no autonomous emergency braking (AEB). A truck like this would be most appreciated by those residing in the villages or areas with lots of hills. The trip to and from Dullstroom was smooth sailing, although alone; I didn’t feel the distance and its all thanks to the amazing sound that seemed to swallow every kilometre with the fuel-efficient diesel engine.
Images: Ford South Africa