The assignment was simple. Get to the George Classic Car Show, film it properly, and write it up. The fact that this involved an 1100km round trip, some of South Africa’s best driving roads, and two days away from the desk was, of course, entirely incidental.
Filming the show meant cameras, tripods, drones, batteries, chargers and the assorted clutter that comes with a one-man production outfit trying to look like a three-man production outfit. I needed something big enough to swallow all of it, comfortable enough for two people and a few hundred kilometres a day, and capable enough that the route options weren’t limited to tar. The Ford Ranger XLT Double-cab, powered by the 2.0-litre biturbo diesel, arrived in the driveway and ticked every box before we’d even left Cape Town.
The route was the scenic one, deliberately. N2 out of Cape Town, then a left turn onto the R62 — the so-called “Route 62” — through Worcester, Robertson, Montagu and into the Klein Karoo. From there, rather than rejoin the N2 on tarmac, we cut south on gravel between Montagu and Riversdale, a stretch of farm roads that wind through some genuinely beautiful, empty country before spitting you back onto the N2 for the final run to George.
This is where the Ranger’s double-cab layout earns its keep. South Africa is bakkie country, and there’s a reason for that beyond tradition — the double-cab format genuinely is the most versatile body style on sale here. Two adults up front in comfort, a full back seat for passengers or, in our case, camera gear locked away from prying eyes, and a load bay big enough for the bigger stuff: tripods, a Pelican case, a cooler box, the lot. Few vehicle layouts offer that blend of people-carrying and cargo-carrying ability in one package.
On the gravel between Montagu and Riversdale, the Ranger’s 4×4 credentials came into their own. This isn’t a soft-roader wearing a bakkie’s clothes — it’s a proper 4×4 with a low-range transfer case and genuine off-road hardware underneath. The dirt roads in that part of the world can throw up corrugations, loose surfaces and the occasional washed-out section, and the Ranger simply absorbed it all. The ride quality on gravel is a particular highlight of this generation — composed, settled, and never feeling like it’s working hard to stay on the road.
Inside, the cabin reinforces why this generation of Ranger has been such a hit locally. It’s roomy in both rows, the materials feel a cut above what bakkie buyers might have expected a decade ago, and the layout is genuinely ergonomic — switchgear falls naturally to hand, the portrait touchscreen is logically laid out, and there’s no sense of having to learn the car before you can use it properly. After several hours in the saddle, neither of us arrived in George feeling like we’d done battle with the vehicle to get there.
Verdict
The 2.0-litre biturbo diesel produces 154kW and 500Nm, sent through a 10-speed automatic gearbox to all four wheels via Ford’s selectable 4×4 system. On test, fuel consumption settled in the low 7 to high 8s per 100km — entirely reasonable given the load, the terrain and the distance covered. Ford claims a combined figure of around 7.5 l/100km, and on a long, steady highway run that’s achievable, just not for me.
Pricing for the Ranger XLT 2.0 Biturbo Double-cab 4×4 sits in the region of R888,500, positioning it above the single-turbo XLT but below the Wildtrak and Raptor derivatives further up the range. It’s not the cheapest double-cab on the market, but it isn’t trying to be — it’s aimed squarely at buyers who want the extra muscle of the biturbo, particularly if towing is part of the equation.
The Ranger remains the best-selling double-cab in South Africa, and after this trip, but let’s see how the new Hilux rocks the establishment. It’s comfortable enough for long-distance work trips, capable enough to handle proper gravel without drama, and practical enough to double as a family vehicle during the week. As a one-vehicle solution for someone who needs to be equally at home on the N2, the R62, or a farm road in the Klein Karoo, the Ranger XLT Biturbo remains firmly on the podium.