Our long-term Ford Ranger Wildtrak X continued to be a dutiful city companion throughout February, while also stretching its legs on a gravel-filled route up to Stanford.
In our fifth month with the vehicle, it continued to diligently fulfil the to-and-from work responsibilities that seem a bit mundane for a bakkie of such off-roading pedigree. As much as one would love to be in the mountains or at a coastline each day of the week, a big chunk of driving revolves around the city. The only real drawback of the Wildtrak X in this regard is its size. The Wiltrak X has presence and practicality, and an incredibly refined drivetrain, and squeezing its wide frame into small parking spaces around town is worth the hassle for the weekends spent appreciating its smoothness on the open road, and its immense capability in off-road situations.
Related: Ford Ranger Wildtrak X – Long Termer introduction: Leisure Wheels
Towards the end of the month, we took a drive into the Overberg to spend two nights at the Mosaic Lagoon Lodge, in Stanford. Whenever I get the chance to travel to that side of the world, from Caepe Town, I take Highlands Road, trading tar to cut through the mountain and vineyards before popping out near Hermanus main road. But to take this beautiful route, which lies just beyond Perigreen, a vehicle with some clearance is preferred for the potted gravel. One with a selectable four-wheel drive or all-wheel-drive system, even better. One of my favourite functions in the Widltrak X has been the 4A drive mode, which detects slippage and distributes power accordingly to the four wheels, but can be driven on both tar and gravel (unlike other four-wheel high-range drive modes). This is useful when driving on stretches that alternate between tar and gravel.
Related: Leisure Wheels long-term update: Wildtrak X returns to its original brief
Consumption on the Wildtrak X has been slightly inflated, given my location. I live at the top of town, in a maze of hills, which the bakkie has to work its way up and down every day. I have been averaging 12.5l/100km, but immediately that figure dropped after a longer drive, returning from Stanford avergaing 11,9l/100km. The Wildtrak X is powered by Ford’s familiar 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo diesel engine. It is torquey, tractable, and efficient and has repeatedly proven itself to be a segment-leading powertrain since the next Gen Rangers and Everests were introduced late-2022, delivering 154 kW and 500 N.m of torque through Ford’s ten-speed automatic gearbox.
Currently, that is the only engine available in the Wildtrak X, but at the end of 2025 Ford announced that the vehicle would no longer be produced as a standalone model, but as an additional package to the Wildtrak. This means that as of the second half of 2026, one has the option to power a Widltrak X with Ford’s V6 diesel engine.
We were met with some more gravel and sand when we arrived in Stanford, and on a rainy route, we muddied the meaty General Grabber AT3 all-terrains and got the bakkie looking like it should, marked with adventure – albeit a little one. As we enter the sixth and final month of the long-term test period, we do so with the comfort of having had a minor service done recently, without having to visit the dealership, thanks to Ford’s mobile service unit. Last year, we shot a video explaining the service: Ford’s mobile service brings the workshop to your driveway
Images: Oliver Keohane
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