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The Ford Ranger Platinum is the latest addition to a growing Ranger line-up, sitting above the Wildtrak and below the Ranger MS-RT as Ford's most premium "standard" pick-up truck.
However, it's far from a run-of-the-mill truck, the Ranger Platinum is the most luxurious pick-up truck money can buy and with good reason.
The most obvious change from the standard appearance of the Ranger pick-up trucks is that the front end has become rather glitzy. Following on from models in the US where the Plantinum name has been used on the F-150 Lightning and other models, the Ranger Platinum gets a chromed-up appearance to match the high-end name.
Platinum models get "Platinum" lettering across the bonnet and their central bar through the grille, grilled surround and headlights are all picked-out in chrome, rather than the Wildtrak's grey paint. It gets the same size 18-inch wheels as the Wildtrak, but they're in a new matte Asphalt Black colour.
In the Ranger Platinum interior there are more creature comforts, the most notable of which is new air-cooled ventilated front seats - rather than just normal heated ones.
The seat is also more adjustable with 10 ways of adjustment, and they have a memory recall function with up to three saved seating positions.
Everything is leather and there's also an upgrade to the B&O sound system with the same 10-speaker system you'll find in the Ford Ranger Raptor - which has rather impressive sound quality, the best you'll find in a pick-up.
There's also Intelligent Speed Assistance and an Automated Parking function with reversing camera as standard. The levels of safety systems are exceptionally high already in the Wildtrak, but the Platinum has even more.
The Ranger Platinum is only available with the top of the range diesel engine in the line-up. The Platinum uses a 3-litre V6 diesel engine with 236hp and 600Nm of torque. A 10-speed automatic transmisision is standard with no option for a manual. It gets permanent four-wheel-drive that is selectable with a low-range 'box for off-roading.
The Ford Ranger Platinum interior is about as upmarket as you can get in a pick-up truck. In fact there are premium SUVs that struggle to come close to the level of refinement and equipment you get in the Platinum.
As this is Ford's ultimate on-road pick-up truck, designed for the road but with the abilities to go off it, you get a lot of creature comforts to play with.
The unique selling point is the ventilated seats - a nice feature not found on any other pick-up truck rivals like the Toyota Hilux or even the Volkswagen Amarok Aventura - which is a direct competitor to the Ranger Platinum.
There's a 12-inch central screen as standard - the largest touchscreen in the Ranger line-up and there are plenty of other little upgrades to the cabin to make it feel a bit special. Whether or not it is entirely at home in this sort of cabin, there's wood effect detailing across the dash. It looks nice, but it isn't really in-keeping with the rest of the aesthetic.
As previously mentioned, the driver's seat is 10-way adjustable with memory functions. It also gets dual zone automatic air conditioning, satelitte navigation and perhaps most importantly of all Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless connectivity. There's an induction charging pad in the central part of the dash for charging mobile phones wirelessly.
The steering wheel is fully adjustable and heated, and so too are the mirrors.
It's certainly a comfortable cabin to be in and the black leather seating is a considerable upgrade in looks over the standard part-leather seats you get in a Wildtrak.
Despite having a large V6 engine under the bonnet, it's quiet inside too. The engine is naturally quite muted on start-up but much in the way of engine noise gets into the interior until you really begin to open up the taps. Even then it's quite restrained. At a motorway cruise, you hear more in the way of road and wind noise than you do of the engine.
The V6 diesel engine is definitely not lacking in torque. It's 600Nm is the most of any pick-up truck currently on sale, and the 236hp is right up there too - although not as much as the Raptor's 289hp.
As a result, the Ranger Platinum is very eager to get a move on when provoked and in doing so there's a very pleasant crescendo of noise. It's not the most dramatic of engines, but as a hulking diesel unit goes it's got an element of theatre about it which brings a smile.
The ride is pleasantly dampened, and while it's no where near as compliant as the Raptor's Fox Live dampers it, along with the slightly softer feeling Volkswagen Amarok, suspension is the best in the class.
The steering is direct and much more communicative than in a Toyota Hilux or Isuzu D-Max. It's also more assisted but in a positive way, making it a far easier to drive and more relaxing. The overall refinement is further improved by the upmarket feeling of the interior.
With all that power it's not surpriging that the V6 Ranger has a few traction issues. While Ford has developed a very good traction control system to reign all that power in, it's very easy to spin the wheels up on the Ranger Platinum. With permenant four-wheel-drive it's quickly addressed and usually without too much loss in power, but it does lead to a rather ragged drive if you're heavy-handed under acceleration.
Despite it being a more sophisticated pick-up truck, the luxury of the Platinum trim doesn't impede the Ranger's already impressive off-road abiliites.
There's no doubt that the Ranger Platinum has all the right attributes to be great off road.
It comes with six selectable drive modes - Normal, Eco, Towing, Slippery, Mud and Sand - which engage the required off-road features such as four-wheel-drive, low range or removing traction control. There's also hill descent control as standard.
So capable is the Ranger, that for the majority of minor off-road excursions it doesn't even need to be put into a specific mode. The electronics simply figure it out for themeslves. It's an ideal off-road truck, even for the complete novice.
Ford has spared no expense with the levels of equipment on the Ranger Platinum making it the safest of all the models in the Ranger line-up when it comes to driver assistance systems and safety features.
As standard, the Ranger line-up gets Emergency Brake Assist, Load Adaptive Control, Hill Descent Control, Hill Start Assist, Trailer Sway Control and Roll-Over Mitigation. There's also a Terrain Management System with Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
Platinum models also get Pre-Collision Assist, Post-Collision Braking, Intelligent Speed Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Blind Spot Information System with Trailer Coverage, Lane-Keeping System with Driver Alert, Traffic Sign Recognition, front and rear parking distance sensors, Reverse Brake Assist, Active Park Assist, 360° camera and auto high beam headlights.
As standard all Rangers get driver and passenger airbags, side, curtain and knee airbags. The Platinum also gets a collision mitigation system. After all, prevention is better than cure.
The Ranger Platinum has a payload capacity of 1055kg, making it eligable for businesses to reclaim the VAT. It's front axle is rated for 1490kg, while the rear has a total plated mass of 1959kg. The gross vehicle weight (GVW) for the Ranger Platinum double cab is slightly higher than the other models in the range that don't get the V6 diesel at 3350kg.
Power for charging tools or running lights can also be found in the rear load deck of the truck.
For towing, the Ranger Platinum has a towing capacity of up to 3.5-tonnes or 3500kg for a braked trailer and 750kg for an unbraked trailer. It also has a couple of smart features to make it easier and safer. These include anti-trailer sway function to keep the trailer straight, integrated trailer brake control, and a trailer Auto Hitch that helps you line-up the coupling of the trailer more easily.
The overall gross combination weight of the Platinum plus a trailer is limited to 6,500kg. The Ranger Platinum weighs a total of 2486kg kerbweight, allowing you to tow the maximum 3.5-tonnes if you do not have a full payload.
A V6 diesel isn't a cheap thing to own, and when it's in something as heavy as a pick-up truck you are going to feel it at the fuel pumps. The official mpg figures for the Ranger Platinum are 27.97mpg according to the WLTP Overall mpg test. In the real world, we sturggled to get anywhere near that sort of fuel economy with the Platinum. Instead over more than 4,000 miles of testing we ended up with an mpg of exactly 23mpg.
The V6 diesel really punishes you on short trips with a fuel economy rating in the mid-teens, but on the motorways we found 24-25mpg was around the norm.
The Ford Ranger Platinum price is £46,450 ex VAT which is around £5000 more than the Ford Ranger Wildtrak X - which is similarly well specced but uses a 2-litre diesel engine - and £2000 more than the equivalent Ranger Wildtrak V6 diesel.
You're very much paying for that distinctive appearance that the Platinum trim adds.
Sitting a-top the Ranger pile, there's a lot in favour of the Ford Ranger Platinum. It looks great, while still be understated in comparison to the Ford Ranger MS-RT variant. It can also effortlessly eat up the road miles.
It's expensive to buy and definitely expensive to run too, but unlike the Raptor, this is a proper pick-up truck, so is a true commercial vehicle with all the benefits of one. It can carry more than a tonne, and you can get the VAT back.
Does it do anything more than a Wildtrak? No. Does it look better than a Wildtrak? Yes.
Think of it this way. If you own a company and you want to buy your staff a decent pick-up truck to off-road, tow and drive on the motorway in, then a Ranger Wildtrak is a perfect candidate. But, as you're the boss, you might want something a little bit more upmarket to set yourself apart. That's the Ford Ranger Platinum - the boss' motor, or we'd like to think, the connoisseur’s choice.
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