Ford Ranger Wildtrak PHEV 2-seat
Ranger Wildtrak 2-seat bypasses the double cab BIK tax and also provides more secure storage for Ranger users. By John Kendall.
Ford Ranger Wildtrak PHEV 2-seat
Ranger Wildtrak 2-seat bypasses the double cab BIK tax and also provides more secure storage for Ranger users. By John Kendall.
When the Government decided to tax double-cab pickups as company cars for Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) purposes, it left manufacturers with a dilemma. The sector was buoyant, with pickup sales fairly steady, but the change in regulations meant that sales would drop and orders would be cancelled. The solution that most have come up with is to offer a two-seater conversion, removing the rear seats and replacing them with a load floor, bulkhead behind the front seats and blanking out the rear windows. This also overcomes a long-standing issue for double-cab business users – where to securely store tools and equipment, while leaving the load bed clear for other uses.
Ford is not the only manufacturer to have followed this course of action but since the Ford Ranger is also the best-selling pickup in the UK, it’s not much of a surprise. As you might expect, the Ford conversion is a very thorough one. Our test vehicle featured a non-slip floor with tie-down eyes in a track each side. There’s a full-height bulkhead behind the front seats and another at the rear with a mesh grille to protect the rear window. Aluminium panels replace the glass in the rear windows. As Roy Williams, Ranger and LCV product manager for Ford of Britain, says: “This new Ranger variant is engineered for the carrying of goods. That means eligible customers should be able to claim 100% plant and machinery allowance and apply the flat-rate company van BiK.”
Ford is offering the conversion on Wildtrak variants of the Ranger and it may expand to other models in time. Our test model was based on the Wildtrak PHEV, powered by Ford’s 2.3-litre petrol engine paired with a plug-in hybrid drive system. As with other Ranger PHEV models, transmission is through a 10-speed automatic gearbox.
The question for customers will be how much they need the rear seats versus how much they don’t want the tax burden. Although it feels odd driving a double cab pickup truck with a bulkhead behind you blanking off the view backwards, the conversion has liberated a noticeable amount of extra storage space. For those working in forestry, farming construction and utility companies, it offers useful additional space as well as the pickup load bed.
As we have noted before, the Ranger PHEV is a very impressive vehicle. It offers an impressive ride over poor surfaces, while the petrol engine and automatic transmission combination are extremely refined. We did what many PHEV owners don’t and plugged the vehicle in to charge it up. That offers up to around 25 miles of range, which is OK for short-distance local running, but is something and nothing for longer trips. Since the Ranger is such a capable long-distance vehicle, it is a shame that it doesn’t offer greater electric range. If you also opt for Ford’s Pro Power Onboard system, which will use some of the drive battery capacity to power tools and equipment, it would reduce the range still further. A Ranger PHEV with more range would not go amiss, but that would inevitably come at a price.
The Ranger 2-seat adds more versatility to the vehicle range and it will undoubtedly appeal to a number of fleet users, not just those keen to avoid paying more BiK tax. What’s more, it is effectively a ‘no-cost’ option, priced the same as conventional double cab Wildtrak models.
