Ford Ranger 2.0 EcoBlue Stormtrak 2022 UK first drive

Even in its 12th and final full year on sale, the P375-generation Ford Ranger remained by far Britain’s favourite pick-up truck.

In a stupendous year for Ford Commercial Vehicles (in which the Transit Custom was the UK's best-selling LCV, outselling even the best-selling car, the Vauxhall Corsa, and followed by its larger Ford Transit sibling), 17,830 new Rangers took 42% of the pick-up market. That’s pretty impressive, even if the Ranger no longer has to worry about the Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navara or Volkswagen Amarok, as these have all been taken off sale in recent years.

Some of these Rangers would have been in the four special guises that Ford has introduced to celebrate the end of the P375 line: the MS-RT Limited Edition, Raptor Special Edition, Stormtrak and Wolftrak, all of which are still available to order.

In Ford’s words, the Wolftrak is “an intrepid, rugged pick-up designed around the needs of customers who work outdoors and desire commanding off-road performance without compromising comfort and desirability”. Meanwhile the Stormtrak – which we’re testing here – is “a premium truck offering distinctive styling and premium features for customers who value outstanding capability and a generous specification to support their active work and lifestyle needs”.

In our words, the Wolftrak is essentially the basic Ranger XLT with a unique tubular bar for holding in loads and hosting accessories; special grey paint; a matt-black grille; extra underbody cladding; 17in alloy wheels; and plastic side steps. The Stormtrak is essentially the plusher, double-cab Wildtrak with special red paint; red grille inserts, LED headlights; extra underbody cladding; a ‘sports hoop’; a black rear bumper; body stickers; and a liner, divider and Ford’s new Power Roller Shutter for the load bed.

Apart from the reasonable pricing and practical advantages of buying an LCV from Ford in the UK, one of the major reasons for the Ranger's continued success over the past decade must surely have been the way it drives.

Never has "it drives like a truck" sounded less of an insult. You can convince yourself that the Ranger is a big SUV – an old-school 4x4 one, that is – such is the quality of the ride and handling. It never feels agricultural like, say, the Ssangyong Musso. The Ranger is a Ford and it tries hard to make you remember that.

It's admittedly less so when you’re driving with the load bed entirely empty, putting the weight distribution off kilter so making it a bit bouncier and more tail happy, but there’s obviously an easy solution to that.