FORD RANGER WILDTRAK v HOLDEN COLORADO Z71
Welcome to the new Blue-versus-red battleground: Thai-built 4x4 utes that trade manners for man-sized versatility, in the suburbs and the scrub.
Ute rivals settle the score over some Thai takeaway
JACK of all trades. It’s something many of us would love to be, kinda like any bastard who can bench press 100kg-plus, but also sing, dance, make people laugh, build a new front fence and effortlessly command a barbeque. But if we’re talking cars – or, in this case, range-topping dual-cab utes with delusions of passenger-car grandeur – trying to be all things to all people is a hard thing to master.
The original ’48 Holden did it. Roomy enough for six, light enough to be both lively and fuelefficient, yet strong enough to tackle much of what the unpaved Aussie Outback could throw at it, the monocoque-bodied ‘humpy’ Holden was a bit like Hugh Jackman dressed in an Akubra and wife-beater singlet. By 1950, it was our bestselling car. Sixty-six years later, that title is held by the separate-chassied Toyota Hilux (with 42,104 sales), leaving the once-dominant large-car class in a state of abandonment.
Want to know what Ford’s best-selling ‘car’ was in 2016? The Ranger pick-up (4x2 and 4x4) with 36,934 sales, five times more than the Blue Oval’s next biggest seller (the now-dead Territory SUV). And Holden? The evergreen Commodore continued to defy the largecar trend with a steady 25,860 sales, but the Colorado pick-up (18,386) is quickly closing the gap, and that’s without any sales boost from the extensively facelifted (and comprehensively improved) MY17 model range.
So this is what a working-class Ford versus Holden stoush looks like in 2017. Two fully-loaded five-seat utes, powered by torquey turbo-diesel engines with six-speed automatic gearboxes, and enough equipment sizzle to fill a warehouse. Forward collision alert, lanedeparture warning, leather-appointed trim, climate control (dual-zone in the Ford), Apple Carplay/android Auto phone projection, factory sat-nav, electric driver’s seats (and heaters up front), 18-inch alloys, roof rails and sporty ‘sail plane’ additions garnishing the rear tray area feature on both the Colorado Z71 ($57,190) and Ranger Wildtrak ($61,790).
For its additional spend, the Wildtrak adds adaptive cruise control, a lockable roller-blind-style metal tonneau cover, 12-volt outlets in both the rear cabin and tray (perfect for refrigeration purposes), a chilled centre console bin, auto high-beam and external puddle lights, while the Colorado Z71 counters with LED daytime running lights, four auto up/down windows, a manually height-adjustable front passenger seat and some groovy 1970s black-out body decals.
Besides the long-departed TRD Toyota Hilux (with its supercharged petrol V6) and the gutsy Volkswagen Amarok TDI V6 (see sidebar p.83), the Ranger Wildtrak and Colorado Z71 are about as sporty as a dual-cab is gonna get. The Holden even has a muscle-car-esque model name, though in truth it’s simply an upper spec level borrowed from GM’S unrelated Chevy Colorado and Silverado pick-ups sold in the US.
This is what a working class Ford versus Holden stoush looks like in 2017