Rangers unravel the gravel

EPIC JOURNEY: FORD CONVOY SETS SAIL FOR CAPE WITH ONE DIRECTIVE – STAY OFF THE TAR

Ford off-roaders tackle South Africa’s less travelled dirt roads with aplomb.

On paper, it seemed like an undertaking that had all the hallmarks of, “can it really be done”? or “have we bitten off more than we can chew”?

Towards the end of last year, a curiously titled invitation in my inbox announced an adventurously titled Ford Ranger Gravelogue that set out from Johannesburg and ended four days later in Cape Town. As easy as this might have sounded in practice, it would not be a simple drive from the Big Smoke to the Mother City.

Instead, the mission was to drive the best offerings in Ford’s local Ranger line-up – the XLT, Wildtrak and Raptor – to the Cape using mostly gravel roads and spending as little time as possible on tar.

Having spent a great deal of my later childhood and young adult life buckled up in the back seat of an Isuzu KB, two generations of Mitsubishi Colt Rodeo and then a Nissan Pathfinder touring across SA, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Swaziland with my family and learning the intricacies of off-road driving, the idea of taking on largely gravel roads

The starting point of our journey was Pecan Manor near Hartbeespoort dam where six shiny new Rangers consisting of a pair of XLTs, Wildtraks and Raptors, had been lined-up.

Another XLT would be leading our convoy, piloted by seasoned off-road coordinator Gideo Basson, while the eighth and final model came in the shape of an XLS SuperCab, driven by medic Bertus Prinsloo, who also acted as the last or sweeper vehicle.

We headed off to our steeds of choice, with the white XLT being my initial pick. With an eclectic mix of tracks loaded on my USB inserted into one of the two ports, we headed out on what was to be the longest leg of the journey.

After a very short spell on the R560, we turned off and hit the gravel on a surprisingly good road.

Despite this, the call by Gideo over the in-car radio made it clear we shouldn’t always bet on that being the case.

“Switch to 4H (high-range