The 4x2 segment of Australia’s light commercial vehicle market is where you’ll find utes primarily designed for hard yakka. These base-model workhorses come in a variety of body types including single cab, extra cab, dual cab, ute or cab chassis.
Buyers are typically government and commercial fleets, tradies, farmers, couriers and other business owners with a sharp focus on minimising costs.
In that context, base-model 4x2s are popular, as they not only avoid the added complexity/expense of 4x4 but also have minimal standard equipment.
Toyota has long dominated this segment with its 4x2 Hilux variants, but more recently its market share has diminished in the face of increasing competition from numerous rear-drive rivals, headed by Isuzu’s D-Max and Ford’s Ranger, which was recently crowned Australia's top-selling motor vehicle.
We recently spent a week aboard the blue oval's 4x2 workhorse offering, to see how it measures up in this increasingly competitive market segment.
Ford Ranger 2024: XL 2.0 HI-Rider (4X2)
Engine Type | Diesel Turbo 4, 2.0L |
---|---|
Fuel Type | Diesel |
Fuel Efficiency | 7.8L/100km (combined) |
Seating | 5 |
Price From | $39,820 - $46,860 |
Safety Rating |
|
Price and Features – Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with? 8/10?
8 / 10
Our test vehicle is the 4x2 XL Hi-Rider dual cab ute, available only with a 2.0-litre single-turbo diesel engine and six-speed automatic transmission for a list price of $43,280.
Ours is also fitted with Ford’s optional 'Towing Pack', comprising a 3500kg tow-bar and integrated electronic trailer-brake controller, which adds $1700.

Beyond its 16-inch steel wheels with 255/70R16 tyres and full-size spare, there’s halogen daytime running lights (no fancy 'C-clamp' LEDs here folks), power-adjustable and folding door mirrors, a rear bumper step, load tub illumination, top-of-tub protective capping with access caps (see Practicality) plus a lift-assisted tailgate.

The no-frills cabin, with fabric seats and vinyl floor, offers the driver a height/reach-adjustable steering wheel, eight-way manually-adjustable seat (including lumbar support) and 8.0-inch colour digital instrument cluster with configurable display.

There are also three USB ports, two 12-volt outlets and a four-speaker multimedia system, with large 10-inch touchscreen and multiple connectivity including 'FordPass Connect' and Apple/Android devices.
Buyers also have access to numerous options, including the ‘XL 4x2 Off-Road Pack’ comprising a differential lock, steel underbody protection and larger 17-inch steel wheels with all-terrain tyres for those operating in the rough stuff.
Design – is there anything interesting about its design? 8/10?
8 / 10
All Ranger XL 4x2s are called ‘Hi-Riders’ as they share the same ride height as their 4x4 siblings. As a result, they also benefit from the same ground clearance/approach/departure angles, which can be handy if there's some rugged terrain in your line of work.
Braking is a front disc/rear drum combination but you’d struggle to feel the difference between this and the four-wheel discs of higher-grade models, given how well Ford has refined the set-up over the years.

The Ranger XL is a chrome-free zone as you'd expect, with the interior featuring many shades of grey and a conspicuous number of plastic caps in places where buttons/switches are found in more luxurious variants.
Even so, the cabin is neat and functional for this role. Rear seat space is excellent, even for tall people like me (186cm). There’s also ample headroom, which contributes to the spacious feel.
Our only gripes are the absence of air-vents and a USB port in the rear of the centre console, which come standard in rivals like Isuzu’s D-Max SX.


Practicality – How practical is its space and tech inside? 8/10?
8 / 10
Thanks to its relatively light 2093kg kerb weight, our test vehicle’s 3250kg GVM allows for an impressive 1157kg payload rating.
It’s also rated to tow up to the category-benchmark 3500kg of braked trailer and given its big 6200kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) that would still leave a generous payload capacity of more than 600kg.
These are strong numbers well suited to a variety of heavy-hauling tasks.
The load tub’s floor is 1547mm long and 1584mm wide with 1224mm between the wheel housings, allowing it to carry an 1165mm-square Aussie pallet which can be secured using a choice of six load-anchorage points (three each side).
A steel-framed bulkhead doubles as robust protection for the cabin’s rear window and a handy place on which to lean and secure items that are too long to fit in the tub.
Its flush-fitting load retainers can pivot and lock into a vertical position on each side, to effectively ‘book-end’ loads when securing them.
The tub has internal lighting thanks to small but bright LEDs embedded in the sidewalls. These are welcome not only when accessing the tub at night or in poorly-lit internal spaces, but also if it's fitted with a hard tonneau cover.
There are concave side-steps behind the rear wheels, which make accessing the load tub easier and safer than standing on top of the tyres as owners often do, because if they're wet or muddy it’s easy to slip off.
Six plastic caps (three each side) along the top edges of the sidewalls can be removed to provide access to internal mounting points for numerous structures, like ladder racks.
The top edge of the tailgate incorporates a 1.3-metre ruler and a pair of spring-loaded ‘trapdoors’ which provide access to the tailgate’s internal cavity.
This allows for the use of G-clamps, which can be inserted into these holes when using the open tailgate as a workbench to clamp materials in place when cutting, drilling, sanding, etc.
Front-of-cabin storage includes dual bottle holders and a bin in each door, plus an overhead glasses holder and, on the passenger’s side, an open shelf with glove box below.
The centre console has open storage up front, a pair of small-bottle/cupholders in the centre and a lidded-box at the back which doubles as a driver’s elbow rest.
Rear seat passengers get a bottle holder and bin in each door, another bin in the rear of the centre console and a pocket on the front passenger seat’s backrest, but with no fold-down centre armrest there are no dedicated cupholders.
The one-piece seat base can also swing up and be stored vertically if more internal luggage space is required, or to access two large underfloor storage compartments.
Under the bonnet – What are the key stats for its engine and transmission? 8/10?
8 / 10
The 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel with single turbocharger produces a healthy 125kW at 3500rpm and 405Nm of torque between 1750-2500rpm, which exceeds the outputs of 2.4-litre HiLux and 1.9-litre D-Max diesel rivals.

This engine is paired with a six-speed torque converter automatic, which offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting using a small thumb-operated toggle on the side of the shift-lever.
This can be handy when carrying and/or towing heavy loads, particularly in hilly terrain to minimise gear-hunting.
Efficiency – What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range? 9/10?
9 / 10
Ford claims official average combined cycle consumption of 7.8L/100km.
When we stopped to refuel at the end of our 493km test, which included a mix of suburban and highway driving of which about one fifth was carrying a heavy payload, the dash display was claiming 8.5L/100km.

This was very close to our own figure of 9.3, calculated from fuel bowser and trip meter readings, which confirmed thrifty single-digit economy in real-world driving conditions.
So, based on our own figures, the test vehicle should achieve an impressive driving range of around 860km from its big 80-litre tank.
Driving - what’s it like to drive? 8/10?
8 / 10
It’s easy to climb aboard with big assist-handles on the A and B pillars to compensate for the absence of side-steps.
The driving position is comfortable and spacious, with ample manual adjustments available in the seat and steering wheel.
It may be a back-to-basics workhorse but refinements in the latest Ranger generation have not been compromised.
The unladen ride quality is undeniably firm but still commendable, even on bumpy roads, given its leaf-spring rear axle and big payload rating.
The relatively light 4x2 kerb weight ensures brisk acceleration from standing starts, combined with steering feel that arguably remains the class benchmark.

We forklifted 890kg into the tub which with driver (and towing pack) was more than one tonne of payload.
The rear leaf springs compressed 50mm under this weight, but there was no chance of bottoming-out because of the rear suspension design that has long cone-shaped jounce rubbers that engage with the springs early in their compression.
This eliminates the hard thumps at full travel like traditional bump-stops and provide what is effectively a second stage of load support. The result is a smooth ride under maximum loads, regardless of road conditions.

The Ranger has ample performance in busy suburban driving and excels at highway speeds, with low engine, tyre and wind noise highlighting its excellent noise suppression.
It also made light work of hauling this load up our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set climb at 60km/h, self-shifting down to third gear to easily reach the summit with minimal accelerator required.
Engine braking on the way down, in a manually-selected second gear, wasn’t as robust but typical of small displacement turbo-diesels trying to restrain big loads on steep descents.
The only negative was an alert that appeared on the driver’s info display, warning of a ‘front camera malfunction’ that would require servicing.
As a result, we were without pre-collision assist, adaptive cruise control or speed-limiter functions for the remainder of our test run, which fortunately occurred on the final day of our loan.
Warranty & Safety Rating
Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What is its safety rating? 8/10?
8 / 10
The Ranger scored a maximum five-star ANCAP assessment in 2022 and boasts a suite of benchmark active and passive features.
In the base-grade XL this is highlighted by nine airbags, AEB, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control and more.
For smaller crew members, there’s ISOFIX and top-tether child seat anchorage points on the two outer rear seating positions.
Ownership – What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs? 8/10?
8 / 10
Warranty is five years/unlimited km.
Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first.
Capped-price servicing for the first five scheduled services totals $1911 or an average of $382 per service.
Verdict
The Ford Ranger XL 4x2 Double Cab combines strong performance with a one-tonne-plus payload rating, 3500kg towing ability, spacious cabin and excellent ride/handling.
However, it could be even better without the penny-pinching evident in the lack of rear passenger air-vents/USB etc found in some 4x2 rivals. Even so, for workhorse buyers, there’s plenty to like here.
Pricing Guides
