29th November, 2012
The new Ford Ranger has won the International Pick-Up Award 2013 as decided by a pan-European judging committee. In coming out with the decision, every member of the judging panel ranked the new Ranger as their number one choice; praising its performance on-and off-road, strong engine line-up, payload and towing capability, and safety.
Ranger won the award following extensive testing at Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, England, after which it was awarded 47 points more than the combined number of points garnered by the second- and third-placed Isuzu D-Max and Volkswagen Amarok. The award was presented to Ford by jury chairman Pieter Wieman at the Fleet Transport EXPO 12 event, in Dublin.
“The Ford Ranger is a great all-rounder, combining the perfect blend of on-road comfort and stability with off-road capability,” said Jarlath Sweeney, the Irish judge on the panel of CV journalists that also serves on the International Van of the Year jury. Built at Ford’s assembly plant in Pretoria, the Ranger boasts of all the toughness and rugged capabilities of a pickup truck, but also features smart technology, outstanding safety, superior fuel economy and high standards of quality and comfort normally associated with passenger cars.
By Daniel Ekugo