The Ford Ranger, a staple to Malaysians who loves pickups, has got a new trim line in their Ranger line-up , a revival of the Splash trimline unveiled in the late 90’s that gave a totally utilitarian pick-up truck a lifestyle makeover akin to something from Baywatch. However, with the platform based off the existing XLT + variant and costing about RM138,888, is this the pickup for you? Let’s delve deeper.
Exterior
The entire silhouette of the truck is exactly like the XLT + but the Splash add-on comes with a handsome black finish, and matte black trim pieces such as the all new kangaroo bar, side mirrors, rear bumper, front grille and fender flares which makes the truck look more stealthy and to top it off, matte black 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Bridgestone rubber complete the entire look of the car. In addition to the stealthy car is the fluorescent “splash” decal contrasting itself on the black paint, proudly showing others that this trimline is a bit special.
InteriorInside the Splash is where it truly shines, it follows the standard XLT + interior but has a black theme with a few extras such as the all new in-built toll reader a very convenient feature indeed and a 360° surround view camera for easy parking. This is on top of all the standard features found in the standard XLT + variant, so as is the Splash seems to be a very comfortable vehicle to be in.
Drivetrain and Chassis
The Ranger Splash has EcoBlue 2 litre diesel engine as the heart, mated to a 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission pushing out a respectable 180 ponies and 420 Nm of torque from 1750 to 2500 RPM. It has a reported fuel consumption of 7.4 litres per 100 kilometres, which better than their larger engine counterparts. But for the most part drivetrain and chassis is nothing more than the XLT + the Splash is based on so you can expect the same driving experience in the Splash and in the XLT +
Buying it on Lazada?
The Ford Ranger Splash with only 19 units available will be exclusively sold on the Lazada platform in conjunction with the sites 11.11 shopping festival, From there, customer have the chance to chup the car by using their chup function and paying a non-refundable 10% of the RM1389 booking fee which is RM139. Then, on the 11 th customers will have to checkout and pay the remainder RM1250 to secure their booking. Once final booking fee has been paid, customers will be contacted by a Ford representative to finalise their purchase at their preferred Ford dealership. With their purchase customers get a 3 year or100,000-km factory warranty and a 5 year or 100,000-km free maintenance package and to sweeten the deal the first 11 customers to have completed the deal through chup will receive a RM500 Petronasgift card upon successful delivery. But to those who decided to back out, don’t worry SDAC has announced that customers will be eligible for a full refund if they’ve paid the full booking fee.
Conclusion
The Ford Ranger Splash is a pickup truck with a great mix of utility and comfort, the new technology gives customer the satisfaction in knowing their vehicle is very capable, but is it worth buying? Honestly, if you value the handsome exterior and 360 surround view camera then by all means get it but If you want a truck that’s just as capable for a cheaper price and don’t need the limited edition goodies then the XLT + is just as good.
