Buy the new Ford Ranger XLT or get a used FPV Pursuit ute

Dual cabs are in vogue. And it’s not just tradies who are buying them. The traditionally trusty workhorse has now become a fashion statement. It’s one where body cladding and stickers mean more than engine outputs and true off-road ability. Nowadays a Ford Ranger XLT is ‘driveway goals’ for myriad families and tradies alike. Or you could make a different statement. You could get behind the wheel of a FPV Pursuit ute for a circa $60k ask. For that outlay you can take home a supercharged V8 and not a four-pot turbo diesel.

FORD RANGER XLT

If you can’t stretch to the Ford Performance-fettled Ranger Raptor, the XLT offers a lot of the experience for less cash. However, you do miss out on Fox shocks, Baja driving mode and aggressive off-road styling additions among other things. In the XLT you can opt for the same 2.0-litre bi-turbo four-cylinder diesel and 10-speed auto that features in the Raptor. While it might not be a powerhouse, there’s a newfound refinement over the outgoing 3.2-litre five-cylinder and its efficient at 6.7L/100km.

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If you want to go off-road there’s 237mm of ground clearance, the wading depth is 800mm, while the 2.0-litre variants also gain the Raptor’s Terrain Management System. On-road the XLT mingles with the best of the dual cabs for dynamics and overall NVH levels are well suppressed. The XLT also gains a raft of safety tech, including AEB as well as pedestrian and vehicle detection.

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The Ranger XLT dual cab offers a spacious cabin with room for five to be seated comfortably. The overall design is a mix of passenger car and ‘truck’, but the SYNC infotainment system works well and also offers support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The rear tub is useful (1041kg payload) and there’s a 3500kg towing capacity, but for towing purposes, the older five-pot oiler is the better pick. Still, it makes for an ‘adventure vehicle’, one where the family can come along, too.

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FORD FALCON PURSUIT UTE

When you’ve got 315kW and 545Nm of supercharged V8 goodness, you can have a lot of fun in a different way. The FPV doesn’t have the off-road or family-lugging prowess of the Ranger, but it makes up for it. On the run, when managing traction becomes less of an issue, the 1792kg Pursuit hauls at a pace that belies its estimated 5.0sec 0-100km/h time. The six-speed ZF auto is by far the better choice (over the six-speed manual) and the soundtrack is beaut, with a great mix of supercharger whine and V8 rumble from the Miami 5.0-litre bent eight.

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The Pursuit’s live rear axle, 245-section rear tyres and leaf springs makes getting 315kW down to the ground a little tricky. Hence it’s not dynamically brilliant either. However, the ride quality is supple enough and you could easily cover a lot of ground in the comfortable seats. Plus, if you’re using it like a pseudo performance coupe, the tray forms as a huge boot – although it is just as practical as a normal Falcon ute if you choose to use it as a work vehicle.

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Inside, the FPV was showing its age even at launch, with the donor Falcon’s dash design receiving little love or cash for an update during its lifespan. Prices seem to be on the rise, too, so get in while you still can to score a piece of Aussie nostalgia. After all, only 75 were built.

Specs comparison

Wheels staff picks

Cameron Kirby
Staff Journalist

It has to be the FPV Pursuit, it just has to be. No, it won’t carry your family as effectively as the XLT (or at all), nor will it get to those hard-to-reach camp spots, but none of that matters when you have a rear-drive supercharged V8 powering things. Owning a piece of Ford Australia history would be a privilege that would bring a smile to my dial with every flex of the right foot. If the budget allows, I’d also get the blokes at Premcar involved to work their magic on the Miami engine.

Alex Rae
Online Editor

There’s a lot to like about the new Ranger over the Pursuit, such as the five-seat cabin and four-wheel-drive for going on some great trips with the family. But really, what a great piece of Australian motoring history the locally made FPV is. It is a cracking engine and an iconic shape that, I hope, is never forgotten. Unlike the new dual-cab, depreciation might turn into appreciation, too.

Trent Giunco
Staff Journalist

A big, supercharged V8 and rear-wheel drive with a light tub out the back. Sounds like a disaster and a whole heap of fun in one. Often those who buy utes like the FPV Pursuit have little use for them, much like the Ranger, but you just would, wouldn’t you... For those who don’t have to tow anything or chuck anything in the tray, it’d become the perfect faux V8 coupe – just one with unsophisticated rear suspension and a penchant for chewing rear tyres. For me I’d get the smooth-shifting ZF auto, relax back and enjoy the prodigious power and aural theatre.

 

Reckon we’ve got it right? Or are we way off the money (literally)? Find your best and let us know in the comments what you’d buy.