2016 Ford PXII Ranger XLT joins the 4X4 shed

IT’S NO secret I like old 4x4s.

Over the years I’ve treated countless neighbours to the aural pleasure of me yelling at whatever the latest nugget was in my driveway, pumping the throttle, juggling the choke with surgeon-like precision and going through the full start-up routine just to drive to the shops for a sneaky lunch kebab.

I still love them, and always will. But with my sights set on some remote travel over the next 18 months, the idea of tuning a carb on the side of the track because of a slight altitude change didn’t exactly hold the appeal it did back when I was 18.

I searched under the lounge for all the spare change I could muster up and forged Matt’s signature for a loan application, then went looking at new 4x4s.

The short list was narrowed down to an SR5 Hilux for the reliability and dealer network, an NP300 Navara for its aggressive styling and coil spring rear, or an XLT PXII Ranger for its physically larger size and bigger engine.

After driving all back-to-back, I settled on the Ranger. Sure, I have a few reliability concerns, but I do a heap of towing, so the longer wheelbase and gruntier engine pushed it across the line.

Despite only picking it up a few days before Christmas, she’s already ticked over 20,000km with no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The XLT came with a bunch of options I wanted for on- and off-road use, as the whole point of the Ranger was to rack up kays and get me to places I couldn’t trust the 60 with. It picked up a factory rear locker, adaptive cruise control, and a heap of tech features that keep the missus and kids happy, too.

I’d always shied away from new cars because, well, they’re boring. The Ranger is no different, but that’s kind of the appeal to it. It’s done a few trips up and down the east coast now and doesn’t require anything more than a quick fluid-level check before hitting the road.

I’ve punted it along the Coffs Coast, effortlessly traversed the Pebbly Beach crossing, slipped and slid sideways through South East Queensland mud, and lugged more trailers around than you could shake a grey cardigan at – and I’ve barely even started modifying it.

Over the next few months I’ll start swiping the credit card to get it a little more outback-ready, then just sit back while the odometer ticks over. As long as it doesn’t require me to do any work on it, I’ll be laughing.