Driven Commercial vehicle of the year

As well as looking great, the Wildtrak has many inside extras - heated front seats will be as welcome in the scrub as in the city on a chilly day. Pictures / Bevan Conley

Ford Ranger Wildtrak

Weekend warrior has swanky fittings and plenty of grunt

The Wildtrak is the best-looking ute Ford has run off its production line for a long time. The Thai-assembled truck is fully kitted and has all the touches of a luxury sedan.

But for all the bling, at heart it is a robust ute, more than capable of crashing through the scrub.

However, for its price ($66,640) we doubt that is what most will be doing in it. Think of it more as a workhorse-cum-weekend warrior.

It's no shrinking violet, measuring 5.3m long and stretched over a 3.2m wheelbase. Power for this four-wheel driver comes from the five-cylinder Duratorq turbo diesel, delivering plenty of grunt and loads of torque (470Nm from just 1500rpm). Drivers can dial in a number of drive options, including two-wheel or four-wheel high and four-wheel low ratios for the six-speed auto transmission.

It looks special from the outside but inside Ford has gone for luxury. In a long list, there's dual-zone climate air, cruise control, leather upholstery and heated front seats, sat-nav, Bluetooth connection with voice control, reversing camera and rear parking sensors. And it has earned a five-star safety rating.

It's one thing to carry a lot of car-like features but another altogether to replicate the ride, which the Wildtrak achieves.