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Review
2024 Ford Ranger Platinum review
Bruce Newton
February 20, 2024
The Ford Ranger has risen to the top of the best-sellers list in Australia and it’s a feat achieved in part because of Ford’s willingness to stretch the boundaries of what traditionally constitutes a working ute.
The Ranger Platinum is a great example of Ford's strategy to find new car buyers and niches for it's top-selling model. Essentially, the new Platinum specification is a V6 diesel 4x4 dual cab Ford Ranger with every option ticked. It’s as close as the Ranger ute gets to being a luxury car. Apart from the performance-orientated Raptor, it’s also the most expensive Ranger you can buy at nearly $80,000 before on-road costs.
The 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum comes with an extensive list of features. Image: Supplied
Ford Ranger Platinum pricing and features
The Ford Ranger Platinum will set you back $79,390 before on-road costs. As mentioned, only the $89,190 Raptor with its bespoke petrol V6 twin turbo engine and off-road racer chassis is more expensive.
The Platinum is almost $6000 more than the Wildtrak V6 diesel 4x4 dual cab it is based on.
Some of the added equipment relates to exterior styling which we’ll deal with in a second. It is also the only Ranger to come with 20-inch alloy wheels and a dampened tailgate.
Inside the Ranger Platinum exclusively offers quilted and leather accented seats with ventilation and heating, while the driver also gets memory settings and a heated steering wheel.
This is the only Ford Ranger variant with the dashboard from the Ford Everest SUV – distinguished by material and stitching changes and a soft-close feature - as well as rear floor mats standard.
Features shared with other Ford Rangers includes a flexible rack system mounted on the roof and load box; a power roller shutter, lighting, a cargo management system, 12v outlet and a drop-in bedliner for the load box; exterior zone lighting, side steps, smart keyless entry, push button start, dual-zone climate control with rear vents and heating and 10-way power adjust for the front seats.
The Ford Ranger Platinum comes with a five year and unlimited kilometre warranty and a capped price service plan with 15,000km intervals.
The Platinum is distinguished externally by its accented mesh and silk-chrome grille. Image: Supplied
The detailed design boasts a step located at each rear corner of the tray to aid access. Image: Supplied
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Ford Ranger exterior design
The Ford Ranger personifies modern dual cab ute design with its large squared-off grille and complex array of LED lighting. Thanks to wider tracks it has a more planted stance than its predecessor.
The Platinum is distinguished externally by its accented mesh and silk-chrome grille and shiny lettering on its bonnet, just the same as the Everest Platinum.
The Platinum is as imposing for its sheer size as its style, measuring up at 5370mm long, 2015mm wide with mirrors folded and 1920mm high including the flexible rack system.
Ford is very proud of some of the detail design touches in the storage box, including a step located at each rear corner of the tray to aid access. The tailgate has integrated cup holders and can act as a work station.
More prosaically, the load box is wide enough to fit an Aussie or Euro pallet. However, the Platinum has the lowest payload - at 912kg - of any Ranger apart from the Raptor.
At first test the flexible rack system seems a good idea, providing a way to carry loads of varying different lengths. Only time will tell if it’s durable.
The cabin of the 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum underlines this is a car for the CEO and not the apprentice. Image: Supplied
From the driver’s seat it all looks very modern and tech-led, with a huge infotainment screen dominating the dashboard. Image: Supplied
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What is the Ford Ranger like inside?
The cabin of the 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum underlines this is a car for the CEO and not the apprentice.
There’s plenty of power adjustment, lots of soft touch materials and even some fake wood trim added to the mix.
From the driver’s seat it all looks very modern and tech-led, with a huge infotainment screen dominating the dashboard, while the 12.4-inch instrument panel is digital.
There’s no better infotainment set-up in the segment, but it’s still easier to just hook up your smartphone wirelessly and project that, whether it be Apple Carplay or Android Auto.
Sadly the digital instrument cluster isn’t especially impressive. The graphics are basic and the navigation via switch blocks on the steering wheel clumsy.
Rear seat space is not especially generous. As is traditional with utes, the seating position is upright and a bit cramped and kneeroom is also a bit tight for a 180cm passenger sitting behind a 180cm driver.
The upside is ample storage space both in the front seat and rear seat. There are generous door bins all-round and even pockets on the front of the rear-seat base.
Aiding flexibility, the rear seat folds down and the base folds up, revealing yet more storage bins.
Ford’s added a new feature to the Ranger Platinum for 2024 to aid reversing when towing. Image: Supplied
Is the Ford Ranger good to drive?
The 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum weighs in at a substantial 2388kg. Combine that with its traditional ute ladder frame, double wishbone front suspension and leaf spring rear-end and you’re not going to get a traditional luxury car drive out of this thing.
But you’re going to go as close as just about any ute can. Australian-developed and tuned, the Ranger Platinum confidently handles most road conditions. There’s a little tetchiness to the ride perhaps exacerbated by the 20-inch rubber, but the handling and electrically-assisted steering is as refined as it gets in this segment.
It’s better behaved on-road than any other ute beside its non-identical twin the Volkswagen Amarok and outpoints many large SUVs as well.
An equally important aspect of the drive experience is the 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine. It offers a deep well of pulling power without feeling monstrous. Refined and quiet, it’s a far cry from some of the clattery four-cylinder donks that inhabit the class.
It is let down slightly by the busy 10-speed automatic gearbox (yes, 10-speed) which seems to be constantly shuffling away at low speeds.
More annoying is the lack of a proper manual shifting option. Instead that is executed via a rocker switch on the weird little gearshift blob.
The final link in the drivetrain is the BorgWarner 4x4 system that allows the Platinum to drive on bitumen as an all-wheel drive. It’s a big step forward in driving security over traditional utes, which must run in rear-wheel drive on-road.
Ford claims the engine will average 8.4L/100km consumption of diesel. Our average came out at 9.4L/100km without heavy loads or towing. Speaking of which, the Platinum is rated to tow 3500kg braked. The payload drops to a still decent 512kg at that weight.
Ford’s added a new feature to the Ranger Platinum for 2024 to aid reversing when towing. Called Pro Trailer Backup Assist, it allows the driver to ‘steer’ the trailer via the outer ring of the drive mode selector on the centre console. It takes a bit of getting used to.
The 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum comes with a five-star ANCAP rating based on 2022 protocols. Image: Supplied.
What is the Ford Ranger like off-road?
The 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum wouldn’t be the first choice in the line-up to go off-road.
It’s got too many shiny road-oriented appointments, not least those 20-inch alloy wheels. It’s too pretty to ding.
A cheaper version of Ranger with the same V6 engine and sophisticated on-demand BorgWarner’s 4x4 system would be a better choice.
What safety features does the Ford Ranger have?
The 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum comes with a five-star ANCAP rating based on 2022 protocols. In addition, there are nine airbags including a centre-front airbag to prevent head knocks between front passengers.
Autonomous emergency braking watches for pedestrians and cyclists as well as vehicles and also has the ability to spot potential treats at intersections.
Other driver assist features include adaptive cruise control with stop and go and traffic sign monitoring. It’s an excellent system that’s so well calibrated it embarrasses the efforts by some other car makers.
Blind spot detection takes your trailer into account if towing, while there is also rear cross traffic alert with reverse brake assist, well-tuned and easily switchable lane departure warning, centring and steer assist; road edge detection, post-impact braking and a split screen 360 degree camera with multiple close-up views selectable by the driver.
The Platinum is the only model apart from Raptor to get excellent Matrix LED headlights standard. Their range, clarity and ability to shield oncoming drivers from glare is outstanding.
There are two child seat upper anchors and two outboard ISOFIX mounts in the rear seat.
It's as close as the Ranger gets to being a luxury car. Image: Supplied
How does the Ford Ranger compare?
The 2024 Ford Ranger is among the most expensive dual cab utes you can buy and the Platinum is among the most expensive Rangers. So it’s certainly in rarefied air.
The 2024 Ford Ranger Platinum is definitely not for every ute buyer. For a start, it’s simply too expensive. It’s also just too nice to subject to the rough and tough life utes usually get.
And if it is being purchased only for driving around on-road as a luxury car then a real luxury car is a better options for most. The Platinum drives great for a ute but that’s still well shy of a nice passenger car.
If you’ve got this sort of money to spend there’s some great prestige and luxury choices out there that aren’t utes.
The information provided is general advice only. Before making any decisions please consider your own circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations. For copies, visit racv.com.au. As distributor, RACV Insurance Services Pty Ltd AFS Licence No. 230039 receives commission for each policy sold or renewed. Product(s)issued by Insurance Manufacturers of Australia Pty Ltd ABN 93 004 208 084 AFS Licence No. 227678.
