New Ford Ranger Meets Toyota Hilux In Muddy Drag Race

The new Ford Ranger hasn’t reached American soil yet but it is already on sale in Europe where customer deliveries are now underway. Representatives of the media can also finally test drive the overhauled truck, which means we are expecting more and more videos showing the machine in action in the coming weeks and months. We will surely get our hands on the US-spec Ranger next year when it arrives in the country but until then, we can watch what our colleagues on the other side of the big pond do with the Ranger.

This isn’t a bad thing, of course, especially when Carwow is involved. The YouTube channel’s latest video features the new Ford Ranger against the Toyota Hilux in an off-road drag race. In case this is the first time you hear about an off-road drag race, it is now a thing and actually a very spectacular way to compare two utility vehicles.

In fact, this video contains much more than a simple race up a muddy hill. There are a total of six off-road challenges and a simple rating system, which should help Carwow decide which one between the Ranger and the Hilux is a better off-road truck. These are actually two quite different pickup trucks in terms of their hardware so let’s take a look at what’s under the hood.

The Ranger has a 2.0-liter twin-turbo diesel engine with a peak power of 205 horsepower (153 kW) and 367 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters) of torque. The four-cylinder mill is mated to a 10-speed automatic gearbox and a switchable all-wheel-drive system with a locking rear differential. The Hilux relies on a very similar output with 204 hp (152 kW) and 310 lb-ft (420 Nm), albeit coming from a larger displacement 2.8-liter diesel engine. A six-speed manual transmission sends the power to all four wheels and just like the Ranger, there are different modes and a locking rear differential. 

To make this comparison test more honest and informative, there’s an off-road specialist accompanying Carwow’s team. Watch the video at the top of this page to find out which truck is faster in the mud and which one is the better off-roader overall.