In for the long haul: Ford Ranger achieves more than 1,250 km on a single tank of diesel

While the workhorse 2020 Ford Ranger XLS continues to impress road test editors in the Middle East with its refinement, capability and versatility – Ford’s midsize truck has an additional trick up its sleeve: it’s also extremely fuel-efficient.

Ford demonstrated just how efficient the truck can be when it handed the Ranger to two Dubai-based content creators and asked them to see how far they could get on a single tank of fuel, and to record a video log of their efforts.

Armed with a few eco-driving tips and a second Ranger XLS 2.2-litre turbodiesel along for support, Ahmed Jaffar and Mohamed Sirelkhatim embarked on their challenge at the height of the Middle East summer. They topped the Ranger’s 80-litre tank to the brim and set their sights on driving as far as they could.

“At first, we thought 1,000 kilometres would be a very ambitious target,” said Jaffar, “But as the day wore on, and the Ranger indicated that we could easily exceed that, it became apparent that we were in for far more time behind the wheel than we anticipated.”

In fact, having covered 864 km in the first day of driving and still with a quarter tank of diesel left, the pair were very confident of breaking their initial 1,000 km target as they set out on the second day.

Little did they know that the remaining fuel would actually push them to add another 388 kilometres to their challenge, for a total distance of an incredible 1252 kilometres.

“When we started out, we didn’t really know what we were in for. We thought we might make 500 kilometres, maybe a little further – but to not only break that 1,000 kilometre mark but smash it, was really something,” said Jaffar. “It’s a test I’ll remember for a long time to come.”

You can also attempt to maximise the range of your fuel tank by following a few of the helpful tips below.

Drive Smoothly
Try to make your throttle, brake and steering inputs as smooth as possible. Aggressive driving like rapid acceleration, speeding and braking can lower your fuel mileage significantly. Look ahead and try to anticipate situations that may cause you to adjust your speed, acceleration and braking.

Use cruise control
Cruise control can help you to maintain speed and conserve fuel on long stretches of highway. Ranger’s speed limiter is also great for maintaining a constant velocity without the need to constantly monitor the speedometer.

Lighten the load
Try to travel as light as possible by keeping only the most important items (like an emergency kit, jumper cables, a small toolset and jack) in the vehicle. Clear out anything that you don’t need, and remove the trash.

Slow down
Speeding wastes lots of fuel by making the engine work harder. By driving 90km/h instead of 100 km/h, you can improve your fuel economy by up to 15 per cent.

Reduce aerodynamic drag
Your vehicle is designed with good aerodynamics – but external loads, or driving with the windows down, can create extra resistance or drag which will affect fuel economy. Covering your load can help reduce drag – but also consider carrying items inside the cabin on longer trips, if appropriate.