| First Drive | Knockhill, Scotland | Ford Ranger |

Pick-ups might be a big hit in the USA but they're a fringe purchase in the UK - even more so since the economy went into freefall. However, for people wanting a tough all-rounder for business and pleasure there's little to match the versatility of a 4x4 double cab with a one-tonne payload. For aspiring builders - or unknown stuntmen - Ford offers its new Ranger, a refreshed workhorse that takes on Nissan's Navara and Mitsubishi's L200.

In the Metal

Ford claims to have added some of its 'kinetic' design language to the Ranger. We're hard pushed to see it. There are new headlamps, a chrome grille and chunky bumpers, but the Ranger looks as related to a Fiesta as we are to chimpanzees. Sure, there's some shared DNA, but they don't look like family. Still, the Ranger looks tough, which is the idea - it's certainly tough enough to square up to its competition in the builders' yard.

What you get for your Money

Pick-ups deliver not just your payload, but also a huge amount for your money. The Double Cab in Thunder guise costs under £20,000 before you add VAT (only if you're a private buyer). For that you get the five seats (four useable with the fifth only offering a lap belt), the ability to tow up to three tonnes, carry a tonne of anything in the back and a four-wheel drive system that'll get you almost anywhere. Add air conditioning, an aux-in equipped stereo, heated leather front seats, alloy wheels and some exterior bright work that lifts the Thunder above a mere tool and the Ranger represents pretty decent value for money.

Driving it

Value for money always costs and in the Ranger you pay on the road and in terms of interior quality. Inside it is utilitarian and it's as rugged to drive as it looks, the useful Ford as removed on the road from its regular car relatives as it is in the styling stakes. Forget pin-sharp steering and class-leading handling, then. In fairness, given its brief, the Ranger does a great job, but it doesn't stand out among its Japanese rivals as the drivers' choice. None do.

What the Ranger will do is get you and your payload wherever you want, the 4x4 system giving the Ranger real go-anywhere ability. If anywhere includes the city you might want to choose the £1,200 automatic, as the manual five-speeder is a bit of a wrestle. We'd also recommend you keep something in the load bay as the Ranger rides far better with a couple of hundred kilos in the back to give the suspension something to work with. Empty it's bouncy.

The 2.5-litre engine feels gutsy enough, though starting it up produces a tremor through the whole car that'll show up on any nearby seismograph. On the move it's quite civilised, the Ranger remarkably free of wind noise despite its barn-door aerodynamics. Feeling narrower and more wieldy than its rivals the Ranger does the job asked of it. Which can be anything really: hauling a trailer, exploring the wilderness or carrying kit, it's versatile. And in its marketplace that's what counts.

Worth Noting

The Ranger Thunder Double Cab might have seats for five but with a lap belt only in the middle rear seat it's best to call it a four-seater. There's a 3.0-litre option, but the increase in power and torque it offers is negligible and it hurts economy and emissions. In 2.5-litre guise the Ranger achieves an official 30.4mpg combined consumption figure and emits 255g/km. Not exactly planet friendly then, but not out of step with its rivals.

Summary

Ford's Ranger is rugged and brilliant if you need it. As a business vehicle it's great, but even in well-specified Thunder guise you'd have to really want a pick-up and the compromises it brings to choose it over a conventional car or SUV. For hauling, rock crawling and carrying the Ranger is right up there with its competition, but as a lifestyle choice the Ranger, and all of its rivals, are increasingly difficult to justify.