Just as the D-Max’s diesel engine lends it a certain roughness of dynamic character, there’s likewise some fiddling, stiff-legged crudeness to the D-Max’s on-road ride – more than the best-mannered pick-ups now suffer from. It handles precisely enough, though, and is by no means wayward or unpleasant to drive.
There’s a reassuring level of stability whether it be on the motorway or in town. The D-Max doesn’t wander under power or heavy braking and the rear axle doesn’t bounce or feel too stiff over ruts and imperfections. The brakes themselves feel strong enough and progressive, despite there only being drums on the rear axle.
The steering, meanwhile, has a vagueness that doesn’t work so much in its favour on-road as off, which stems from the flex of its ladder-frame chassis and the influence of its high-sidewall hybrid offroad tyres. So you find yourself having to guess a little at how much lock to put on to go round a given corner or roundabout. But after a while, it’s easy to get used to.
The low-speed ride can get quite busy, particularly on poorer road surfaces, which means the higher level of relative comfort on offer in the Ford Ranger will be more appealing.
Also worth a mention is its turning circle which, at 12.5m, is tigher than some rivals. For reference, the Ranger’s turning circle is 12.7m, while the Volkswagen Amarok’s is 12.9m.
In off-road driving, the D-Max’s standard-fit mud-and-snow tyres give it plenty of grip and capability and a new Rough Terrain mode for the electronic traction control helps it through really slippery and steep sections.
At times, just as on the road, the engine feels a little short on grunt, but not often.
