Equipping a 4x4 ute or wagon for off-roading can cost serious money, take your vehicle out of circulation for days or weeks at a time, and result in a final package that’s not always well integrated.

That last point can be especially the case if different aftermarket suppliers have handled different pieces of the project.

Ford Australia think it has a partial solution to this dilemma in the new Ranger Tremor, a limited-edition version of its market-leading 4x4 dual-cab ute that includes a raft of off-road modifications designed to ensure it can drive straight out of the showroom and on to hardcore trails.

The Ranger Tremor follows in the chunky wheel tracks of last year’s Ranger Wildtrak X, also a limited-edition variant that sold out its 1,150 unit run in record time, leaving ‘them’, as the great American showman P. T. Barnum once recommended, wanting more.

Ford has stuck to a proven formula with the Tremor, offering the same enhanced capabilities as the Wildtrak X, but basing this latest special edition on the lower-grade Sport, resulting in a more budget-friendly off-road model.

The Tremor’s $69,690 (MRLP) price tag is a strategic $6,300 below the $75,990 ask of the Wildtrak X and only $3,550 above the Ranger Sport, despite adding some handy additional features.

Ford is expecting all 1,150 Tremor units to sell out soon after deliveries begin in September.

To meet its development brief of being more off-road capable than a regular Ranger, the Tremor comes equipped with specially developed Bilstein position-sensitive dampers with external reservoirs, heavy-duty EPAS (Electronic Power Assisted Steering) with shielding, and new springs.

The springs, in conjunction with chunky 265/70R17 General Grabber AT3 All-Terrain Tyres on gloss-black alloy rims, deliver an extra 26mm of ground clearance.

That’s a handy starting point for improving the off-road performance of the already capable Ranger 4x4, but to this the Tremor adds full-time 4WD instead of the part-time ‘shift-on-the-fly’ system of the Sport, and extended wheelarch mouldings to house a 30mm track increase.

Other off-road oriented additions include Trail Turn Assist which reduces the vehicle turning circle by braking an inside wheel when engaged; the addition of a Rock Crawl drive mode in the terrain mode system; and Trail Control which allows off-road vehicle speed to be controlled using the steering wheel-mounted cruise control switches.

Tremor-specific exterior styling enhancements include a honeycomb grille with auxiliary LED lamps, enthusiast-rated front steel bash plate, cast aluminium side steps, a ‘long-legged’ sports bar, front and rear black Ford oval badges, and Tremor badging.

A new ‘Conquer Grey’ hero colour previously reserved for the Ranger Raptor is one of six exterior colours available.

Inside, the new Ranger variant gets branded all-weather floor mats, Tremor-embossed seats with stitch accents, and an overhead auxiliary switch bank for aftermarket accessories such as light bars.

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The central screen, a 10.1-inch portrait-oriented unit, is smaller than the 12-inch screen fitted to the Wildtrak and Raptor but perfectly good enough.

In addition to its main role in controlling various vehicle interfaces, the screen provides a range of dedicated views for off-road use, with a 360-degree camera view also available as part of the $1,650 optional Touring Pack.

We spent much of the single-day launch drive testing the Tremor on a selection of moderate to difficult tracks in Victoria’s Lerderderg State Park, which provided an ideal setting to appreciate the various off-road modifications and additional electronic aids.

The Ranger’s terrain control system is one of the most comprehensive and versatile in the business, with seven different multi-terrain modes for tackling different conditions such as sand, snow and rock.

The Tremor also gets a more sophisticated 4x4 system than the Sport variant on which it is based, incorporating a full-time four-wheel drive mode that allows it to be driven in all-wheel drive on sealed and unsealed surfaces.

Once low-range is selected, the infotainment screen switches to a specific 4x4 mode, which provides forward and rear camera views – handy when you lose sight of the track on hill crests – and the option to engage the diff lock, Trail Control and Trail Turn Assist, and deactivate the parking sensors.

It’s a user-friendly system that shows the benefits of being developed in the field by enthusiasts.

Challenging off-road driving once required good gear selection and judicious use of the throttle to avoid getting stuck, but with all the Tremor’s sophisticated traction aids at your fingertips it literally becomes a case of pointing the vehicle at the right line and letting the technologies do their thing.

You still need to steer a good line over obstacles, of course, and maintain decent throttle control, but the best approach with the Tremor was just enough throttle to maintain momentum but not so much as to promote excessive wheelspin.

The Trail Control mode is a handy electronic feature of the Tremor that lets the driver focus on steering while driving off-road by using the cruise control switches to maintain a set speed. It came in handy on steep descents where you might otherwise use first-gear low-range in a traditional 4x4.

Once engaged, you simply leave the transmission in Drive and set the speed you are comfortable with via the cruise control switches, with vehicle speed adjusted up or down in 0.5km/h increments.

If you prefer a more old-school driving style, there is still the ability to manually select gears by engaging a manual mode switch on the side of the stubby gear, and using the toggle switch on the side of the lever to select gears.

This is one area where I think the Ranger is trying to be a bit too clever, as the toggle switch is fiddly and the ability to simply use push or pull the lever to choose gears is more intuitive to most drivers. 

The Tremor’s Rock Crawl Drive Mode was also put to good use on Lerderderg’s challenging tracks and trails, proving a handy addition to the terrain control system by providing optimal slow-speed traction and momentum on loose and rocky surfaces.

But it was Trail Turn Assist that was the Tremor’s most attention-grabbing feature, not just for the fact that it does what it promises by reducing the vehicle turning circle, but also because it’s accompanied by some seriously horrendous graunching and grinding noises that sound like you’ve broken something.

The Ford engineers on site assured us it was all as it was intended to be and the sounds were just the brakes doing what they are designed to do, namely clamping on the rear inside wheel when the steering is on full lock, and releasing as you unwind the steering.

The process is basically dragging the back of the vehicle around a pivot point, much like a handbrake turn.

You need to accelerate against the braking force to make it work, so it's somewhat counter-intuitive to anyone with a degree of mechanical sympathy, and once the brakes accumulate mud and grit the soundtrack gets worse. But it’s undeniably effective, with Ford claiming Trail Turn Assist reduces the Ranger’s turning circle by up to 25%.

Certainly, we made turns in a single take using the system that an accompanying Raptor required  a two and even three-point turn to negotiate.  

Trail Turn Assist only works in loose traction conditions, though, so you won’t be able to get your Ranger to execute a tight manoeuvre at your local shopping centre.

You also need to be sure to disengage the rear diff lock when using the feature, otherwise the two systems are fighting against each other.

Fortunately, the diff lock can be switched on and off while on the move at the touch of an electronic screen icon, so it was possible to shuffle easily between diff-lock-on for the tougher sections, and diff-lock-off for the tighter bits.

Elsewhere, the Tremor’s additional ground clearance and chunky off-road rubber proved their merit through bog holes and over rock steps and tracks.

There’s plenty of suspension travel and the Ranger does a good job of keeping its wheels on the deck in most situations, but even with a wheel or two in the air the combination of the rear locker and traction-control kept us moving.

We weren’t traveling quickly enough or over violent-enough corrugations to speak to the benefits of the remote-canister shock absorbers, but on the highway the suspension feels well set up.

The unladen ride is notably firmer than a standard Ranger but it's not brutal and soaks up bumps effectively while maintaining decent body control through corners.

It’s also disciplined enough to avoid the excessive body roll and side-to-side occupant head toss in corners that is an often unpleasant side-effect of 4x4 lift kits.

Under the bonnet of the Tremor is Ford’s proven 150kW/500Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel engine, driving through a 10-speed automatic transmission with the option of running in rear-wheel drive or full-time four-wheel drive on tarmac.

It’s a smooth an impressively responsive unit that returns claimed consumption of 7.6L/100km.

Being Euro 6 compliant it requires the use of AdBlue diesel exhaust fluid.

Overall, the Tremor feels confident and composed on road but the extra ride height and chunky rubber does come with some compromises.

There’s more tyre noise, as you’d expect with such aggressive rubber, and slightly less grip on slippery tarmac than road-oriented tyres.

But in both instances, it’s an acceptable compromise given the off-road advantages and target audience.

It's undoubtedly one of the most off-road capable 4x4 utes you can buy off the shelf, short of a Ranger Raptor.

Ford’s additions to this model, including the more aggressive tyres, increased ground clearance, lockable rear differential, extra under-body protection and extra software-enabled traction aids are well targeted for the buyer who wants to head off-road.

The Tremor package offers enough design differentiation to set it apart from the hordes of other Rangers on the road and, overall, this new limited-edition variant comes across as being impressively well conceived and packaged for its target audience.

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Ford Ranger Tremor options

• Touring Pack $1,650 (MRLP)
• Flexible Rack System $2,800 (MRLP)
• Manual Roller Shutter $3,000 (MRLP)
• Remove Auto Stop/Start as a No Cost Delete Option
• Prestige Paint $700 (MRLP)

Key stats

• PRICE: $69,690 (MRLP)          
• POWERTRAIN: 2.0-litre biturbo four-cylinder turbodiesel, (150kW/500Nm), 10-speed automatic transmission.
• ANCAP CRASH RATING: 5-Star (2022)
• FUEL CONSUMPTION (Combined Cycle):  7.6L/100km (189gCO2/km)
• WARRANTY: Five years/unlimited kilometres
• FOR: Enhanced off-road ability, reasonably priced for the additional features it brings, smooth and responsive powertrain, logical and easy to use screen interface.  
• AGAINST: Firmer on-road ride, noisier tyres, higher ride height makes ingress and egress harder.