"Lifestyle" is cited as the number one choice for a Ranger purchase. Might look a bit like this.

FORD RANGER WILDTRAK



No surprise perhaps, but the Ford Ranger pickup truck was once again the top-selling new vehicle of any type in New Zealand for 2017.

It's the third year in a row it's been number one and the fourth it's topped the light-commercial sales charts.

Ranger is the standout, but it's just one of five similar trucks in the Kiwi top-10 for last year.

Just sticking to that list, if you add them up 29,140 pickup trucks were sold compared with 19,217 cars/SUVs.

And lots of that second group are rentals.

DAVID LINKLATER It's larger than a large SUV, but Wildtrak gets radar at both ends and a parking camera.

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Staggering. But you have to ask: who's buying all these things?

There is the sensible answer of booming business and especially construction, but that doesn't tell the whole story. Not with these numbers. Especially when the majority of sales are double-cab models and very high-end versions like the $70k Ranger Wildtrak (pictured) are making such an impact. In Ford's case, 20 per cent of total Ranger sales.

DAVID LINKLATER Wildtrak cabin isn't exactly workaday. Impressive safety and comfort/convenience equipment.

Ford NZ reckons it has has some of the answers from a survey it has just conducted of 644 Ranger owners, all of whom have purchased one in the last two years. Respondents were spread right across the country, no one city/region higher than 20 per cent.

Of the top six reasons for Ranger purchase, "work" was at the bottom. Even though the majority of actual sales are to business users.

Top was that strangely vague thing we call "lifestyle" (highest in Auckland, at 83 per cent of respondents), followed by towing, family use, "no specific use intended" and off-roading.

DAVID LINKLATER Nice detail touches on Wildtrak, but trays aren't actually that big on double-cabs: just 1.5m long on Ranger.

Interesting that none of these things specifically require a tray, except perhaps the bottom-ranked work category. And that's not a given.

The elephant in the room for some is the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) situation, where business users can be exempt if they're running a vehicle not primarily designed for passenger transport - a light-commercial, for example.

But again, that's not a given for a double-cab pickup.

DAVID LINKLATER Trucks like this are in your face. That's the idea.

And the FBT rule is not new, so it can't really account for the explosion in pickup-truck sales.

You can try and rationalise it every which way, but the reality is that lots of Kiwis just love pickup trucks.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: this is surely part of the growing fascination with all things SUV. Everybody wants to sit up high and everybody wants to project an image of doing incredibly interesting things in their spare time.

It's undeniable that in meeting a much broader buyer base, SUVs are becoming softer: definitely more car-like, not necessarily focused on off-roading and not even all-wheel drive in many instances.

For a growing number of buyers, pickup trucks tick many SUV boxes but keep it real in terms of image and toughness.

Even though trucks, too, are making concessions to more mainstream use, with more luxury and a growing number of two-wheel-drive models that keep the high ground clearance, but dispense with the hard-core off-roading ability.

It's also true that the best pickups have made massive strides in technology, refinement and comfort.

The Ranger's a good example. It's not exactly luxury-car slick, but the top Wildtrak has stuff like adaptive cruise control with steering assistance, collision mitigation, the latest Sync infotainment system with voice control/phone projection... and orange seats!

Some of the Ranger's success must be down to its overtly trucky styling, but it's also polished on the road. The five-cylinder engine is packed full of character, the handling is stable and the ride well-controlled for a truck.

No, you cannot kid yourself that these things are truly car-like.

If you're being really honest, you have to follow most praise with that key phrase: "for a truck".

The Wildtrak is very easy to park for a truck, because it has radar front and rear and a camera. But it's still absurdly long compared with even large SUVs, the turning circle is impractical and visibility poor.

The Wildtrack is slick on the road... for a truck.

But it's still not as quick as a lighter SUV or car, quite thirsty and a tad unsettled over really big bumps because it has a ladder-frame chassis and rock-hopping suspension.

The Wildtrak is comfortable family transport... for a truck.

But it's a big step up into the cabin and the rear seats aren't as well-shaped as less, well, commercial vehicles.

There are many compromises in driving a pickup truck as day-to-day transport, but then there is much joy as well. The Wildtrak looks great, it can tow stuff (3.5 tonnes if you please) and you do always find a use for that tray (bikes, garden waste) even if you don't specifically need one.

In short, it's fun and makes you feel ready for a big adventure... whether you actually have one or not.

So yes, we get it.