Ford Ranger 2-Seat is Rachel Reeves’ tax-busting pick-up

Necessity is the mother of invention, and with the introduction of the new ‘double-cab pick-up tax’, Ford has adopted its own approach to reduce the growing tax burden on British businesses.

Step forward the Ford Ranger 2-Seat, which is a standard Ranger Wildtrak Double Cab with the rear seats removed. The changes mean drivers should be able to claim 100% plant and machinery allowance. It’s eligible for both flat rate company van benefit-in-kind (BiK) at £4170, plus flat-rate commercial vehicle road tax at £345.

To ensure compliance with HMRC and becoming an N1 category vehicle, the pick-up has a flat load floor – with anchor points – that covers the original rear passenger footwell, a fixed bulkhead, metal panels welded in place of the rear side windows, plus steel mesh behind the rear window.

The result is a space that can be used as tool storage without having to rely on parking in a secure depot or fitting a lockable load bed cover which can hamper outright usability. The payload will still meet the all-important 1000kg threshold for tax purposes.

Ford is dipping a toe in the water to test demand for such a vehicle and has commissioned a run of 200 Ranger Wildtrak 2-seater models, converted at Ford’s factory in Dagenham, east London, and available to order from Ford dealers. Around half of these will be plug-in hybrid-powered, with the other half powered by a 3.0-litre V6 diesel.

Should the project be successful, Ford may roll out the approach to other models, such as the more workmanlike XLT model later this year. So far, the only other pick-up in a similar two-seat Double Cab configuration is the diesel-only Isuzu D-Max V-Cross Commercial.

The Ranger Wildtrak 2-Seat will be priced identically to the regular five-seat model, meaning the 3.0-litre diesel will cost £57,629 (£48,090 excl VAT) and the plug-in hybrid will cost £55,409 (£46,240.83 excl VAT). That's costlier than the similarly limited-run £42,495 (excl VAT) D-Max.

Read more: Best pick-ups

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