WORDS AND IMAGES : MAX TAYLOR

The Mars Ranger X is a compact , relatively light offroader with an obvious focus on outdoor living .

TOWING

With its Tare of 1600kg and ATM of 2200kg , it offers a reasonable payload capacity of 600kg , and its unladen ball weight of 180kg is manageable for most mid-size 4WDs .

I cruised at highway speeds without drama and , thanks to the van ’ s compact footprint , I found it easy to negotiate traffic on the open road as well as in built-up areas .

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I poked my nose down a few unmade roads and hauled the van over some lumps and bumps – the independent trailing arm coil suspension did its job as expected , and the Ranger X ’ s low centre of gravity instilled some confidence , particularly when reversing the camper over some sharply scalloped sections of track .

Underneath , everything looked in order , with both the 120L and 75L water tanks sensibly protected by checkerplate . However , I did wonder if the pipe connecting the tanks was hanging a little low .