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Safety is of paramount importance when you’re driving off-road in Australia. There is always the risk you’ll be struck by an animal somewhere in the wild, and if you’re not prepared, your Ford Ranger might suffer significant damage. The nudge and bull bar play a vital role in the car’s security, and they’re definitely something you should consider installing. Safety is always important when it comes to vehicles, which is why you should never skip out on it.
Differences Between Nudge Bar and Bull Bar
There is a common misconception shared by a lot of people, which is that nudge bars and bull bars are the same. They use the terms interchangeably, when in reality they’re quite different. There are a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle differences between them.
Nudge Bar
The Ford Ranger is a sturdy and capable vehicle, which is why the nudge bar is often considered an ideal addition. Nudge bars are constructed by lightweight aluminium tubing that offers some protection against minor front-end collisions, bumps, and scratches. While they might not offer the greatest protection in the world, they are often used as a platform to mount other accessories, such as driving lights and CB antennae. In order to mount a nudge bar, you won’t have to make any alterations to the bumpers. However, they are still durable and offer protection to the radiator grille, which makes the Ford Ranger nudge bar add-on a good choice for anything except direct animal strikes.
Effectiveness of Nudge Bars
In short, Ford Ranger nudge bars are known for their durability and stability, which only adds to their effectiveness. However, the main question to ask is how are you measuring that effectiveness. Nudge bars are typically manufactured with a wide variety of materials, which include aluminium and steel, and they can be installed on all sorts of vehicles. That means they are more than a mere aesthetic choice, as they offer decent frontal protection, but usually not as much as bull bars.
Bull Bar
When it comes to offering frontal protection, nothing compares to the bull bar. It not only offers direct frontal protection, but modern engineering has also enabled bull bars to work in tandem with airbag systems. That means that they are now equipped to deflect up and above the vehicle, rather than push under, like in the past. However, it should be noted that these changes were in order to make the entire situation as safe as possible, so the safety of the driver, vehicle, and object can be as high as possible. Ford Ranger bull bars, in particular, tend to completely absorb the impact, thus allowing for increased safety, meaning they are far more than mere aesthetic accessories.
Effectiveness of Bull Bars
Similarly to the Ford Ranger nudge bar, the bull bar offers space for installing other accessories, such as winches, spotlights, and radio antennae. Their main purpose is deflecting direct blows from animals and other objects. However, bull bars are large and tend to create a lot of wind resistance, which can significantly raise fuel consumption. On top of that, they are heavy, so that might considerably reduce the maximum payload that the Ford Ranger can legally carry. However, if safety concerns you the most, the bull bar is definitely worth it.
Price
While neither is particularly cheap, nudge bars for Ford Ranger tend to be quite a bit more affordable than their bull bar counterparts. In some cases, depending on which specific bull bar you might want to install, they can be double, or even triple the price of nudge bars. Even the most affordable nudge bars tend to be of high quality, especially in the case of Ford Rangers, so you can’t go wrong there.
Appearance
Both bars have significantly different designs. The nudge bar is typically only a barrier that sits in the front of the Ranger, while the bull bar tends to wrap over the entirety of the vehicle’s front side. Also, bull bars tend to have a bit more of an aggressive look to them, whereas nudge bars merely look sturdy, but not as intrusive as the bull bars.
What to get for your Ford Ranger
While both are solid options, there is a key difference in functionality that you should consider. Unless you’re looking for the utmost protection and safety, and are willing to disregard its disadvantages, then bull bars might be a good choice. However, if you’re looking for an all-around good add-on, that not only looks good but also protects your vehicle at a decent price, you can’t go wrong with the Ford Ranger nudge bar. Both are solid choices, in the end, because it strictly falls down to your personal needs.
Nudge bars and bull bars are very useful additions to the Ford Ranger. You should consider installing at least one, especially if you spend a lot of time driving in Australia’s more open areas. You definitely won’t regret it.
