The 2021 Ford Ranger Wildtrak can tow up to 3.5 tons of weight, dive through 800mm of water, and withstand a really, really heavy payload. But we took it and gently very gently loaded it with plants — lots of them!

Yup, this isn’t one of those features you’ll read that will overwork the pickup just to prove how tough it is. No, we did but a menial task but I’m here to share why you don’t always need to push a vehicle to its limits just to fully enjoy and appreciate its capabilities.

So if you happen to enjoy plants as a hobby or collection, and you love the idea of driving in a versatile pickup for hours in search of good deals, read on.

The plant journey

I just recently started my plant journey and it was all the influence of my mom. Apart from seeing that it gives a nice pop of color in an otherwise plain interior of a house, I also find it very therapeutic especially during these times that we’re easily overwhelmed with news of uncertainties.

After Vikka and I moved into a new place, I thought it was the best time to have more plants at home and help brighten the place up. She was easily onboard as well.

The next step, of course, is acquiring said plants. And yes, you can just shop for plants online and have them delivered to your doorstep but for our first major haul, we wanted to be physically at the store — closely inspecting each plant and enjoying the trip along the way as well.

And since I got the knack of having indoor plants from my mom, we asked if she would accompany us in scoring our first batch of greens. In a heartbeat, she said yes. My brother also wanted to tag along so we were a total of four who were all set to go for a drive.

The vehicle and destination

Of course, we needed a vehicle that can accommodate the plants we’ll buy, and coincidentally, Ford Philippines was there to offer its Ranger Wildtrak. It’s easily one of the most famous pickup trucks in the Philippines and has seen different generations of improvements with the addition of new features over the years.

This pickup was perfect for what we needed to accomplish.

The target destination was in Silang, Cavite. The town is known for its abundance of plants for sale in different shapes and sizes since the area is situated at the foot of Tagaytay City and its nice climate– an environment where our little green friends easily thrive.

There are lots of plant stores along the main highway and you could easily park by the road and start your plant shopping by hopping from one store to another on foot. But as a quick tip, you can go to the inner roads of the town (Iba Street, for example, is just a few minutes away from the main road) and enjoy plants that are more affordably priced! This was where we wanted to visit.

Using Android Auto and its navigation system through its 8-inch touch display, I was able to dictate the destination through voice commands and we’re shortly ready to begin the day’s adventure. On the highway, our music through its 6-piece speaker system happily added a live soundtrack to our plant adventure with the family — completing that joyride experience.

And when the situation allowed it, using its cruise control on long straight highways made the trip more enjoyable as it allowed me, the driver, to better enjoy and bask in the scenery before us.

The haul

After hours of driving, we finally reached our destination and it wasn’t hard to find since it’s a pretty big area full of plant nurseries. The place was one big unpaved lot but thankfully, it’s nothing to be worried about since we had the Ranger Wildtrak with us.

It was what we imagined — look to your left and you have a sea of plants. Look to the right and it’s the same thing. In short, it could easily be a plant collector’s happy place.

We landed and took off from one plant store to another, checking different varieties of plants one by one and trying to haggle with the prices (just a little bit!). There were even times that mom and I had to separate ways because she found something that interested her in one store and I got my eye on another.

If you also are a plant collector or a hobbyist, there are different families and genera of plants for sale including Philodendron, Alocasia, and the famous Monstera. Prices are definitely cheaper for some plants but the rare, exotic ones still get pretty pricey and definitely not for everyone’s budget.

But we mostly got the fairly affordable ones since I personally want to try having plants from different families just so I could get a good feel of what each requires when it comes to caring for them. And so that if I accidentally kill them (fingers crossed), it wouldn’t have to be a huge waste compared to spending a lot on one.

In the end, my mom got to buy the plants she wanted — small ones, long, and even a few large ones — and I got to buy my fair share for our apartment. I mostly got rainforest-dwelling plants to sort of channel the same vibe at home and try to go for a jungle-y, nature-y feel.

All together though, they fit perfectly in the bed of the truck and only had a small space left. After having lunch, I easily remedied this on the way home and got a few more Sansevieria or Snake Plants from a store by the highway.

I had to drive slower than usual since one of the tall plants (Calathea Lutteya) was flapping around along with the wind. We even placed the other tall Alocasia (Nigra) at the backseat and with a total of four people on board, everyone was comfortable enough during the entire ride home.

The experience

Of course, it’s the people who you’re with and the experience you bonded over that make road trips really memorable and special. But it’s almost equally important to have a reliable vehicle that will not only safely get you to your destination, but also comes with bells and whistles to help make certain tasks easier and the journey more enjoyable.

With the Ranger Wildtrak, its spacious tonneau or truck bed easily accommodated all the plants from both our hauls. Its set of features like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay also made the trip more enjoyable, plus with its set of safety features and tough capabilities, you’re ready for different driving scenarios on and off-road.

While my mom and I are both happy with our recent purchases, I fear it won’t be long until our next drive out for a batch of new plants happens again. *help*