We’re more than halfway through the year and powerful rain showers are hitting the country.

Although cars have long been built to take on wet weather, decades of technological advancements have helped make driving in the rain almost as easy as driving in the dry.

Ford Philippines announced in a June 2023 press statement that its latest Ranger pick-up and Everest sport-utility vehicle come with various features to handle everything from strong downpours to deep floods.

Here’s a look at what they offer.

Rain-sensing wipers

Wipers have been around for ages, but it’s always nice to have extra help.

The American carmaker said its next-generation Ranger and Everest have rain-sensing wipers as standard. As soon as it detects water on the windshield, it turns on at the right speed to prevent drivers from getting distracted.

Ford Philippines also reminded drivers to always check that their wiper blades are in good shape, such that these don’t leave distracting streaks across the windshield. Replacing wipers is cheaper than betting your life on poor visibility in the rain.

LED lights, 360-degree camera

Unlike what the “old hands” have been doing, the best way to keep yourself visible in rainy weather is not to use your hazard lights, but to turn on your headlights and foglights.

By doing this, you leave your turn signals free in case you need to make a turn or a lane change.

In the case of certain Ranger and Everest variants, these come with standard LED headlights and foglights that provide superb visibility even in rainy weather. 

In addition, the Ranger Wildtrak 4x4, Ranger Raptor and Everest Titanium+ 4x4 come with a 360-degree camera to provide maximum vision when threading through tight and wet city streets.

High wading capability

The worst nightmare of any driver is to encounter a flooded road.

Many factors need to be considered before driving through it – the depth of the weather, the ground clearance of your car and how high your air intake is.

The Ford Ranger and Everest have 800 mm of wading capability, while the off-road-tuned Ranger Raptor can handle up to 850 mm of floodwater.

But despite this, Ford Philippines reminded owners to drive on the shallowest part of the flood, along with keeping the engine in low gear to prevent damage.

Stability control

The addition of sophisticated electronic stability control systems has increased the safety margins of cars immensely, especially in treacherous conditions.

Indeed, some variants of the Ranger and Everest now have a “Slippery” drive mode. This optimizes the engine and transmission to minimize wheelspin and keep the car steady in wet conditions.

Nonetheless, Ford Philippines said basic maintenance like checking your tire’s tread depth and driving more carefully will always be helpful in the rain.

Which of these Ford features do you think is the most helpful?

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