Promising more thrills and pace than its predecessor, the Ford Ranger Raptor is back as the performance version of the firm's pick-up truck. But is it worth considering?...
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Although the European pick-up truck market has brought us some interesting wannabe-luxury options in recent years, it doesn’t very often do sporty. In the Ford Ranger Raptor, however, it has provided a rather unique exception to that rule. Ford launched the original version back in 2019, and now – just as it gears up to introduce the wider fifth-generation Ranger pick-up truck in Europe in all of its many and various forms – it’s bringing us a brand-new one.
This second-generation Ranger Raptor sits at the apex of the Ranger’s model hierarchy – but, just like the car it replaces, it’s not technically a commercial vehicle. With coil suspension tuned for enhanced on- and off-road handling rather than load-carrying, the Raptor is only rated to carry 652kg of cargo in its flatbed. That’s some way off the one-tonne requirement in order for the truck to qualify as a light commercial vehicle, and to be taxable as such.
So this Ranger, while still pretty spacious, versatile and useful, is strictly the private buyer’s plaything. For now, it comes in one trim level and with one engine option: a 3.0-litre, 288bhp V6 turbocharged petrol, which drinks fuel at a predictably juicy lab-tested 20.4mpg. For anyone who liked the more moderate thirst of the old version’s 2.0-litre diesel, meanwhile, there will be a direct replacement for that along in summer 2023.
What’s it like to drive?
The Ranger may only be what’s considered a mid-sized pick-up truck in certain parts of the world – but on European roads, it’s imposingly large. Ford only offers the car in double-cab body form, with four passenger doors and two rows of seats. And so it’s nearly 5.4 metres long, nearly two metres tall, more than 2.2-metres wide across those generous door mirrors, and would make a typical supermarket car park space feel very small. That’s not big by pick-up truck standards; but for any kind of drivers’ car, it’s huge.
The Raptor looms large over any highway lane, then; but, thanks to Ford’s extensive suspension makeover, it rides and handles encouragingly well. Ford Performance went to considerable lengths to put the ‘special’ into this special Ranger, strengthening its ladder-frame chassis, junking the regular Ranger’s rear leaf springs, and fitting long-travel coil springs and very clever adaptive shock absorbers at each corner. Knobbly-looking off-road tyres, and an electronically controlled four-wheel drive system with locking differentials both front and rear, also feature.
Weighing close to 2.5 tonnes, the Raptor doesn’t handle with anything like the energy and grip of a modern sports saloon or two-seater sports car on the road. It corners neatly enough, and has great body control over bumps – its specialised axles soaking up pretty much any dip, crag or pothole that any road would be likely to throw up with disdainful ease. Those expensive dampers ensure that cornering is done in neat and upright fashion, too, and that the Raptor’s motorway ride is unusually settled by pickup class standards.
That new V6 petrol engine sounds much more appealing than the old Raptor’s diesel motor – but its power level isn’t that transformative. Put your foot down and the engine stops some way short of proper muscle-car acceleration. There’s plenty of noise, and the ten-speed automatic gearbox is never short of another ratio to select; but don’t expect that hot hatchback driver to disappear too quickly in your rear-view mirror.
Off the road, meanwhile, is where the Ranger Raptor really comes into its own. Even though its sheer size and long wheelbase make it a little unwieldy on tighter tracks, ground clearance is a generous 265mm; so deep ruts and standing water aren’t a problem.
The Raptor’s chunky off-road tyres, easy-articulating solid rear axle, hardcore 4×4 driveline, and clever traction control software make it the kind of car you really do feel you could drive anywhere: up any incline, and over just about any boulder or drop you might encounter. At higher speed when running on a Baja-style gravel or dirt track, meanwhile – and even jumping like a rallycross car – the vehicle can take an extraordinary amount of punishment, and still come back for more.
What’s it like inside?
The Ranger Raptor’s the first fifth-generation Ranger model we’ve tested, and it augers pretty well for the less exotic versions. Adult occupant space is good in both rows; material cabin quality is mostly respectable, with some cheaper-looking trims here and there; and equipment specification – as far as range-topping Raptor versions go, at least – is high.
The Raptor gets its own sports front seats, which are a lot less jet fighter like in actuality than the promotional material makes them out to be; but they are nonetheless comfortable, adequately supportive and easy to slide into.
The car goes quite large on its secondary transmission and drive mode controls. There are buttons for suspension, engine and exhaust mode on the steering wheel, there’s a large rotary selector for the car’s various drive modes (and there are a lot of them), and there are dedicated buttons to control its transmission modes too. It’s a lot of take in at first – until you realise that you can discount most of it, simply pick the drive mode you want, and let the car work the rest of it out for itself.
The Raptor comes with a 12.4in digital instrument as standard, which is presented clearly and offers plenty of relevant and useful information. Ford’s updated SYNC4-A infotainment system, however, sits on a 12in portrait-oriented touchscreen in the centre of the dash – and while it can relay lots of useful camera angles of the car’s immediate surroundings when you’re off-roading (or, indeed, parking), it’s has annoyingly small buttons and icons which are easy to miss with an outstretched arm.
Wireless smartphone charging, and wireless device mirroring, are both included as standard features, as is a ten-speaker B&O premium audio system with plenty of power.
Keyword: 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor review