Some pick-up trucks are louder and tougher than others, and the new Ford Ranger Raptor is both of those things.
If the standard Ranger pick-up truck isn’t quite extrovert or powerful enough for you then this flagship Raptor model should tick those particular boxes. Priced from £57,340 customer deliveries are just about to start.
“We’ve really focused on delivering a genuine performance truck with the all-new Ranger Raptor,” said Dave Burn, Ford Performance chief programme engineer for Ranger Raptor. “It’s significantly faster, looks incredible, is packed with new features, and it’s the toughest Ranger we’ve ever made.”
The styling is certainly muscular, with the beefy wheel-arches filled by 17-inch alloy wheels shod with unique rubber. Matrix LED headlights complete the look, while beneath the bodywork sits a heavily-strengthened chassis and hefty underbody protection that includes a front bash plate made from 2.3mm-thick steel.
Power comes from Ford’s 3.0-litre EcoBoost V6 engine that produces 288bhp and 491Nm of torque, and there’s a 10-speed automatic transmission and sophisticated electronically-controlled four-wheel drive system. Also new for the Raptor is an active exhaust system with four individual sound modes – Quiet, Normal, Sport and Baja. The latter gives maximum volume and is only recommended for use off-road, so you can assume it will prove a bit anti-social on your local high street…
That V6 provides the new pick-up with a 0-62mph time of 7.9 seconds, but for those after something more frugal a 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel option will arrive early next year. Elsewhere, Ford has also uprated the suspension compared to other Rangers, the Raptor getting adaptive ‘Live Valve’ dampers from US-based specialists, Fox, along with a system that firms things up at maximum attack to prevent the heavy truck from bottoming out. “The suspension adapts in real-time to enable exceptional on-road body control while absorbing corrugations and bigger ruts off-road with ease, ensuring maximum control and performance,” Burn says.
Seven selectable drive modes complete the package, three of them for on-road driving (Normal, Sport and Slippery), and four for tackling the rough stuff (Rock crawl, Sand, Mud/ruts and Baja). Suffice to say things are going to have to get pretty extreme before you get stuck.
So off-road ability is impressive but comfort hasn’t been forgotten and the Raptor comes with plenty of kit. There’s a 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12-inch touchscreen to control the updated SYNC4A infotainment system, while a 10-speaker B&O audio system is standard.
A price tag approaching £60k means the Raptor isn’t a cheap option, but if you want to stand out from the crowd then we are pretty sure this will fit the bill.
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