28 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 33
ROAD TEST
nd so the inexorable rise
of the SUV continues.
It i s not ju s t bi g
chunky ones that are
unstoppable – we’ve tested a new
Jeep Wrangler and Mercedes G-Class
a nd w i l l s o on b e i n a L a nd R ov e r
Defender this year – but these days
there’s about an evens chance that
your family car is one, too.
But it goes on. There are already
performance passenger SUVs and
now this: the pick-up made into a
s p or t s c a r, t he Ford R a n ge r R ap t or.
In the US, Ford has sold an
F-150 truck with Raptor badging
for a while. It has an oversized,
overpowered engine and is ‘how
to really tick off the fun police’,according to the advertisements.
Like RS or ST, though, the Raptor
range is broadening, under the Ford
Performance umbrella, so that it
encompasses the smaller – by pick-up
standards – Ranger for the first time.
Between the F-150 and Ranger,
there are common Raptor themes
- chunky bodywork extensions,
equally bulbous BF Goodrich boots
and huge chassis modifications,
which we’ll explore more later.
But whereas the US-spec F-150
Raptor gives top billing to its engine,
a 3.5-litre Ecoboost V6 making
450bhp and 510lb ft of torque, the
Ranger – whose biggest markets
are Europe and Australia but will
make its US debut soon – has a more
restrained powertrain, a 2.0-litre
diesel, albeit a new unit with two
turbochargers.
The mix of heady engineering
exercises in some directions but not
others is typical of the schismatic
nature of the Raptor: it’s a FordPerformance vehicle but its 0-60mph
t i me i s mor e t h a n 10 s e c; a nd pic k-up s
are popular because of a payload that
makes them commercial vehicles,
yet the Raptor’s payload is so reduced
t h at it ’s no lon ge r VAT r e c l a i m a ble.
They’re oddities that the Raptor will
need to convince us don’t matter.
D o e s it h av e w h at it t a k e s?
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
AAAAC
The Raptor makes good on its
promise of Baja Truck genetics in
a package with registration plates
and a three-year warranty. The
ladder-frame chassis underpinning
the standard Ranger pick-up has
been strengthened with low-alloy
s t e e l s , pa r t ic u l a rl y i n t he v ic i n it y of
the front strut towers, which bearthe considerable brunt of off-road
gallivanting at high speeds.
A t t he ba c k sit s s u s p e n sion e nt i r e l y
redesigned to better absorb impacts
while retaining control. The leaf
springs are therefore out, replaced by
coil springs and a Watt’s linkage that
fixes the axle’s lateral positioning
more accurately.
Ford has also fitted a set of blue-
sheaved Fox dampers whose travel
i s g r e at e r t h a n s t a nd a rd b y 32% at
the front and 18% at the rear. Ground
clearance has risen 30mm to 283mm,
which means it gets the better of even
z It’s not like the standard Ranger isn’t
already a wide car. However, composite
front wings are broader than the regular
Ranger’s to accommodate a track width
increased by a whopping 150mm.
z You have to crank the chassis right
up on an obstacle to get a great view
beneath the body, but it tends to be
worth it: the coil-overs look terrific and
the body stiffening and strengthening
appear impressively done.z There are five available colours: white,
black, red, Ford Performance Blue (as
on our test car) and a sort of primer greycolour. All get dark grey plastic bits.
As well as the Raptor badging, other
graphics can be had. And we think we’d
probably have them.
z Side steps are standard and all but
essential for clambering in and out of a
cabin that sits atop a separate chassis,
which itself has mammoth ground
clearance. It’s finished in non-slip paint
and resists off-road knocks admirably.
A
US-born F-150 Raptor set the template
Jeep’s most capable Wrangler, the
Rubicon. Ford nevertheless equips
the Raptor’s undersides with a steel
bash plate some 2.3mm thick. At
850mm, the car’s wading depth
beats most other serious off-roaders,
too, and falls just 50mm short of the
Range Rover’s figure. Grounding the
R ap t or i s a s e t of 2 85/70 BF G o o d r ic h
KO2 tyres with an off-road tread
pattern and toughened sidewalls.
T he double - c a b Ford i s a n
enormous presence on the road.
At 5363mm long and 2180mm wide,
it is fractionally longer and widerthan the Ranger XLT and has a larger
footprint than even a Mercedes
S-Class. The track widths themselves
are up 150mm.
Propelling the Ranger Raptor
across almost any terrain you care
to imagine is that 2.0-litre diesel
engine with four cylinders and two
turbochargers operating in series.
Ford might have been tempted to
install the 3.5-litre V6 from the Ford
GT s up e r c a r, a s it do e s i n t he F-1 5 0
Raptor, but the European business
case simply didn’t stack up. So Raptor
owners will have 210bhp and 367lb ft
at their disposal, delivered to either
the rear wheels or all four corners
via a 10-speed automatic gearbox
with high- and low-ratio settings.
W it h 2 510k g t o pu sh a ga i n s t ,
performance is modest – the Raptor
covering 0-62mph in a fraction over
10sec, Ford says. There is, however,
a locking rear differential to help
extract maximum traction. ◊
ENGINES POWER FROM
2.0 EcoBlue 128bhp £25,924
2.0 EcoBlue 167bhp £26,705
2.0 EcoBlue 210bhp £34,864
3.2 Duratorq 197bhp £36,784
2.0 Raptor 210bhp £47,874
TRANSMISSIONS
6-spd manual
10-spd automatic
Considering the high asking price,
it’s surprising the Raptor doesn’t get
the biggest engine in the range. That
engine is the old 3.2-litre Duratorqdiesel found in the high-spec Wildtrak
Ranger. Meanwhile, the entry-level
Ranger – the XL Regular Cab – gets
a single-turbo 128bhp version of
the Raptor’s twin-turbo diesel.
Transmission choices are limited to
a six-speed manual or the 10-speed
automatic found in the Raptor.
Range at a glance
We don’t like
We like
z Suspension soaks up off-road
abuse brilliantly and still delivers
a purposeful feel on the road
z Surprisingly refined, moderate
diesel engine would fit easily into
everyday use
z Should probably be quicker and
should definitely have a more feisty
performance-car combustive
character
z The £48k price is stretching the
bounds of credibility plenty