Te s te r s’
notes
Spec advice
Jobs for
the facelift
ROAD TEST
28 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 39
ROAD
TEST
RIVALS
SIMON DAVIS
The ease with
which the
Raptor deals
with being dropped
from fairly significant
heights is astounding.
Never has jumping a car
at quite serious speeds
felt so right.
MATT PRIOR
The breakover
angle needs
thinking about
off road, owing
to the long wheelbase.
But the side rails and
underbody protection
shrug aside minor bumps.
ord’s Ranger Raptor is a curious machine and, speaking objectively and
dispassionately, a rather flawed one in some ways. For a performance car, its
engine is lacklustre and its heavily compromised payload makes it of little use as
a pick-up truck. It’s expensive and certainly not the most sensible family vehicle you’ll find
at its price point. But regardless of all of this, it is an incredibly difficult car to dislike.
The remarkable lengths to which Ford Performance has gone to re-engineer the
Ranger’s chassis and suspension for really punishing off-road use are impressive just to
contemplate. The capability the changes then afford it off road and the level of abuse they
allow it to deal with, meanwhile, really do beggar belief. That it’s still as comfortable as it
is back on t he road doesn’t go u n not iced, eit her.
Perspective is key to understanding the Ranger Raptor. Viewed through the same lens
as a traditional pick-up truck, the Ford doesn’t make a great amount of sense. View it
purely as a toy, though, and there really isn’t much out there in which you’ll have more
fun off the beaten track.
Given the Ranger Raptor
comes very well equipped
as standard, the only
real decision you need
to make about the spec
is colour. We’d go for
Ford Performance Blue
(£720) or Colorado
Red (£150).
z A more powerful,
characterful engine
wouldn’t go amiss.
z Inject a bit more
performance flair into
the cabin design.
z Give the transmission
a bit more in the way
of dexterity when out
on the road.
Price
Power, torque
0-62mph, top speed
CO 2 , economy
1 2 3 45
F
Underwhelming on the road, brilliantly tough and tenacious off it
AAAAC
VERDICT
Verdicts
on every
new car,
p82
FORD RANGER RAPTOR
It deserves a better engine
but the suspension is a
masterwork. Shame it isn’t
more broadly usable as a
commercial vehicle.
AAAAC
£47,874
210bhp, 367lb ft
10.5sec, 106mph
233g/km, 26.4mpg
JEEP WRANGLER RUBICON
Rock-climbing king and loaded
with personality. Not especially
quick but, in the Wrangler’s most
off-road-focused Rubicon trim,
almost unstoppable.
AAAAC
£48,365
197bhp, 332lb ft
9.6sec, 99mph
195g/km, 38.1mpg
ARIEL NOMAD
No other car lets you take
so much joy from so few
components. Epic on tracks,
but otherworldly across
broken terrain.
AAAAA
£33,000
235bhp, 221lb ft
3.4sec, 125mph
na, 25.0mpg (est)
ISUZU D-MAX AT35
Arctic Trucks’ D-Max could
hardly be less pretentious. It
comes up short on refinement
and ride quality but is a tool
truck if ever there was one.
AAABC
£46,266
162bhp, 266lb ft
11.0sec (est), 112mph
183g/km, 40.4mpg
BOWLER DEFENDER
CHALLENGE
This isn’t the last word
in sophistication but it is
sensationally tough and
surprisingly agile.
AAABC
£23,220 (plus base car)
192bhp, 380lb ft
10.0sec, 90mph (est)
na