New Raptor Ranger packs real bite
In the days of increasing awareness of the impact our choices make on the planet we live on, it may seem ill-advised to release a high-performance ute with almost double the power of the one it replaces. But, man, the Ford Ranger Raptor is so damn good ...
WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?
When Ford first released a Raptor version of the Ranger ute, it staggered everyone by just how good it was – its ride and handling on-road simply blew every other ute off the road, where it embarrassed them evenmore with its simply storming performance.
But there were still whinges that it didn’t have a powerful enough engine, despite the thennew 157kW 2.0-litre biturbo fourcylinder diesel being the most powerful engine in the Ranger line up, and exclusive to the Raptor. Well, to begin with, at least.
But even though the first-gen Raptor was a huge success for Ford, the company still listened to the criticisms and now the new Raptor pumps out almost twice the power from its 3.0-litre turbo V6 – that’s 292kW to you – and has also stepped up its game in pretty much every other area as well.
While the new Ranger, and by extension, the Raptor, uses the same T6 platform as the previous ute, extensive tweaks differentiate it even further from its bogstandard Ranger brethren. While the front wheels have been moved forward by 50mm and the rear suspension moved outboard of the chassis rails on the Ranger chassis, the Raptor goes further with extra reinforcing for the c-pillar, different shock mounts and high-strength steel bash plates to protect the bits underneath.
The undisputed rock star features of the last-gen Raptor were its truly awesome dampers thatwere designed exclusively for the Raptor (both F-150 and Ranger) by Fox Racing Shox and packed a 46.6mm piston front and rear that featured an internal bypass with several distinct ‘‘zones’’ that progressively managed shock forces and made it an absolute champ both on and off the road.
But Ford and Fox decided to up things even further this time around by going for ‘live-valve technology’ that monitors driver and vehicle inputs 500 times a second, making adjustments to the damping in real-time. And boy, does it work well.
WHERE DID YOU DRIVE IT?
At a winery. No, really. Ford Australia created a highspeed off-road track for us to thrash the Raptor over in the grounds of the Sirromet Wines winery in Mount Cotton, just out of Brisbane, as well as a lowerspeed, more challenging off-road track and a tiny bit of road driving thrown in for good measure.
What strikes you first about the new Raptor is the sheer presence it has compared to the old car. It’s actually not much bigger, but the squarer styling and bolder grille make the old one look a little shy and retiring in comparison. Then you fire it up and nail the throttle and all that is forgotten anyway.
Everything happens much faster in a car with double the power of the previous one, and the Raptor is no exception, belting off the line with some serious aggression and awonderfully angry V6 roar.
And, yes, the suspension is even more spectacular than before. Going full-throttle across a very bumpy, cut-up mud/gravel track is pretty much exactly what the Raptor was designed for, and there’s no need to slow down for anything this side of awall.
Did I mention it was fast? I may have once or twice, but it serves to mention it again, as the Raptor’s twin-turbo V6 petrol engine is a truly delightful thing that is simply bristling with power and torque. It is also ridiculously refined and docilewhen you don’t need all that mad power, making it perfectly happy to doddle around town when you go to scrape the mud off after a day of fun.
While our road driving was short, the Raptor impressed with its ride comfort and precise, accurate steering, while a cheeky little moment dropping the permanent AWD system into 2 Hat a roundabout quickly proved that it will happily soothe that bogan-y itch.
WHAT STANDS OUT THE MOST?
It sounds a cop-out to say this, but there really isn’t one feature of the Raptor that stands out – the whole package is so convincingly excellent that every time you think the angry engine is the highlight, the ride will blow you away and change your mind.
Then the sharp on-road handling willmake you giggle like a child. Then the off-road ability will slap you in the face and yell ‘‘Remember me? I’m awesome too!’’. It just keeps giving.