Checking out the ‘real deal’
IMPOSTERS APLENTY: YOU COULD STICK DECAL ON A RANGER BUT IT WOULDN’T BE A RAPTOR IMPRESSION
Abrief Raptor history lesson: Way back in 2010 in the US, the Ford Special Vehicle Team debuted the Raptor nameplate on the F-150, the smallest Ford “truck” you could get in that country at the time.
Nowadays, the Raptor continues under the Ford Performance division, but back then, in the “bigger is better” era, the standard engine was a 231kW, 5.4-litre V8 with the optional 302kW, 6.2-litre V8 becoming the only choice later in its life cycle.
The second generation F-150 Raptor dumped the much-loved V8s in a greener world and now runs the 336kW, 3.5-litre EcoBoost petrol V6.
Developed as a road-legal version of an off-road race bakkie, the Raptor version of the F-150 featured four-wheel drive, specific all-terrain tyres, a proper trick suspension system, widened fenders and Ford lettering emblazoned on the front grill.
But most owners drive their bakkies on road, so dumb idea, right?
Wrong! Until the end of 2018, the Ford F-Series was the best-selling vehicle in the US for the 42nd consecutive year, and 909 330 of them were sold in that year alone. I have no doubt that 2019 made it year 43.
It was said somewhere that the Ford F-Series is the best-selling nameplate in the world. And that means there are plenty potential owners who wanted a special off-road F-150, even if they never went near any dirt.
For the 2019 model year, Ford introduced the Ranger into the States, but this is a US-only developed “truck” that runs the, familiar to SA, 201kW, 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol – but with no Raptor option because that is reserved for the F-150 only over there.
On this side of the Atlantic you get don’t get the bigger F-150. Instead, you have the locally produced Ford Ranger and with the range comes a Raptor for the first time.
The Ranger is probably the most accessorised bakkie in the country. Every spares shop and flea market outlet has a host of add-on products and most dealers dress them up, too.
The accessories of choice centre around Raptor-ising the Ranger – and by this I mean you add a bunch of stickers and some body trim.
But they are not genuine Ford Raptors. A proper Ranger Raptor, like the one we took on holiday down to the South Coast, is nothing like a standard Ranger.
The Ranger Raptor is taller by 51mm, has a 283mm ground clearance and a 850mm wading depth and is also 150mm wider at the front and rear.
This is not just because of the composite-material based, more durable flared front fenders. The extra width and size comes courtesy of a unique off-road chassis.
Hiding under those fenders are Fox Position Sensitive Damping shock absorbers that offer higher damping forces for extreme off