Ford Ranger Raptor: What you need to know

So we’ve finally driven the cracking new Ford Ranger Raptor at the Asia Pacific launch in the Northern Territory and we can tell you the first global street-legal trophy truck is an absolute corker.

The Australian-engineered Raptor 4x4 dual-cab isn’t perfect though, so here are some things we like better than others.

There are plenty of blinged-up Ford Ranger tuff-trucks out there, but this factory off-road racer beats them all for street cred.

From the bulging composite front quarter guards and pumped-out rear tub to the black grit-coated side steps and heavy-duty rear bar and 3800kg recovery hooks, the Raptor dwarfs regular Rangers in both height and width (it’s a whole 320mm wider at the mirrors!), and has a look unlike any aftermarket Ranger.

It might be Australia’s most expensive mid-size ute so far, but you couldn’t build a Ford Ranger Raptor yourself for $74,990, which is just $11,000 more than the 2019 Ranger Wildtrak Bi-Turbo on which it’s based.

Sure Ford might sell you some of its cool black 17-inch alloys and you could spent $500 a pop on the huge 285/70 R17 BF Goodrich KO2 all-terrain tyres, but Ford claims the Raptor’s are unique.

And yes you could fork out about $1000 for each coil-over Fox shock, but you won’t get the Watt’s Link rear-end, wider mounting points and 150mm broader track.

But then even if you bought the bespoke rear tub, wider front fenders, chunky black FORD grille, sports front bucket seats, Raptor steering wheel and other neat interior extras, you still wouldn’t get the million miles of durability testing or retain your five-year factory warranty.

Backed by a six-mode terrain management system, long-travel coil-over Fox Shocks at all four corners allow Ranger Raptor to glide over huge obstacles at the sort of speeds that would break any standard HiLux – or Ranger.

Blessed with an astonishing split personality, the Ford Ranger Raptor has the ability to iron out massive lumps and holes off-road and deliver even more compliant on-road ride quality.

Yet at the same time, it can stiffen its dampers by up to 10 times to stop it keeling over around bends and pogoing out of deep washouts and severe landings, which combined with the enhanced stability of the wider track makes it supremely confidence-inspiring to drive hard — both off the beaten track and on.

The Ford Ranger Raptor’s 157kW/500Nm outputs are only marginally up on the Ranger 3.2, but the 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo diesel is smoother, quieter, better sounding and less thirsty.

Its freer-spinning, higher-revving nature is also well suited to high-speed off-road work and there’s enough torque to ensure the slick-shifting, Mustang-sourced 10-speed auto is always in the right gear.

Ford claims the Raptor hits 100km/h in 10.5 seconds – making it about half a second quicker than the standard Ranger 3.2 – and our testing proves it’s also noticeably quicker when it comes to in-gear rolling acceleration.

Like it says on the box, the Ford Ranger Raptor is ready for deserts, mountains and the big Red Centre trek right off the showroom floor.

Backed by a five-year, unlimited-km factory warranty that covers all faults or defects (but not damage), it has the same 12-month, 15,000km service intervals and full genuine parts backup as all other new Fords.

On the downside, order now and you’ll have to wait until next year for Raptor delivery, since about 1000 local pre-orders have already exhausted Ford Australia’s 2018 allocation – even before first deliveries in October.

Raptor’s massive 33-inch all-terrain tyres and 17-inch alloys (five of them), fancy Fox Shox coil-over dampers, Watt’s Link rear-end, 150mm wider track and extra equipment increase kerb weight by 154kg, to 2404kg.

This reduces the smaller diesel engine’s efficiency improvement by just 0.5L/100km, to 8.2L/100km.

The outputs of the Ford Ranger Raptor’s downsized new 2.0-litre twin-turbo Panther diesel engine are just 10kW/30Nm up on the Ranger’s proven 3.2-litre Puma five-pot, matching the class-leading Holden Colorado for torque.

But it makes peak torque over a narrower 1750-2000rpm than the older but bigger engine’s 1750-2500rpm and, combined with the extra weight, it never feels as quick from a standing start.

What’s more, at 10.5sec, the Raptor’s 0-100km/h time is about a second slower than the Colorado’s and more than two seconds slower than the Volkswagen Amarok V6, which will soon be available with 200kW and 580Nm.

Further rubbing salt into the wounds of buyers of the most expensive Ranger, the Raptor’s advanced new powertrain is now also optional in the lighter (and therefore probably quicker) 2019 Ranger XLT and Wildtrak for just $1200 extra.

The Ford Ranger Raptor’s exotic long-travel, wide-track suspension might improve long-haul on-road comfort and off-road capability and confidence, but it also reduces payload by 212kg to just 738kg and braked towing capacity by a full tonne to 2500kg – about the same as a mid-size SUV.

Performance bucket seats are the Ford Ranger Raptor’s interior highlight and there’s also paddle shifters and unique instruments, scuff plates, floor mats, blue dash stitching and grey air-vent surrounds, but there’s still too much hard plastic for $75,000 and still no steering wheel reach adjust.

However, the biggest omission is autonomous emergency braking (AEB), which is standard in the Ranger Wildtrak and even the circa-$14,000 Kia Picanto mini-car, meaning the Raptor is unlikely to achieve a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating if it was tested in its current form.

On the bright side, Ford says AEB will be fitted to the Raptor -- and made at least optional across the entire Ranger line-up – some time next year, although that doesn’t help the early-adopters who care about safety.