KING OF RAP (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Ford's Ranger Raptor underlines its status as the ultimate performance pick-up in this second generation guise. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 77

If you've ever daydreamed just how much of a hoot it would be to race along off road trails in the way that competition drivers do on the Paris-Dakar or Baja Rallies, then you're in good company: Ford thought it would be fun too and over the years has tasked its 'Performance' department with creating ultimate Ranger Raptor derivatives able to do just that. This is the second generation model and there's nothing else quite like it.

Backgroundword count: 163

If you know anything about American pick-up trucks, you'll know about the Ford Raptor, a huge US light truck based on the Blue Oval brand's enormous F150 model and powered by a wild engine from the Ford GT supercar. The company didn't think that vehicle would work over here, but in 2018 they built some of its technology into a more Euro-friendly Ford Performance pick-up, the Ranger Raptor, and it sold so well that this second generation model followed in 2022. Having proved the market potential of an extreme performance pick-up, the brand has now given it more of the extreme performance the original version rather lacked. The old model's Bi-turbo 2.0-litre diesel is still available, but sales are now centred around a 488PS 3.0-litre EcoBoost petrol V6. As before though, this vehicle isn't built for straight line tarmac speed. Instead, Ford has completely redesigned the suspension of this pick-up so that it can be driven at previously unheard-of speeds of rough terrain.

Driving Experienceword count: 300

The old Ranger Raptor's party trick was the way it could 'float' over lumpy surfaces at speed. This one builds upon that attribute, thanks to dampers further developed by US motorsport specialist Fox. These feature what's called 'live valve' technology, are adaptive for compression and have given Ford's engineers a wider window for tuning ride and handling. Under the bonnet, the emphasis this time round is on a twin turbo 3.0-litre EcoBoost V6 petrol engine, tuned by Ford Performance to produce 292PS and a thumping 491Nm of torque. This unit features a race-bred anti-lag system first developed for Ford's GT supercar and of course it sounds hugely better than the previous 213PS 2.0-litre diesel (which continues for those still wanting it). On the move, engine sound is something you can alter in volume and timbre by cycling through the seven drive modes, four dedicated to off road driving and three for tarmac use. 'Baja' is the loudest, most anti-social and most appealing of these, intended for rapid off-terrain use. Lower speed off road stuff is dealt with by three other settings; 'Rock Crawl', 'Sand' and 'Mud/Ruts'. The Raptor's 4WD system has the usual 2H, 4H and 4L modes, plus an extra 4A setting for better 4WD activation on sealed surfaces. Unlike an ordinary Ranger, this one also has a locking front differential too. It's a lot more capable on road too, thanks to tweaked, sharper steering and a revised, lightened version of the 10-speed auto gearbox carried over from the previous generation model, which you can activate with steering wheel shifters. You might find this pick-up a challenge in town though; at 2,028mm wide, the Ranger Raptor is 110mm wider than a standard Ranger, so tight supermarket parking slots could prove as much of a challenge as the Rubicon Trail.

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