Ford Ranger Raptor 2018 Review

The Ford Ranger Raptor – the wildest, most powerful and most expensive factory-built Ranger double cab pickup ever produced – has been in the planning since 2010 and making waves in the media since 2015.

The new performance flagship for Australia’s top-selling 4x4 dual-cab range was first spied in mid-2017. Then the Ford Ranger Raptor was first officially teased in September 2017, before we sampled it from the passenger seat in late 2017.

The production Ford Ranger Raptor was formally revealed in February this year and the Australian-designed and engineered super ute’s near-$75,000 price tag was announced in April.

Since then, Ford Ranger Raptor has attracted about 1000 orders, so all that’s left to do was to drive it…

Developed primarily in Australia by Australians for Asia-Pacific markets including Thailand where it’s built, the first Ford Ranger Raptor is billed as the first factory-built performance truck designed for the true off-road enthusiast. It's far from a tricked up XLT.

Like both generations of its original namesake, the Ford F-150 Raptor, the smaller Raptor is based on a humble 4x4  double cab pick-up but its off-road capability and visual ‘volume’ have both been turned up to 11.

In this case, the Ford Ranger Raptor starts life as the top-spec 2019 Ranger Wildtrak and adds a solid dose of body, chassis and powertrain upgrades, but there are two notable omissions that are standard on 2019 Wildtrak models: autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and radar cruise control.

Ford says it’s working to add these two important safety features to the Raptor spec sheet some time next year.

In the meantime, the Ford Ranger Raptor is likely to inherit the five-star ANCAP rating as the T6 Ranger, which was last tested in 2015 and the first one-tonne ute to receive Australia’s top safety mark when it was launched in 2011. But if it was crash tested under this year’s more stringent ANCAP scoring regime it would not attract five stars.

There are other negatives – apart from the $14,400 price premium over the Wildtrak manual (there is no Raptor manual), the $12,200 price hike over the Wildtrak auto, and the $11,000 extra over the Wildtrak BiTurbo with the exact same powertrain.

Headlining the Australian specs is a kerb weight of 2404kg (GVM: 3090kg). This is up a substantial 154kg over the standard Wildtrak due to the extensive chassis modifications and the Ranger Raptor’s unique 285/70 R17 BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2 tyres on black 17x8.5-inch alloys.

Reducing payload by 212kg to 738 and braked towing capacity 1000kg to 2500 (unbraked is 750kg), the wholesale chassis rethink centres around a Ford Everest SUV sourced Watt’s Link live rear axle with long-travel coil-over Fox Racing Shox dampers and bigger 332mm vented brake discs at all four corners.

Together with the bigger rubber, this increases the Ford Ranger Raptor’s track width by 150mm (10 per cent!) to a broad 1710mm and ground clearance by 50mm to leggy 283mm, improving lateral stability and ramp-over angle (24 degrees).

Thanks to a redesigned rear cross-member, which wraps around the full-size under-tub spare wheel and houses two 3800kg recovery hooks, the rear departure angle also increases, also to 24 degrees.

Up front, a chunky new front bumper with bold black FORD grille, LED fog lights, aero-cheating air curtains and a reinforced 2.3mm steel bash plate (with twin 4500kg recovery hooks) delivers a steep 32.5-degree approach angle.

These figures are up from 21, 25 and 29 respectively for regular 4x4 dual-cab Rangers, helping make the Ranger Raptor a ‘whitespace’ model with no direct competitor, says Ford.

The Ford Ranger Raptor’s taller, wheel-at-each-corner stance is aided by bulging new quarter panels – lightweight composite construction up front and a redesigned pressed metal tray at rear. The Ranger Raptor gets Ford’s EZ Lift power-assisted tailgate but the tub’s interior dimensions are identical (1560x1743mm) and there are no fancy anchor points, nor rail system.

Wrapped around the wheel-houses are beefy wheel-arch extensions that meet die-cast aluminium side steps that double as sill protectors and are black powder/grit-coated.

Compared to the Wildtrak overall, the Ford Ranger Raptor is 28mm shorter (5398mm), 320mm wider including mirrors (2028mm excluding mirrors) and 52mm taller (1873mm).

There are five exterior paint colours, including the cool new Conquer Grey hero colour (as seen on everything from Audis to Hyundais these days) plus Frozen White, Lightning Blue, Race Red and Shadow Black. There’s also a lairy (but thankfully optional) tub decal pack. Like we said -- very different from your average XLT.

Inside, the Ford Ranger Raptor adds heavily bolstered performance front seats with Conquer Grey leather and suede trim and Lightning Blue thread. There’s power adjustment of the driver’s seat, matching blue dash-top stitching and matching grey air-vent surrounds.

Other additions include red Raptor instruments, Raptor floor mats, Ford Performance scuff plates and a multifunction leather steering wheel with red centre marker and, for the first time in a Ranger, paddle shifters. There is still no reach adjustment.

Along with switchable 2H/4H/4L drive modes, the off-road-ready ute’s party trick is a six-mode Terrain Management System comprising two on-road modes (Normal and Sport) and four off-road modes: Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Sand, Rock and the Raptor-exclusive Baja mode. The new ‘party mode’ increases the stability traction control threshold and holds gears for longer.

Carry-over tech includes Ford’s 8.0-inch SYNC3 touch-screen infotainment with reversing camera, voice control, Bluetooth and sat-nav, plus lane departure warning, lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition, hill-descent and hill-start control. Trailer sway control, roll-over mitigation and roll stability control are also part of the safety suite.

The Ford Ranger Raptor gets HID headlights and rear parking sensors and comes with Ford Australia’s now-standard five-year, unlimited-km warranty and the same 12-month, 15,000km service intervals as all other Rangers.

The bad news is first Australian deliveries won’t take place until October 2018. So with about 1000 customers already in the queue and demand exceeding supply across the Asia Pacific region, order now and you’ll inevitably have to wait until next year to drive one away.

As has been well documented, at the heart of the Ford Ranger Raptor is a new twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, dubbed Panther.

Adapted from the 2016 Ford Transit’s single-turbo diesel, the Bi-Turbo diesel incorporates a small high-pressure variable-geometry turbo and a larger low-pressure turbo that work together at low revs to boost torque.

Matched exclusively with the new 10-speed automatic transmission (co-developed with GM and first seen in the 2018 Mustang), the key output numbers are 156.7kW of power at 3750rpm and 500Nm of torque over 1750-2000rpm.

The twin-turbo four develops just 10kW/30Nm more than the 3.2-litre Duratorq five-cylinder turbo-diesel common to the Ranger range, and the same peak torque as Holden’s class-leading Colorado.

Newly released performance figures include a top speed of 170km/h and 0-100km/h acceleration in 10.5sec. This is about half a second quicker than the Ford Ranger XLT 3.2 but about a second slower than a Colorado. Volkswagen’s Amarok V6 is around 2sec faster to 100km/h.

Ford says to focus on the Ranger Raptor’s engine displacement is to misunderstand the reason for its being. It also insists its extensive durability testing program ensures the longevity of its 500Nm 2.0-litre engine is equal to that of any Ford diesel.

And there’s no doubt the Ford Ranger Raptor’s Bi-Turbo oil-burner is a peach. Quiet, smooth and with a pleasant induction note, it spins far more freely and keenly to its higher 4800rpm peak (in manual mode; in auto it always shifts up before 4000) and never sounds as clattery, nor strained, as the five-pot.

But there’s also no doubt it produces its best up top. Despite the marginally faster acceleration number, the BiTurbo 2.0 lacks the standing-start grunt of the Ranger 3.2. While it produce slightly more torque than the bigger-capacity five-cylinder everywhere, except just above idle, the 2.0-litre engine also has to deal with the Raptor’s extra weight.

It may be well suited to the high-speed off-road work (and Ford Ranger Bi-Turbo could well be the pick of the bunch when it comes to straight-line speed) but we think some potential suitors will be unconvinced.

Indeed, while the Raptor always feels strong and responsive on the open road -- and its silky-smooth 10-speed auto is almost always in the right gear (especially in Sport and Baja modes) – the drivetrain is far from the highlight of this package.

With the aid of idle-stop, the Raptor’s fuel consumption reduces to 8.2L/100km. Indeed, Ford makes it clear that CO2 was its focus when it came to choosing a diesel powertrain for Asia Pacific markets.

Ford says there was never an alternative to the new Bi-Turbo, which is “a perfect fit for Raptor”. Watch it change its mind for North America’s version.

The highlight of the Ford Ranger Raptor is easily the chassis, which sets a new benchmark for a utes Down Under and makes this vehicle untouchable as far as off-road capability in a production pick-up goes.

But unlike the engine, it’s not just at high speed that the suspension excels. Even at low speed on a smooth road, you can feel the extra compliance of the Fox Shox, making what is already near class-leading ride comfort even more supple.

As the quintessential pick-up truck, the Raptor’s road noise suppression is outstanding too.

The BFG KO2 tyres are not only soft, grippy and aggressive but they are also whisper quiet. The only rock spray you can hear on an unsealed road are the stones hitting the side steps.

Throw in the BiTurbo engine’s refinement and super-supportive sports seats and the Raptor is a comfortable rig in which to notch up long days behind the wheel.

The Asia Pacific media launch out of Darwin took in long transport stages, some narrow and windy bitumen, fast high-speed gravel with severe corrugations and deep causeways, plus a short but reasonably testing off-road articulation test course.

The final pre-production Raptors we drove lapped it all up more easily and more comfortably than the standard Ford Ranger. The more extreme the roads became, the more effortlessly the Ranger Raptor performed.

There was also an extended loop taking in some soft, badly rutted bulldust, sharp rocky outcrops, a pot-holed creek crossing and corrugated off-camber bends, all of which the Raptor took in its stride with unflustered confidence.

Just as we've seen on US videos of the Ford F-150 Raptor pickup truck, the Ranger Raptor was begging for more.

The clincher was a fast, straight section littered with several nasty ‘yumps’. Around 500mm high, angled to the road and with long ramps and steep drop-offs, they were the sort of humps that would see any standard one-tonner get air (even at low speed) and then land crossed-up with a crunch and probably some damage.

Even at speeds of up to 120km/h, the Raptor soaked them up while barely breaking traction; compressed on the other side without bouncing off the bump stops; and then continued unflustered and in complete control.

The secret to the Raptor’s rally car-style composure over everything from mid-corner corrugations to high-speed washouts are the long-travel Fox Shox dampers with remote canisters and the brand’s proprietary Internal Bypass system.

The set-ups unrivalled double-act is the ability to be plush in ‘cruising zone’, yet stiffen by up to 10 times at both the bump and rebound ends of the damper stroke at high-speed. These qualities combine to settle the Raptor’s body with uncanny ease over the gnarliest of obstacles.

Combined with the ability to handle up to 1g of additional impact force and the extra stability of the vastly wider wheel tracks, and the Raptor is not only supremely confidence inspiring to drive fast over harsh off-road terrain but it should also be immensely durable and comfortable over a wide range of road conditions.

This could be the surprise packet of the Ranger Raptor, in terms of being the confidence-inspiring comfortable choice for hard-core outback touring.

The Ford Ranger Raptor’s party trick might be Baja mode, but we can’t think of a better truck in which to tackle the Simpson.

Ford says the Raptor will appeal to beach-goers, hard-core off-roaders and outback trekkers alike.

We’ve no doubt you can add city-slickers who just want the boldest, baddest factory tuff-truck in their driveway to that list.

Even at the best part of $80,000 on the road and even with a puny 2.0-litre engine, the Ford Ranger Raptor is a bargain and an engineering masterpiece.

Because that fact is, nobody can build you a performance pick-up that’s this accomplished away from the blacktop for less money -- let alone one with full factory validation and warranty backing.

How much does the 2018 Ford Ranger Raptor cost?
Price: $74,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre twin-turbo four-cylinder diesel
Output: 157kW/500Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.2L/100km
CO2: 212g/km
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)