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Next-gen Ford Ranger Raptor coming soon
High-performance Raptor version of Ford’s new Ranger pick-up drops previous version’s diesel for a turbocharged V6 petrol
Words by: Dan Trent
Published on 22 February 2022 | 0 min read
The farmer’s favourite since Land Rovers got too expensive, pick-ups are also fixture of working life across utility companies, builders and anyone else whose trade takes them off the beaten track. Increasingly they’re also bought by lifestyle users as ‘statement’ vehicles to stand out from the crowd, with the bonus of attractive tax breaks if you can run one on a business.
Statements don’t come much louder than the Ford Ranger Raptor, either. Inspired by the US-market F150 Raptor, this takes the functional Ranger pick-up and transforms it into something approaching an off-road racing truck, with massive tyres, long-travel suspension and an unapologetically aggressive image. All good fun in the existing version but, best will in the world, the diesel engine doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of the looks.
Statements don’t come much louder than the Ford Ranger Raptor, either. Inspired by the US-market F150 Raptor, this takes the functional Ranger pick-up and transforms it into something approaching an off-road racing truck, with massive tyres, long-travel suspension and an unapologetically aggressive image. All good fun in the existing version but, best will in the world, the diesel engine doesn’t quite deliver on the promise of the looks.
That’s all set to change with the new Ranger Raptor, due this summer as the first of the next-generation Ranger line-up that will follow next year. Based on a heavily revised version of the existing Ranger chassis, it gets fresh bodywork, new engines and a ton of touch-screen driven tech on the inside designed to help commercial users and enthusiasts alike.
Big news is the adoption of a new 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine with a healthy sounding 288 horsepower and 491Nm of torque, which it puts to those giant tyres through a variable four-wheel drive system, 10-speed automatic gearbox and a total of seven driver modes. Low-range transmission and differential locks mean there’s true go-anywhere credibility while fancy suspension from off-road racing specialists Fox means the lumps and bumps of high-speed off-road driving are swallowed as effectively as any smaller ones you may encounter on the school run. Basically, if you grew up playing with Tonka toys or radio-controlled monster trucks the Ranger Raptor is all your childhood dreams made real.
Big news is the adoption of a new 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine with a healthy sounding 288 horsepower and 491Nm of torque, which it puts to those giant tyres through a variable four-wheel drive system, 10-speed automatic gearbox and a total of seven driver modes. Low-range transmission and differential locks mean there’s true go-anywhere credibility while fancy suspension from off-road racing specialists Fox means the lumps and bumps of high-speed off-road driving are swallowed as effectively as any smaller ones you may encounter on the school run. Basically, if you grew up playing with Tonka toys or radio-controlled monster trucks the Ranger Raptor is all your childhood dreams made real.
Where in the current Ranger Raptor the clatter of a diesel engine is little to be proud about the new petrol-powered one makes the most of its new motor and a variable exhaust with settings ranging from Quiet (so as not to annoy the neighbours on those early starts) through Normal and Sport to the full-on Baja mode. This, Ford says, is noisy enough to be considered for off-road use only.
As with the existing one the already tough Ranger chassis has been further strengthened for the Raptor version, with extra reinforcement for the suspension and a completely different, coil-sprung arrangement at the rear for better control on and off the road. Given the current Raptor is great fun to drive but lacking excitement in the engine department this next-gen successor looks ready to deliver on the promise of those amazing looks.
As with the existing one the already tough Ranger chassis has been further strengthened for the Raptor version, with extra reinforcement for the suspension and a completely different, coil-sprung arrangement at the rear for better control on and off the road. Given the current Raptor is great fun to drive but lacking excitement in the engine department this next-gen successor looks ready to deliver on the promise of those amazing looks.
