The Ford Ranger Raptor is one of the most entertaining vehicles you can buy in South Africa today, with all of the adrenaline of a hot hatchback bundled into an exceptionally capable off-roader.
Ford was kind enough to lend me the keys to one of its Raptors for a week, where I was able to get a sense of what this bakkie is like to live with on a day-to-day basis in Gauteng before taking it on a trip to the Pilanesberg to see just what its engine and 4×4 credentials are capable of.
Monstrous performance
Anyone with even a vague interest in bakkies will no doubt be familiar with the Raptor concept, as it is a one-of-a-kind vehicle in South Africa.
The halo model of the best-selling Ranger series, the Raptor is a high-performance take on the double cab with an exclusive 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol engine.
This gives the 4×4 an absurd power cap of 292kW and 583Nm, which is immediately evident from the second you hit the push-start button.
The Raptor growls to life with its prominent dual exhaust producing a threatening aura, which naturally only gets better the harder you put your foot down.
What’s more, it is possible to control the exhaust tones with a button on the steering wheel with settings for Quiet, Normal, Sport, and Baja, and owners can even schedule a Quiet Start function so as not to disturb the neighbours in the morning.
The customization doesn’t stop there, however, as the steering wheel also has buttons for the dampers and steering sensitivity, and it’s possible to save your preferred setup on an “R” button for quick access, as the vehicle always starts with all its settings in Normal mode.
Like with Ford’s other top-end off-roaders, the Ranger has a large centre console with a shortcut button for the off-road camera and the vehicle’s tilt angles and a rotary dial with two purposes.
Pressing one of the four buttons on the dial selects the wheel layout with settings for 2H, 4H, 4L, and 4A – the latter of which distributes power to each axle as needed to maintain traction.
Turning the dial, meanwhile, will bring up the various driving modes on the digital driver display, including Normal, Sport, Slippery, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock, and Baja.
The off-road centred modes will also switch to the appropriate gear ratio and wheel layout, and engage the differential lock if need be.
For the gearbox, you have a 10-speed automatic, which can be controlled using a set of paddle shifters on the wheel, or Ford’s “E-Shifter” gearstick that resembles a computer mouse in your palm and has a side button for engaging a manual mode.
For a 5.3m-long bakkie with a kerb weight of 2.4 tonnes, the steering is reasonably light, which makes getting around town a bit easier.
Of course, it’s out on the open road where the Ranger shines, as it is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100km/h in less than 6.0 seconds.
Combined with its thrilling exhaust notes, the Raptor is a blast to drive with easy overtakes on the highways and the occasional sprint when the light turns green on an empty road.
Driving it around town is surprisingly easy, too, thanks to Ford’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which are helpful without being overbearing.
The adaptive cruise control is easy to activate and adjust, and there are separate buttons on the wheel to toggle the following distance and the lane-keep assist – the latter of which is gentle enough that I didn’t feel the need to deactivate it every time I set off.
There are blind-spot monitors, parking sensors, and a 360-degree camera with different viewing angles, all of which are very useful, though I would welcome a physical shortcut button to pull up the overhead camera for parking instead off going through the infotainment screen.
When it comes to off-roading, the Raptor has another trick up its sleeve in the form of its bespoke suspension.
The halo-model Ranger takes a lot of inspiration from the Baja 1000 rally stage held in Mexico, which is why it has a special Baja driving mode that optimizes the throttle for immediate responses, and a set of specially-made 2.5-inch Fox shocks.
The shocks mean that the double cab is extraordinarily comfortable off the tarmac, which I found to be the case while traversing the Pilansberg National Park over the weekend.
Admittedly, none of the park’s tracks were particularly demanding, but the ride over the dirt and rocks was often so smooth that I forgot I wasn’t on a road.
Also worth pointing out is that, despite its hot hatch behaviour, the Ford can still be very quiet when it wants to, and it even has a Stop/Start function, which unexpectedly came in handy when it came to viewing game in the park.
Next-level interior
The current-generation Ranger already has a high-quality interior, but the Raptor manages to elevate it even further with Sports seats, and a generous splash of orange accents on things like the air vents, steering wheel, and leather upholstery.
You get a large vertical touchscreen with physical shortcuts for the dual-zone climate controls, and the digital instrument cluster alters its aesthetic depending on the driving mode.
The electronically-adjustable heated front seats were much appreciated in the winter mornings, and there’s a good amount of storage with a top and bottom glove box, large door bins, and a box under the armrest.
There’s also a wireless charging pad, deployable cupholders in the dashboard, and two additional cupholders in the centre console with grooves that can adjust to the size of different containers.
Ford’s Sync 4 infotainment system is straightforward to use, though there are a lot of sub menus to navigate which can be a little time consuming, and the 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo is a nice complement on any road trip.
Orange ambient lighting accentuates the bakkie’s personality at night, and the carmaker has even included a set of overhead switches for those who wish to install accessories like auxiliary headlights.
There is also a parking assistant function that is impressive to watch, as it can perform both parallel parks and alley dockings.
It requires that you engage the function with a button before driving forward, indicating in the desired direction so the car knows where to look for a space.
Once its found a spot, you simply put it in neutral, whereupon it will steer, reverse, and drive forward as needed to line up the body.
It can be a little hit-or-miss at detecting an open space, but when it kicks in it is incredible at lining itself up.
It should be said, though, that this whole process can take a few minutes, and you may end up angering any motorists stuck behind you, but in most situations the parking sensors and cameras should be more than enough to help you dock the behemoth.
As for the rest of the user experience; the tailgate is not heavy to open, and the load bin has built-in lights, though its a bit disappointing that the Raptor does not have the same side footholds that the other Rangers have to reach into the back – likely a consequence of the flared wheel arches containing a set of 17-inch alloys wrapped in chunky BF Goodrich all-terrain tyres.
On that note, cabin noise is a bit on the loud side owing to the tyres and the wind resistance on the blocky body, but it’s far from unbearable.
While the Raptor experience is fantastic for the most part, there are a few things that are important to highlight for anyone considering the model.
First and foremost is its fuel consumption, as calling the high-octane bakkie a heavy drinker would be an understatement.
Ford lists its official consumption at 11.5l/100km, but the lowest rate I experienced through town with a mix of highway and suburb roads, minimal throttle usage, and use of the Stop/Start system in traffic, was 14.5l/100km.
My average consumption throughout the week was around 20.0l/100km, which meant I was going through the 80-litre tank alarmingly quickly.
The other drawbacks are of a more technical nature, as the Raptor’s rally-inspired modifications have compromised its utilitarian functions somewhat.
While the regular Ranger can tow 3,500kg, the Raptor can only manage 2,500kg, and its a similar story with the load capacity, which drops from 944kg to 670kg.
Verdict
The Ford Ranger Raptor is an awesome vehicle that’s sure to appeal to South Africa’s love of fast cars and bakkies in equal measure, and it actually manages to fix one of the problems with the previous-generation model.
When the old Raptor came onto the scene in South Africa, it was seen by many as a strict upgrade over its siblings, which ended up making units like the Wildtrak feel redundant.
This time around, the Raptor is better in some areas and less so in others, and that’s a good thing, as it means Ford’s other top-spec Rangers like the Tremor, Wildtrak, Wildtrak X, and Platinum have their own niche with different features, fuel tabs, and capabilities.
The Raptor comes at a huge premium with its sticker of R1,226,700, and it’s not as practical as its siblings, but it is still more than up the everyday tasks you throw at it, and its performance and eye-catching design will make you smile every time you see it in the driveway.
Just do your research to make sure that the Raptor is the right bakkie for you, and for those who are ready to make the plunge, I have only one word to say – enjoy.
