A dual cab ute as accomplished in the mud as it is on the highway may have just become Australia’s fastest reasonably priced four-door performance machine.
The Ford Ranger Raptor – with its 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 delivering 292 kilowatts of sheer power – has as much grunt as almost any V8 sedan and can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in less than six seconds despite its weight.
With a sticker price of $85,490, the most expensive Next Generation Ranger is arguably Australia’s best performance car with four doors that doesn’t cost six figures – and it can go off road with ease thanks to new cruise control technology.
This is a ute that could dominate the performance space that high-speed sedans used to occupy – and there are plenty of Australians lining up with the wait list stretching out to nine months.
A ute is now arguably Australia’s fastest reasonably priced performance car with four doors (pictured is a Ford Ranger Raptor at the Sirromet Winery in Mount Cotton, Brisbane)
Less than a year ago, the Chrysler 300 SRT with 350kw of V8 power was the car of choice for petrol heads, filling the void left by the departure of the locally-made Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.
But Chrysler is no longer selling American muscle sedans in Australia as it focuses on giant Ram pick-up trucks.
Motorists wanting four doors and 200 to 300 kilowatts of power for less than $100,000 can choose between the Toyota LandCruiser twin-turbo V6 or a Nissan Patrol V8 – two big four-wheel drives.
The Ford Ranger Raptor, with 292 kilowatts of sheer power, can accelerate from zero to 100km/h is less than six seconds
Oversized American pick-up trucks from Ford, Chevrolet and Ram have powerful engines with about 300kw of power but they typically cost six-figures when fully-optioned or have to be converted to right-hand drive.
And not everyone wants to drive something that’s nearly six metres long, leaving the Raptor as the high-performance ute without the bulk which isn’t just for tradies.
This Ford is now really Australia’s only high-performance ute after Holden Special Vehicles’ plan for a V8 Colorado was terminated when General Motors killed off the Holden brand in 2020.
While it’s made in Thailand, the Raptor – like the rest of the Ranger models, along with the Everest four-wheel drive – were all designed in Melbourne and built on the T6 platform, making them the only cars still engineered in Australia from scratch.
A high-speed rally drive around dirt tracks at Brisbane’s Sirromet Winery at Mount Cotton demonstrated the Raptor is a superior driving machine on mud – from the comfort of leather racing seats.
Daily Mail Australia drove both the outgoing Raptor and the new model – with both having a superior Fox shocks racing suspension that brilliantly soak up the bumps and corrugations.
With a sticker price of $85,490, the most expensive Next Generation Ranger is arguably the best performance car with four doors that doesn’t cost six figures – and goes off road with ease
Daily Mail Australia drove both the outgoing Raptor and the new model – with both having superior racing Fox shocks suspension that brilliantly soak up the bumps and corrugations
But unlike the old top-line Raptor model, which first went on sale in 2018, this new one has position-sensitive damping in the suspension, which electronically monitors the wheels on the track or road surface.
The ride was noticeably smoother and much more even, especially on those muddy bends after accelerating at up to 80km/h.
The new model also handled a tricky muddy bend with more ease at high speed without drifting.
It also has anti-lag technology, making this 10-speed automatic faster around the dirt track than the old model, which had the delayed acceleration that traditionally afflicts turbos.
This is a ute that could dominate the performance space that high-speed sedans used to occupy – and there are plenty of people lining up with the wait list stretching to nine months
The new Raptor’s 292kw, 3.0L, V6 EcoBoost twin-turbo powerplant leaves the old Raptor’s bi-turbo 2.0L four-cylinder for dead, with the outgoing model having 157kw under the bonnet – the same as the mid-1990s base model straight-six Ford Falcon.
Supercars driver Thomas Randle managed to get up to 120km/h off road in a new Raptor during hot laps on the winery property – going fast enough to throw up some mud
By comparison, the single-turbo V6 – available as an option on the new Ranger XLT, Sport and WildTrak models – has 184kw of power.
At $85,490, the new Raptor is also more expensive than the old Raptor, which sold for $77,690, putting it closer in price to the new Wildtrak at $70,190.
Supercars driver Thomas Randle, who two years ago survived testicular cancer, managed to get up to 120km/h off road in a new Raptor, taking journalists and social media influencers on hot laps at the winery property.
‘It is honestly fantastic, especially to see the comparison between the old gen and the Next Gen Raptor, it’s kind of like comparing apples and oranges,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We’re off terrain on gravel, the mud, and … as a driver myself, knowing what I expect from a car, I feel really in control of this thing.
‘It’s an all-terrain vehicle really.’
Unlike the old top-line Raptor model, that first went on sale in 2018, this new one has position sensitive dampers in the suspension, which electronically monitor the position of the wheels
Randle performed the rally car driving in the 4H, or four high, mode by twisting a dial on the centre console.
For off-road adventures, the Raptor can be driven in Normal, Sport, Slippery, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Baja or Rock Crawl drive modes.
Thomas Randle said the old and new Raptors were ‘like comparing apples and oranges’
The Baja mode, named after an annual off-road race in Mexico, comes closest to safari rally driving, combining both speed and control.
Daily Mail Australia also tried out the 4L, or four low, mode with the hill descent feature, that enables a motorist with no four-wheel driving experience to go down a very steep incline without having to worry about braking or accelerating.
The driver just sets the off-road cruise control to a walking pace of 5km/h, via a switch on the steering wheel, with the feature turning itself off when the accelerator is engaged.
The off-road cruise control feature is also great for going up steep hills in the bush.
Being the top-of-the-line Ranger, the Raptor comes with a larger 12-inch screen that features camera vision of the road – or off-road – ahead as well as a 360-degree view.
A high-speed rally drive around dirt tracks at Brisbane’s Sirromet Winery demonstrated the Raptor is a superior driving machine on mud – from the comfort of leather racing seats
Going off road is a cross between cruising and being an IT technician, with the driving experience very automated – where the driver selects a mode on the big screen and the machine does the work
This makes it easier to decide where to put the wheels, especially when encountering deep grooves on a muddy track.
It also shows Ford is adopting the Tesla format of having a large screen dominate the dashboard, with no buttons above the air-conditioning controls.
This is great for viewing a reverse camera or a giant Google Maps display via Apple Car Play but it’s less intuitive for those just wanting to change radio stations.
Going off road is a cross between cruising and being an IT technician, with the driving experience very automated – where the driver simply selects a mode on the big screen and lets the machine do the work.
Daily Mail Australia also tried out the 4L, or four low, mode with the hill descent feature, which enables a driver with no four-wheel-driving experience to go down a very steep incline without having to worry about braking or accelerating
The new Raptor debuts a new cruise control feature for off-roading – Trail Control – where the driver sets any speed below 32km/h, and the ute does the acceleration and braking through difficult terrain.
The new Raptor debuts a new cruise control feature for off-roading – Trail Control – where the driver sets any speed below 32km/h, and the ute does the acceleration and braking through difficult terrain
This feature made low-speed driving a breeze over a very bumpy and uneven track – but for large puddles after heavy rain, conventional acceleration with lots of concentration was better.
On the slippery roads around Mount Cotton, the 4A, or all-wheel drive mode, provides great traction in the wet.
A drive around the Redland Bay area also offered a chance to test the new Raptor’s acceleration, with on tester taking it from zero to 100km/h in seven seconds, although a time of less than six seconds is possible.
While the Raptor is a high-performance ute, it doesn’t have the towing or carrying capacity of the other Rangers.
In the back, it has a tray payload of 717kg, while the volume-selling XLT and Wildtrak models have one-tonne carrying capacities – either as a diesel V6 or bi-turbo four-cylinder.
The Raptor, the only petrol engine in the otherwise diesel Ranger line-up, has has a lower towing capacity of 2.5 tonnes – well below the 3.5-tonne capacity of the other utes in the Ford range.
While the Raptor is a high-performance ute, it doesn’t have the towing or carrying capacity of the other Rangers. In the back, it has a tray payload of 717kg, while the volume-selling XLT and Wildtrak models have one-tonne carrying capacities – either as a diesel V6 or bi-turbo fours
Unlike the other Rangers, the Raptor also lacks a rear step integrated into the rear bumper – possibly for stylistic purposes as Ford debuts the first all-new shape Ranger since 2011
Unlike the other Rangers, the Raptor also lacks a rear step integrated into the bumper – possibly for stylistic purposes as Ford debuts the first all-new shape Ranger since 2011.
The new Raptor also has a plastic dashboard beyond the centre console whereas the old model had a leather finish with stitching, but a much smaller screen.
An electronic, finger-operated handbrake on the new model replaces an old-fashioned handbrake.
In the ute sales stakes, the Ranger consistently trails the Toyota HiLux which is only available as a four-cylinder.
Ford is adopting the Tesla format of having a large screen dominate the dashboard, with no buttons above the air-conditioning controls. This is great for viewing a reverse camera or a map display but it’s less intuitive for those simply wanting to change radio stations
As Australians gravitate away from traditional passenger cars – making petrol-powered sedans and hot hatches relics of the past – motorists wanting speed and four doors have to make do with a machine that has higher ground clearance and great off-roading ability. The Raptor is that high performance answer
But with demand strong for the Raptor and other V6 Rangers, it’s a matter of time before Toyota possibly reintroduces a V6 to the HiLux range, although it remains to be seen if there will be a high-performance version.
The Isuzu D-Max is available as a V6 but it’s nowhere near as powerful as Ford’s V8 challenger.
The Raptor weighs 2.4 tonnes but has acceleration comparable with a much lighter turbo hot hatch like a Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Ford in Australia is discontinuing the high-performance Focus ST hatch which is similarly fast.
Ford touring car legend Dick Johnson, 77, who used to race Falcons at Bathurst, was among those who test raced a new Raptor at Mount Cotton
The Raptor weighs 2.6 tonnes but has acceleration comparable with a much lighter turbo hot hatch like a Volkswagen Golf GTI.
As Australians gravitate away from traditional passenger cars – making petrol-powered sedans and hot hatches relics of the past – motorists wanting speed and four doors have to make do with a machine that has higher ground clearance and great off-roading ability.
The Raptor is that high-performance answer if you aren’t looking for one-tonne-carrying capacity.
Daily Mail Australia travelled to Brisbane as a guest of Ford.
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