I AM strapped into a pre-production prototype of Ford’s upcoming Ranger Raptor, and riding shotgun is none other than seven-time Australian Rally Championship winner and four-time Side by Side (SXS) champion, Cody Crocker. Cody is justifiably nervous, as this isn’t the first time he has ridden alongside me. The last time he was teaching me the ropes of racing a Polaris RZR SXS, and that occasion ended up with the RZR on its side.
The venue for this drive is the off-road track at Loveday 4x4 Adventure Park in South Australia’s Riverland district. The track ahead of us is one that park owner Tony Whateley uses to test and develop their trophy truck and other off-road racing vehicles, so it's an imposing strip of dirt for any production vehicle. And if any production road car could be up to the challenge, it has to be the new Ranger Raptor.
The original PX2 Ranger Raptor has been in a class of its own for off-road performance ever since its launch in 2019, so much so that it was awarded 4X4 Australia’s 4x4 of The Year award for that year. With its bespoke coil-sprung rear end, widened wheel track and Ford Performance-tuned Fox Racing dampers, the Raptor covered rough terrain at speed and in a more controlled manner than any other showroom-stock 4x4 ute.
While the performance of the Raptor’s hotted-up chassis and suspension were next-level awesome, the one big criticism of the ute was that the bi-turbo, four-cylinder diesel engine didn’t live up to the rest of the car and didn’t really meet the Ford Performance credence.
Make no mistake – Ford has set out to quash any such misgivings about the Raptor with the new P703 version!
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من 4x4 Magazine Australia.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من 4x4 Magazine Australia.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
CORRUGATIONS.SAND, AND SPINIFEX
WHEN TALKING LEGENDARY TRACKS, THE CANNING STOCK ROUTE HAS THE TITLE OF LONGEST HISTORICAL STOCK ROUTE IN THE WORLD, BUT TACKLING ITS 1850KM IN A 1970S LAND ROVER MAKES FOR ONE INTERESTING DRIVE FOR THE TV CREW FROM SERIOUSLY SERIES. YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF BY VIEWING ROAD TO RUIN
PURE WATER
THE GUZZLE H2O STREAM IS THE IDEAL WATER PURIFICATION SOLUTION FOR PROVIDING A RELIABLE SOURCE OF CLEAN DRINKING WATER OFF THE GRID
DOES IT GET ANY TOUGHER FOR THE AT52S?
HAVING TACKLED SOME OF THE ROUGHEST TRACKS IN THE COUNTRY, THESE ALL-TERRAINS HAVE PASSED THE TEST
TOP 5 4X4 SPOTS IN SA
HERE ARE FIVE OF THE BEST 4X4 DESTINATIONS IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA
PLUGGING IN
GWM IS STUDYING THE VIABILITY OF PLUG-IN HYBRID VERSIONS OF ITS POPULAR 4X4S FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET. WE GOT A CHANCE TO SAMPLE THEM ON TRACK
TOP TANK
WE HAVE COME AWAY IMPRESSED AFTER A WEEK IN GWM’S TANK 500 HYBRID 4X4.
HARD EARNED
HARD WORK AND THE RIGHT ADVICE HAVE HELPED JAMES ATKINSON BUILD THE PATROL OF HIS DREAMS
DYNAMIC DEBUT
OUR FIRST TASTE OF THE LC250 COMES IN THE FORM OF THE LEXUS GX550 OVERTRAIL, AND THIS LUXURY 4X4 WAGON IMPRESSES BOTH ON THE ROAD AND OFF IT
BLACK GROWLER
IF YOU’RE GOING TO SWAP FROM A DOUBLE-CAB UTE TO A 4X4 WAGON, YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO WITH THE BEST AVAILABLE. BRUCE HAS DONE JUST THAT AND EQUIPPED HIS GR SPORT 300 WITH THE BEST GEAR ON THE MARKET
2025 NISSAN PATROL MAKES GLOBAL DEBUT
CURTAINS DROP ON SEVENTH-GENERATION PATROL BUT NOT HERE UNTIL 2026
