A New Breed

When it comes to off-road performance, Fords new Raptor Ranger rewrites the rule book for production bakkies

- Andrew Middleton

Raptor is a name synonymous with off-road racing, Baja 1000 big-bore petrol engines, and adrenaline-fuelled driving. And now it’s been filtered down to the Ranger. But, instead of the twin turbo 3.5-litre V6 petrol in America’s latest F-150-based version, we get a sprightly 2.0-litre, twin-turbo, four cylinder diesel. Does this mean that Ford has softened the brand, or does the mini- Raptor still cut it for the adrenaline junkie?

We went to the Aussie Outback for a flat-out drive to find out.

Under the bonnet

Although the engine is smaller than the 147kW five cylinder 3.2-litre Duratorq that has made a name for Ford’s crop of T6 Ranger bakkies, the Raptor’s little 2.0-litre oil-burner produces more power with 15kW on tap at 3750rpm, and 500Nm from as low as 1750rpm. The smaller mill is blown with two sequential turbochargers, with power sent through a ten-speed viscous automatic which was designed and built in-house. It has such a wide spread of gears that the low-range transfer case is rendered almost super furious. The gearbox is programmed to keep the engine in its optimum power band for as much time as possible. It is allied to Ford’s Terrain Management System (TMS) which alters the engine, transmission and traction control settings depending on the demand, and your mood. Choose one of six modes, all selected from the steering wheel: Normal, Sport, Grass/ Gravel/Snow, Mud/Sand, Rock and Baja. The latter is inspired by flat-out off-road racing, and pares back the traction control to allow slides, while the gearbox holds onto cogs for longer, allowing the engine to rev more freely.