Ford Ranger Raptor 2019 first drive

It’s quite a curious car, this. The route on which we’ve been able to drive the Raptor so far has been incredibly demanding but reveals it’s exceptionally capable. 

We’ve found in the (gratuitous self-promotion alert) videos we’ve made that separate chassis/body SUVs and pick-ups are best off road, but the difference with the Raptor is that it’s happiest going there at speed. On rough tracks, the dampers are better if you go faster, the chief engineer tells us, and on trying it, it seems he’s right. The Raptor is a kind of five-seat Ariel Nomad with a decent boot. The inspiration for the entire Raptor project came from seeing off-road rally recce vehicles, so I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise.

The steering’s light, you’ll find paddles attached to the wheel should you choose to use them, but the engine and gearbox are responsive either way. Given the modest straight-line performance, though, they’re far from the main action. Even deliberately so: there’s active noise cancellation in the cabin, so a muted thrum from ahead is the most you hear. This is not a hot rod.

Body control is good – considering this is still a 2.5-tonne vehicle – and wheel articulation really impressive. It’ll go places only the most serious off-roaders will go, and it’ll go there faster than all of them, I’d have thought. So in the right place, it’s terrific fun.

None of this will matter in Godalming town centre, of course, but you could say the same about taking a Ferrari away from Fiorano. Similar deal here, really: it’s an off-road sports car.

The rest of the Raptor package is quite serviceable. There are new seats, nicely but not overly figure-hugging, and some more upmarket trim arrives, in places, to help justify this being a near-£50k pick-up truck, which it just about gets away with. Ford’s infotainment remains fiddly but will mirror your phone, there’s reasonable rear-seat accommodation. And not much else to report: the action happens when it’s moving.

There is an argument, and it’s one I understand, that the Ranger Raptor should have an engine more in tune with its chassis performance, rather than the equivalent of, say, putting a 1.4 diesel into a Toyota Supra and pretending that’s fine. This is the only performance car in my recent memory with a 0-62mph time of over 10 seconds.

But when you see the raw chassis in the metal, you realise how much work they’ve put into it, and when you bang it down a gravel track at a speed that would eject you clean through the window of a standard Ford Ranger, it’s easier to understand the path they’ve taken. 

Yes, Ford could have just dropped a 3.5 V6 with 400bhp into a regular Ranger, fitted big tyres and called it there, and I suspect it would have made just as many ripples. But the chassis mods are the expensive bits on an extremely capable car: to say you just want a big engine instead is, in a way, to call for less integrity, rather than more, and I’m not sure I’m prepared to do that. Besides, we all know slow is the new fast.

So the more I think about it, the more I rather warm to a total oddball whose appeal is rather more than skin deep. Certainly there’s nothing else quite like it, and trying to convert a regular pick-up into something similar, while interesting, would probably cost you more. Ford has, basically, created a small new market niche, and it’s a car I find a lot more interesting than yet another premium crossover. 

So should you buy one? I’ve no idea. I feel like it’s recommending a Morgan 3 Wheeler or an Ariel Nomad or a Rolls-Royce Phantom: if you want one, sure, go for it. You’ll have bought one of the most intriguing cars on the market today, and there’s merit in that alone. 

Ford Ranger Raptor specification

Where Morocco On sale September Price £48,785 Engine 4 cyls in line, 1996cc, twin-turbo, diesel Power 210bhp at 3750rpm Torque 367lb ft at 1750-2000rpm Gearbox 10-spd automatic Kerb weight 2510kg Top speed 106mph 0-62mph 10.5sec Fuel economy 31.7mpg CO2 233g/km Rivals Nothing obvious, maybe an Ariel Nomad or a pick-up with Arctic Trucks options