The Ford Ranger Raptor is the first ever factory-built extreme off-road pickup to be offered in Europe. We got exclusive access to test it in the desert in Morocco.
Ford has added quite a lot of kit to achieve the more macho and aggressive look. The Raptor is instantly recognisable with its Raptor grille, 150mm wider track, bulging 168mm wider wheelarches, and 285/70R17 BF Goodrich KO2 tyres - which raises the chassis 30mm to give around 283mm of ground clearance.
The standard bumpers have been replaced by specialist off-road versions for better approach and departure angles. The leaf springs will also go, to be replaced by independent coil-springs with FOX 2.5 shock absorbers and Watt’s linkage to minimise lateral movement and increase travel by 22% to 290mm.
There are number of styling cues, like ‘Raptor’ embossed on the body, standard LED lights and a distinctive black tailgate. There are also ‘magnesium’ side steps which double as skid plates made from a tough aluminium alloy and Ford has stiffened the chassis and upgraded the brakes to all-round ventilated discs.
The Raptor is powered by a 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel producing 210bhp and 500Nm. Achieving 62mph in 10.5 seconds from standstill, the new engine is punchier - but only just - than the previous 3.2TDCi but it lags a country mile behind the Amarok V6 and X-Class V6 ‘X350D’. Needless to say, we were expecting more.
We did, however, really rate the 10-speed automatic box, which was developed with rival maker General Motors.
Like the X-Class V6, the Ford Ranger Raptor is available with a number of driving modes (two of on-road, four for off-road), which alter the traction control, stability control, transmission and engine performance depending on the driving environment.
These include ‘normal’, which emphasises a mixture of comfort, fuel economy and driveability, and ‘sport’, which increases the responsiveness of the throttle. For off-road, there are four settings: grass/gravel/snow, mud/sand mode, rock and ‘Baja’, named after the desert where the F150 Raptor was developed which tunes the engine for high-speed off-road performance.
Read the FULL REVIEW: pickupand4x4.co...
Негізгі бет Ford Ranger Raptor tested on and off road in Morocco
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