Ford Ranger Raptor review (2022) (2024)

4.5 out of 5 4.5

• Off-road suspension mods make it mega comfortable on-road
• Incredibly capable 4WD system with multiple driving modes
• But is the 213hp / 500Nm diesel engine fast enough?

As all of the above modifications suggest, this is quite something to drive - although the ways in which this manifests itself aren't always the obvious ones, and we can't help wishing Ford had fitted a more exciting engine.

What's different about the suspension and chassis?

Ford Performance has converted the rear suspension to a 'coil-over' spring and shock absorber set-up, featuring Fox Racing Shox suspension dampers - also fitted at the front - that use Position Sensitive Damping. This allows them to deliver outstanding cruising comfort on the road in addition to exceptional impact performance when being worked to their limit at high speeds off road.

The new chassis frame, meanwhile, uses multiple grades of steel to maximise strength, and includes stiffened side rails and strengthened suspension mounts, including protruding shock absorber towers at the front to cope with the Raptor’s extra width and suspension travel.

The whole thing has been designed and tested to cope with extended periods of off-road driving at speeds up to 105mph.

You may want to read that sentence again...

What does the Ford Ranger Raptor Terrain Management System do?

TheTerrain Management Systemmodifies the responses of the engine, the 10-speed gearbox, and the electronic traction and stability control to suit different types of driving and surfaces.

The TMS has six modes, selected easily on the move via a dedicated button on the steering wheel, so you don't even need to stop driving before charging onto the next set of obstacles:

We've been lucky enough to test all of the above, and you can be confident that they all work very well.

So, the Ranger Raptor is good off road?

The Ranger Raptor is incredible off-road – with one proviso we’ll come back to in a minute.

The upgraded suspension and chassis are absolutely everything you’d want them to be. The Raptor will take huge impacts – whether that’s sudden bumps or dips – and just keeps going, generally without mashing your head in to the roof lining in the process.

Sure, you will still get thrown about, but the seat fabric stops you sliding as you would on leather, and most massive jolts are dealt with in a single suspension movement. Extended sections of heavily rutted sand are jarring, but the dampers soak up the repeated bouncing entirely enough to allow you to keep on carrying speed that would simply shake most other pickups to death.

Following another Raptor in these circ*mstances, it’s breath-taking to see just how much the wheels go up and down compared to the relatively smooth trajectory of the frame and body. Even if it doesn’t feel quite that effortless inside.

The big tyres are mega for grip. And even if you do get stuck – as we did, when a slower vehicle in front prevented us from keeping up enough momentum over some particularly soft sand – the Raptor will usually be able to dig itself out.

Unless you’ve managed to bury it up to the chassis. Then you’re probably going to need a shovel.

What’s the Ranger Raptor like on road?

Almost awe-inspiring. Those trick new dampers are satisfyingly soft in the middle of their travel – which is where you’ll be most of the time on the road – and this together with ditching the rear leaf springs means it is way, way more comfortable than a regular Ranger.

Yet it also leans less in corners, allowing you to carry more speed. Naturally, lumpy tarmac isn’t much of a challenge, either.

The off-road tread pattern of those big tyres means there’s occasionally a little bit of squirm beneath you, but refinement is more than acceptable – thanks in part to the Ranger’s new noise-cancelling system, which also pipes artificial engine sounds into the cabin.

Fortunately, this last is reasonably tastefully done, so avoids becoming overly annoying.

How fast is the Ford Ranger Raptor?

This is where things get slightly awkward. While the new 213hp 2.0-litre EcoBlue engine is the most powerful motor that’s been made available in the current Ranger – with 500Nm, it’s even more torquey than the old 3.2-litre five-cylinder – it doesn’t quite give you the performance we feel a truck like this really deserves.

On the plus side, it uses sequential turbocharging – one small turbo for instant response that feeds into a large turbo for top end power – which makes it very quick to spool up and get moving.

Trouble is, once this opening salvo is delivered, it just never feels especially fast. The chassis means you can still make plenty of progress on the road, since you no longer have to slow down so much in the turns; but off-road – especially on sand – there are occasions where you really want some more muscle, and the Raptor doesn’t have it.

And that’s despite the generous spread of gear ratios available in that 10-speed gearbox, which shifts quickly and smoothly in both automatic and manual modes.

To put this performance issue into context, the most potent 258hp V6-powered contemporaryVW AmarokandMercedes X-Classmodels, while no longer available to buy new, totally monster the Raptor for raw speed. The Ford needs 10.5 seconds to go 0-62mph, while those premium Germans make the same sprint in seven.

Making things worse, this exact same engine and gearbox combo is also available in lesser Rangers. There’s nothing special about the Raptor’s powertrain at all (including the claimed 31.7mpg fuel economy), and regular Rangers with the same engine are actually slightly faster, thanks to their smaller wheels and lower weight.

What's the Ranger Raptor like to drive in the UK?

Driving the Raptor in the UK, the first thing that strikes you is how big it is. The extra width - and height - over the standard Ranger make a powerful impression when you walk up to the vehicle for the first time, and you can tell it appears very striking to other road users as well.

From the inside, the width is a bit nerve-inducing at first. Country lanes and crowded town centres can suddenly feel rather narrow. But sitting so high you have a good view of the road ahead, so you should find you quickly adjust to the Raptor's size. Certainly, we were comfortably threading it through gaps within a couple of miles.

It helps that the chassis and powertrain are so responsive. While it's still a shame the engine isn't a bit pokier given how special the rest of the pickup is, it feels lively enough in among British traffic, and the gearbox helps keep you firmly in the meaty part of the power band.

Trying to use the gearbox manually can be slightly challenging, however, simply due to the sheer number of gears available - if you're at cruising speed and decide to downshift to increase acceleration for an overtaking move you have a lot of gears to get through before the truck really leaps forward under power.

It sounds good, though, and best of all, the suspension is incredible. Amazingly comfortable over bumps (to the point where we didn't even notice some severe ones on the test route that nearly chucked a lesser Ranger off the road!) yet great for control and confidence in the corners.

This really is a lovely piece of work.