First drive: Ford Ranger Raptor and Ford Everest

By Richard Bosselman

When it comes to off-roading, Ian Foston is an ultra-adventurer; his private vehicle has been on every continent, in every kind of climate and has coped with many challenges, including being blown off a mountain pass in the Andes.

Dave Burn, who laughingly suggests his official title - ‘Ford Performance and Customisation chief programme engineer’ - is easier translated as ‘the bloke who owns the toyshop’, is like-enthused, but mainly through motorsport. Desert endurance racing, rallying – yes, he’s done Rally Otago – and circuit.

That experience flavoured their job; developing the Ford Ranger, plus Everest and Ranger Raptor, the two adjunct models that share the Kiwi-favourite ute’s platform, drivetrains, safety gear and technology.

As diametrically-opposed as a family-minded seven seater wagon and a rat-crazy performance ute are, the spirit of the ‘get-it-right’ toughness, fortitude and enthusiasm so evident in the ute also equally pervades both spin-offs.

A bush-clad property outside Brisbane was the venue for the media launch; It included a very decent off-road course, with mud, some gnarly pinches to ascend and drop into, a decent stream crossing and lots of ruts, plus a high-speed dirt track for Raptor. We also undertook open road driving, comprising an extended four spell in the Everest, and a far shorter stint in the Raptor.

Whereas the preceding Raptor was a late life addition to the Ranger line, the new one’s development kicked off in unison with the regular ute. First decision was to sign up the engine (a 292kW/583Nm 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol) plucked from the Ford F150, then everything else was engineered to the meet the huge power boost.

Fuston and Burn say the big improvements wrought regular Ranger – the widened footprint and lengthened wheelbase – were done to suit Raptor, which also goes further with additional reinforcements.

This is one tech-tricked truck. Cameras to cover off blind spots, displays that shows steering angle, an inclinometer and all that good dirt-friendly stuff, ‘Trail Control’ (described by Ford as “like cruise control for off-roading”), plus seven drive modes, more dedicated to off-seal than on-road. All this layers atop the move to a permanent four-wheel-drive system with lockable front and rear diffs.

The engine is a maniac powerplant; firing with a flare of revs and demonstrating redline eagerness you’ll never see from Ranger’s other 3.0-litre V6, the diesel. Rebels who care not about consumption and CO2 consequences will be hooked.

Will they also be hounded by conscience? The engine demands 98 octane to release its stated outputs and drinks hard; cited economy of 11.5 litres per 100km is way higher than previous Raptor and even that was unachievable on the launch. Also putting it in the naughty corner are the emissions; 292 grams of CO2 per kilometre output assessed under our WLTP3 protocol attracts a $5,175 Clean Car Fee, with more pain coming with next year’s Clean Car Standard.

As previously, the race truck suspension, brakes and wheels penalise payload and towing maximums.

These matters notwithstanding, Raptor is a work of engineering genius, and different enough to the Ranger to justify Ford’s contention that it should be considered an altogether separate model.

Driving-wise, the beast is different for reasons beyond its mad ferocity.

The steering has better sense of connection. Braking performance remains a strength and ride and handling are better, which is saying something.

The off-road tuning is amazing. Bump and rut impact suppression from those high-tech Fox dampers, now with ‘live valve’ technology adaptive for compression is almost beyond comprehension. Baja mode, which optimises the throttle, engine, transmission, exhaust and shocks for max attack, is totally nuts.

Special attention put into appearing less as a truck and more as a performance car pervades the interior with rally car-style seats, thick rimmed steering wheel, special instrumentation and the dash and door tops having the sort of flocked covering normally found in racing vehicles.

Everest, meantime, builds on its predecessor’s reputation as a sensible choice for drivers whose driving regime involves gravel, mud or worse. The talents of the new terrain response system are impressive; not even the flagship Platinum’s fancy 21-inch wheels and tyres were found wanting when schlepping through slime.

Greater change comes with the on-road involvement. There’s still no disguising that it’s more truck than car, yet a broader wheelbase and widened track has had a settling effect on the dynamics, to point is tangibly less ponderous and roly-poly than others in its sub-set.

What also makes it a better drive than before is the driving position; the front chairs this time around are better-shaped and the steering wheel now has height and reach adjustment.

The familiar 2.0-litre biturbo remains a trouper. It feels strong and smooth, has okay oomph and remains a sensible choice. But as with Ranger, versions with the V6 are better for way more reasons than boat ramp one-upsmanship.

The impressive outputs come with exceptional refinement. So smooth, so quiet, such surging throttle response. Both diesels cop a CO2 fee, more for the six, but fuel consumption is only marginally greater as it is more relaxed working with the 10-speed auto.

Ford has improved Everest’s third row access the seats by allowing the second row bench to slide further forward; the back row remains a kids’ hangout. Adults will enjoy rows one and two, however, finding reasonable headroom and decent legroom. Boot space is by 40 litres (so 259 litres all seats up, 898 litres third row folded and 1823 litres with the mid row down) and there’s an underfloor storage area.

The ladder frame construct means whole thing sits high, and though cabin space is generous, the floor is more elevated that in a car-derived SUV, which influences the seating height and angle.

Visually, it’s only like a Ranger at the front, though the cabin has the same dashboard, instrument cluster, centre console and gear selector as the ute. The higher the spend, the flasher it gets, with peak Premium feeling plush.

It’s not the only contender with a touchscreen, but in appearance alone, Ford’s is the standard-setter, while operability is decent, too, with the native systems generally working as adeptly as CarPlay (which hooks in wirelessly).

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB), low-speed reverse AEB, a front-centre airbag, and curtain airbags that extend to the third-row seats (for a total of nine airbags) include, along with blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control. Rear cross-traffic alert and automatic parking systems are also available.

FordPass enables remote start, vehicle status check and remote lock and unlock functions via a mobile device. It also allows external control for an exterior zone lighting system which lights up the ground around the vehicle, for safer approaches at night, or wilderness camping.

 

Ford Ranger Raptor

Price: $89,990.
Clean Car rebates and charges (additional to price): $5,175 fee.
Engine: Twin turbocharged six-cylinder, 2967cc, 292kW, 583Nm. 0-100km/h, 6.6 sec (est).
Transmission: 10-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive.
Fuel and economy: petrol, 11.5L/100km.
Emissions: 292g CO2/100km.
Dimensions: Length, 5381mm; width, 2028mm; height, 1922mm.

 

Ford Everest

Price: $71,990 (Trend), $79,490  (Sport), $84,990 (Platinum).
Clean Car rebates and charges (additional to price):  Trend $1,900 fee, Sport/Platinum $4,025 fee
Engines: Twin turbocharged four-cylinder (Trend), 1996cc, 154kW, 500Nm, 0-100km/h, n/a; single turbocharged six-cylinder (Sport, Platinum), 2992cc, 184kW, 600Nm. 0-100km/h, n/a.
Transmission: 10-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive.
Fuel and economy: petrol, Trend 7.2L/100km; Sport/Platinum 8.5L/100km.
Emissions:  Trend 219g CO2/100km Sport/Platinum 256g CO2/100km.
Dimensions: Length, 4914mm; width, 2027mm; height, 1842mm.

By Richard Bosselman