High-performance version of Ford’s pick-up gains a more frugal diesel engine option On sale Now Price from £46,300 (excl VAT)
Lawrence Cheung lawrence.cheung@haymarket.com
THE PETROL-POWERED RANGER Raptor is a 2.5-tonne pick-up with V6 turbo firepower that can blast its way over (or through) forbidding terrain. It plasters a huge grin on its driver’s face, with a soundtrack and handling on loose surfaces that would do justice to a rally car.
The trouble is, it drinks fuel like one as well, returning a wince-inducing official 20.5mpg. Now, though, there’s a diesel engine option that promises a slightly more bearable 26.6mpg; Raptor fans might remember this 208bhp 2.0-litre unit as the sole engine offered in the previous-generation model.
With 80bhp less, the diesel Raptor’s 10.5sec 0-62mph sprint trails the petrol’s 7.9sec. However, there’s still plenty of low-down muscle to keep up with traffic or to tackle the rough stuff – more so than in the similarly broad-shouldered, pumped-up Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35. That rival’s engine sounds a lot more uncouth than the Raptor’s, too; the latter benefits from subtle augmented engine noise that masks some of the diesel’s gravelly song with a sportier artificial voiceover.
The differences between diesel and petrol Raptors amount to more than just the engine, though. First of all, the diesel comes with only a rear locking differential (the petrol also has a locking front diff, for even more traction), and this might limit its off-road potential.
And while both versions get long-travel coil spring suspension (for greater
