Review: Ford Raptor Double Cab Pickup

Some of my early motoring was in what we now call a pick-up. The late 70s Toyota Hiace didn’t have much in the way of toys or luxury. Businesses used practical light trucks built on, say, a Ford Transit chassis. They were for work, not leisure, and had plain cabs seating two or three and few mod cons.

The Super Cab is master of all it surveys

The family had various light commercials for deliveries including a small Honda called the Acty with a mid-engine which wore out, and the glorious Hiace with a drop-sides and tailgate.

This was, or so I remember through the lure of time, reliable, pleasant to drive and handy for out-of-hours domestic carrying. The UK industry never got to grips with the 1990s demand for light pick-ups. Land Rover could have been ahead of the market if it had offered an alternative to its military-grade, chugging, everlasting 90 and 110 models with numb handling, no airbags, none of the easy-mannered brightness of an L200 Mitsubishi or HiLux Toyota, etc, etc.

Today, Ford’s best-selling Ranger pickup continues to boss the market. It can be had with rear-wheel drive and a short two-seater cabin. If that’s all you need then you get a longer load bed of 2.3m. The Super Cab has rear “jump” seats and a shorter load bed of 1.85m. The most favoured pickup body style is the four-door with three rear seats and a shorter load platform of around 1.6m. That’s a mere 63 inches.

The Raptor has a smaller payload capacity than its Ranger cousin

Ford offers the Ranger with 2-litre diesels rated at 130hp, 170hp and 213hp automatic. The fattest Ranger is the Raptor which is a bespoke format: double cab, the 213hp diesel and 10-speed automatic gearbox and wheel-arch extensions to gather debris from the vast 285/70/17 Goodrich all terrain tyres. Fox performance shocks take the knocks. Beefy bumpers and an aluminium skid plate at the front under the Raptor-branded grille endorse the message. The slip resistant alloy side steps with drainage slots give a reliable footing for access.

This is a serious project from Ford’s renowned Performance division. Disc brakes are ventilated to resist heat fade. There are towing hooks at each corner. The selectable 4x4 drive with a diff lock is backed up with six traction settings to suit the terrain.

This comprehensive specification should keep you moving in most adverse conditions and enhance your tough-gal image. Just watch you don’t get your stiletto heels snagged in the drain slots on the side steps. Inside, you find a bespoke Raptor branded cabin with suedette trim, sports seats, contrasting stitching, navigation and so on. There is a red top-centre marker on the perforated leather steering wheel in case you forget which way the wheels are aligned.

Yes, you did read ten gears. The changes take place sweetly. The 210bhp diesel has a pleasing sporty snort and with 368lb ft of torque is ready for most hard work. However, the Raptor’s higher kerb weight means it has a lower payload capacity than the regular Ranger, and is rated at 620kg. It thus misses the 1,000kg payload for VAT relief.

The regular Ranger’s 3,500kg braked towing limit is reduced to 2,500kg – officially, that is. With a 300kg load of logs it dropped nicely on its rear springs and off we went.

There is a climate health warning with these vehicles and unless you are using them for heavy stuff it is hard to justify them as everyday transport. The Raptor tested here was rated at 31.7mpg and 233g/km of CO2. On our journeys the consumption ranged from 27 to 30mpg. The 0-62mph time is 10 seconds. Its maximum speed is 110mph.

The Raptor needs respect but it is far nimbler than you’d expect, with quick steering and easy handling. Noise levels are tolerable, too. The most irksome thing was the stiff release catch for the roller cover over the load bed. Price? From £49,325 plus £720 for the “performance blue” metallic paint. Ford says the Raptor is the “toughest and highest performing version ever built – a true desert racer and an extreme lifestyle off-roader.”