Living with the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor X

• Introduction: Ranger Anxiety

Introduction: Ranger Anxiety

Ford Performance's most controversial vehicle gets a second chance

“I think I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

As an opening impression to a new long termer, that’s not fantastic. I had a moment to consider my opinion having driven the Ford Ranger Raptor X just 50 metres.

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I’d spent the previous few days in a Porsche Taycan Turbo S, so I’d had my expectations of meaningful acceleration somewhat realigned. Such as it was, I pulled out across three lanes of traffic from Ford’s Broadmeadows plant, at a velocity that would have seemingly seen me in danger of being rammed up the chuff by a perky tectonic plate. Slow didn’t even cover it.

A friend called me that evening to ask if I was keen to join him on a drive into the hills that weekend and I had to admit that I didn’t have a vehicle that could keep up with the group. I looked at the huge blue truck and wondered how the hell I was about to sell the benefits of a vehicle with a power-to-weight ratio of 66kW per tonne to the readers of MOTOR.

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The next morning dawned wet, so I headed on a solo excursion into the hills. Even with a power-to-weight figure monstered by a Kia Picanto GT, the Ranger is surprisingly immersive, largely because the rear tyres and damp bitumen offer a modest coefficient of grip. In four months with a GR Yaris Rallye, I experienced sealed surface oversteer once. After half an hour in the wet in the Raptor X, you’re in danger of wearing out the stability control warning light.

I swap the blacktop for the vast network of deserted logging tracks that spear off into the hidden folds of the Yarra Ranges, engage four-wheel drive, Baja Mode and let rip. Suddenly, the dozy standard gearbox calibration and clumsiness is expunged and on wide, well-sighted corners, it’s possible to shuck off all that weight and let the big pick-up get up on its toes, albeit at a speed of maybe 25km/h.

I have to say, it’s about as much fun as I’ve had in a day of driving for a long time and it’s a fascinating exercise in honing car control skills. No police, no cameras, no other traffic, nobody to disturb; just you and a few bemused kookaburras for company.

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It feels like a particularly Australian recipe for pure driving fun, albeit in a way that you may not at first expect.

I recall Scott Newman claiming much the same when he drove the Raptor for a comparison versus the Holden SportsCat in the December 2018 issue of MOTOR, only to be subsequently buried in an avalanche of hate mail for even featuring pick-ups in the magazine.

I’m opening myself up to being tarred and feathered again here. I can, to a certain extent, appreciate some of the readers’ concerns. The Raptor is a vast lug of a thing that’s conspicuous and, with its well-documented payload and towing limitations, doesn’t always bring a significant practicality payoff by way of recompense.

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It is huge fun in the right circumstances though, and the key to getting the best out of the Raptor is to weave enough of those occurrences into your driving. I’m fortunate enough to live within minutes of a huge network of dirt roads, so I’ve found a way for it to work for me. Emerging back onto the blacktop after a long gravel drive then feels as if you’ve got superhuman levels of grip. Unless it’s wet, that is.

Is it a MOTOR sort of car? On road, not really. Get it in its element and it delivers a huge dynamic payback. That’ll do for me. – AE

Things we love:

• Gravel chops
• Fun drive modes
• No traffic on route

Things we rue:

• Awkward to park
• Wet grip on-road
• Yeah. Not quick

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