Ford Ranger Raptor to be priciest ute in Oz

FORD Australia’s Ranger Raptor will barrel its way into local showrooms in the fourth quarter of this year wearing a $74,990 before on-road costs pricetag, making the Ford Performance-honed pick-up the most expensive one-tonne ute available Down Under.

Offered in a single grade, the automatic-only Raptor sits $13,200 upstream of its Ranger Wildtrak auto sibling and is more expensive than the HSV Colorado SportsCat+ that tops out at $68,990 and Volkswagen’s $68,490 Amarok V6 Ultimate.

However, Toyota is yet to disclose pricing for its incoming trio of top-spec HiLux 4x4 pick-ups – dubbed the Rogue, Rugged and Rugged X – that hit Australian showrooms this month, while the top-spec versions of the V6-powered Mercedes-Benz X-Class, due before year’s end, are also likely to cost more than the Raptor.

The Raptor pricetag is lower than anticipated, with many publications, including GoAuto, predicting a circa-$80,000 starting price.

As previously reported at the reveal of the flagship ute in Thailand in February, the Raptor is powered by a twin-turbo 2.0-litre four-cylinder EcoBlue diesel engine that feeds 157kW of power and 500Nm of torque to all four wheels via a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Although the Ranger Raptor may be the most expensive pick-up for now, it will not be the most powerful, with that title currently held by the 165kW/550Nm Volkswagen Amarok V6. Although the Mercedes-Benz X-Class V6 that produces a hefty 190kW/550Nm will nab the title upon its launch.

Ford Australia however, has equipped the Ranger Raptor with more than just a tweaked powertrain to justify its higher pricetag, describing its new flagship pick-up as “an extremely capable off-roader” and perfect for “off-road enthusiasts who appreciate an outdoor lifestyle and seek out the most extreme terrain”.

To match Ford’s claims, the Ranger Raptor features long-travel Fox Shox suspension with aluminium upper and lower control arms, beefed-up underbody protection, heavy duty skid-plates, bigger brakes, wider front and rear tracks, increased ride height and approach and departure angles, and a wading depth of up to 850mm for boosted off-road ability.

Cosmetically, the Ranger Raptor wears widened body work, a new front grille, sculpted bonnet and 17-inch dark-coloured allot wheels wrapped in 285/70 all-terrain tyres.

Inside the Ranger Raptor adopts Ford’s 8.0-inch Sync3 infotainment touchscreen with smartphone connectivity, leather-trimmed and power-adjustable front bucket seats, bespoke instrumentation, Raptor-badged steering wheel, push-button start, keyless entry and power tailgate lock.

Ford Australia president and CEO Graeme Whickman said the Ranger Raptor would occupy a unique position in the pick-up market as the only performance-honed offering.

“Our local design and engineering team has worked incredibly hard with Ford Performance on this truly unique program to deliver a product that brings Raptor DNA and meets the needs of Australians who’ve called for such a vehicle,” he said.

“It’s clear that there’s an appetite for a performance pick-up, and we’ve worked hard to deliver something that fits the bill as a genuine performance product.

“The Ranger Raptor is the real deal: its unique engineering and performance aspects make it unlike any other Ranger – or any other truck on sale, for that matter.” Ford’s Ranger was the second-best selling vehicle in terms of overall sales last year behind the Toyota HiLux, with the Blue Oval brand recording 42,728 new registrations in 2017.

For the first quarter of this year, Ford has sold 10,868 4x2 and 4x4 Rangers representing a 15.64 per cent increase over the same period last year.