Ford Raptor

What is it? (Or, when is a pickup not a pickup?) The Raptor is a bit of a weird one, and if you aren’t already aware of the technicalities, I shan’t bore you, I’ll just say that to qualify as a commercial pickup in the UK, and therefore be eligible for the owner to claim back VAT, it must be able to carry over a tonne, which the Raptor can’t.

That’s not to say the Raptor isn’t heavy duty, it is, it’s just that Ford have focussed more on the heavily reinforced and upgraded nature of the Raptor which in turn means that with a gross vehicle mass of 3,130kg, the Raptor has a maximum payload of just 620kg and can ‘only’ tow 2.5 tonnes. With this in mind, the tax man sees the Raptor as a £48,000 car rather than a double cab pickup, meaning businesses can’t claim back the VAT.

So, the Raptor is a pickup, but it’s not as good at pickup’ing as other pickups are, so what is it then? Well, read on…

On the road What I haven’t mentioned yet is that the Raptor is fitted

with Ford’s twin-turbocharged 4-cylinder 2.0ltr diesel engine and a 10-speed automatic gearbox. Plant your right foot firmly down and there’s a lovely gruff sound that’s emitted from the exhaust, and even in the dry you can induce a bit of wheel spin from the back tyres.

Although the 10-speed gearbox is smooth, put it in manual and you’re forever changing up and down, in fact it can become confusing and tiresome, so I ended up leaving it in auto for most of the time. To be fair though, despite the number of gears, it shifts quite quickly and smoothly both in automatic and manual modes.

On the road the new suspension is quite dreamy, and without too much body roll either which is nice. It’s rather quiet too, no matter what the road surface, and the steering is reassuringly heavy and precise. In fact, it doesn’t matter if you’re dawdling around town or attacking fast and twisty B roads, the Raptor gives you a confidence that very few 4x4s of this size can match. Also, speed humps mean nothing to it.

Off-road It’s seriously good. It drove everywhere I pointed it without a hint of hesitation as its supple suspension flexed over every obstacle.

With front and rear Fox Racing shock absorbers, a rear coil-over spring conversion with new Watts linkages, new forged aluminium upper front suspension arms and cast aluminium lower suspension arms, driving fast over crappy roads is where the Raptor excels.

I heard somewhere that the chief engineer said that the Raptor is happiest going over rough tracks at speed as the dampers are better if you go faster.

With that in mind there’s a green-lane not far from Muddy Towers, it’s basically a wide cobbled road that can only be driven at around 5-10mph in any normal car, but the Raptor conquered

it in style at speeds of up 30mph. It would

have quite easily gone faster, but it’s a greenlane so I had to show some restraint.

And that’s where the problem lies, there aren’t many places in the UK where you can stretch its legs without being branded a hooligan and giving the rest of the 4x4 community a bad name, there’s enough numpties out there ruining green-lanes as it is.

The Ford Sync 3 infotainment system is their latest 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia solution, complete with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Although I didn’t notice it, I was told later that the built-in navigation offers the option to lay 'breadcrumbs', which you can then use to find your way back from somewhere, even if you're travelling where there aren't any roads, which is cool.

Interior The Raptor sits atop the Ford Ranger line-up above the XL, XLT, Limited and Wildtrak trim levels. There’s a lovely pair of leather and suede seats that are heated and electrically adjustable, a sports steering wheel with a dead-centre marking point, and a line or two of blue stitched leather on the dashboard.

My only moan are the heater controls that are buried below your left knee and therefore almost invisible to the naked eye. I had to switch the headlights on to illuminate the dash just to see them.

Conclusion At the beginning I wrote that it isn’t as good at pickup’ing as other pickups are, and that’s fine because that isn’t it’s purpose in life. Essentially, the Raptor is an off-road sports car, and a seriously cool and very competent off-road sports car at that.

After our week together was over I was quite angry with myself as I had lots of trips planned but couldn’t

find the time. I wanted to explore some lanes around Cumbria and Wales as well as a few other destinations, but it wasn’t to be I’m afraid.

What little time I did spend driving was thoroughly enjoyable, and maybe sometime in the future when prices are more manageable I can see myself buying one. I would fit a rear canopy, roof tent and in the back would be a Gearmate system, fridge and Muddy Madam and I would be off exploring, in comfort.