2023 Ford Ranger Raptor prototype test drive

the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor is one of the most anticipated vehicles of the year and now it’s finally here. Well, almost.

As the first dozen examples of the new Ford Ranger Raptor arrive in Australia ahead of media reviews in a few weeks, we can now bring you our first impressions based on prototype test drives that happened in April 2022.

We haven’t been able to share our insights from behind the wheel until now, because Ford had a media blackout until closer to showroom arrivals – which have slid from August to September 2022 amid shipping bottlenecks.

The frustration on social media – with buyers waiting for first-drive reviews – is matched by our eagerness to share our experience.

Ford’s new Ranger Raptor moves up in terms of performance and price, now from $85,490 plus on-road costs, which has so far generally translated to drive-away prices between $91,000 and $92,000 depending on variations in stamp duty and dealer delivery fees.

(The Raptor completes a comprehensive Ranger line-up. Click here for full 2023 Ford Ranger price and specs.)

The media preview drive of prototype examples of the new Ranger Raptor was hosted by Ford at Loveday 4×4 Adventure Park, which is a two-hour drive east of Adelaide and two hours west of Mildura. It’s a privately owned 8000-acre property with kilometer after kilometer of demanding off-road obstacles. And jumps.

But before we get to the fun part, a quick recap for those playing catch-up.

The original Ford Ranger Raptor arrived in 2018 with Fox shocks, a coil-spring rear end, BFGoodrich K02 tires, pumped bodywork, sports seats – and a twin-turbo 2.0-liter diesel four-cylinder engine.

For all its macho looks, the original Ford Ranger Raptor was slower than a Ford Ranger Wildtrak because it was roughly 200kg heavier, thanks to the trick suspension and other heavy-duty upgrades.

Fast-forward to the new model, and Ford has well and truly got the message.

We now have a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 petrol engine backed by a 10-speed car and permanent all-wheel drive (rather than the predecessor’s selectable heavy-duty four-wheel drive and only rear-drive capability on sealed roads).

The power upgrade is significant. The output of 292kW and 583Nm is almost double the power – and 16 per cent more torque – than the original Ford Ranger Raptor.

While it’s a lot of performance for a ute, physics still comes into play. For all the extra grunt, there remains the matter of moving 2.4 tonnes of truck.

We weren’t able to run VBox 0–100km/h times on the test vehicles, but Ford engineers claim the new Raptor is somewhere in the 5.5 to 6.0-second mark.

The original Ford Ranger Raptor with the twin-turbo 2.0-liter diesel four-cylinder took about 10 to 11 seconds to reach the speed limit based on our previous testing.

A sub-6.0-second time for the new Ford Ranger Raptor would make it not much slower than a Holden Commodore SS ute, HSV Maloo, or a Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo.

Or, in today’s terms, a touch quicker from 0–100km/h than a Volkswagen Golf GTI.

A side note: while the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 (borrowed from the Ford Explorer ST in the US) can run on regular 91-octane petrol, Ford recommends 95- or 98-octane premium unleaded – and notes the outputs claimed in the brochure is based on top-grade fuel.

In addition to its acceleration and epic off-road ability, the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor can leap into the air like a Stadium Truck or Baja desert racer, land in one piece, and keep going.

I swore so much during my test drive on the high-speed closed-course loop, we had to bleep most of the video footage.

In grown-up terms, one was quite astounded by the acceleration, the noise, the grip, and the phenomenal ability of the suspension to soak up even ground with ease.

At this point in the exercise, Ford asked us to make it clear the prototype test drive was conducted inside a controlled testing environment, there were medics on stand by, as well as people in hi-vis vests.

Afterwards, Ford also had media guests drive slowly over a series of carefully selected obstacles. In news that surprised no-one, the Ford Ranger Raptor crawled over the hand-picked course without raising a sweat.

We will reserve judgment on this element of the Ford Ranger Raptor’s capability until we test it in our own environment on our own terms.

The glacial pace of the off-road test gave us time to reflect a little more on the whole package.

There’s a lot of hype around the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor but, of course, no vehicle is perfect. Our list of dislikes might seem picky, but if we don’t point them out, fans (haters?) on Facebook will, so here goes.

There are no gas struts for the bonnet, even though the previous model had them.

There is no space in the engine bay for an extra battery (because the air box for the high-performance V6 fills the void).

No long-range tank is currently available as an accessory for petrol variants of the new Ford Ranger (due to the different material required for diesel versus petrol fuel bladders), even though the Raptor will have less range than diesel models

Towing capacity remains capped at 2500kg – rather than 3500kg on the bulk of the Ranger line-up – because of the Raptor’s trick coil ring rear end and high-performance Fox shocks that have been tuned for rock-jumping and off-road articulation rather than hauling heavy loads.

The dual exhaust system (the mufflers for which fill the void where rear fender steps are located on other Ranger variants) could be louder in our opinion. We suspect the exhaust note has been mutated to meet international noise emissions standards.

For reasons of cost, Ford (and other carmakers) engineer and develop one package that meets global standards.

So even though the Ford Ranger Raptor exhaust could be a touch louder without breaking any noise limits in Australia, the system was tuned to meet the most stringent standards globally.

The BFGoodrich K02 tires are epic off-road and surprisingly grippy on dry tarmac, but we know from previous experience they are dicey on wet sealed roads.

The new permanent all-wheel-drive system is a step in the right direction, but we reckon 2.4 tonnes of ute on knobbly tires will still require a lot of caution in the wet, especially in roundabouts.

And, a final bugbear, Ford ditched the extendable sun visors, which were convenient for blocking side glare.

Ford says it was penny-pinching like this that enabled the company to spend money on other parts of the vehicle.

As you can see from our photos, the prototype vehicles tested were a bit dusty inside the cabin. But that’s not a reflection of the dust-sealing on the vehicle.

The examples tested were a mix of early hand-built prototypes (the camouflaged cars with roll bars and race seats) and late assembly-line prototypes (the red and black vehicles shown).

The primary purpose of these vehicles is to test the chassis and engine tune, so they end up with holes poked in them.

Some of the interior finishes were hard to judge based on shiny prototype parts, but it nevertheless gave us a glimpse of what to expect when showroom versions arrive.

The 12.4-inch widescreen instrument cluster is a welcome inclusion (it’s not available on other Ranger model grades as yet), the sports seats are snug but not too tight, and the large metal gearshift paddles behind the steering wheel feel solid.

The strip of red leather at the top dead center of the steering wheels is a node to markings used on rally car steering wheels. The steering wheel itself feels like something out of a hot hatch.

Of course, the new Ford Ranger Raptor is not as nimble as a hot hatch – because it is almost twice the weight, and the vehicle itself casts a much larger shadow.

But as far as double-cab utes are concerned, the Ford Ranger Raptor is in a different league.

While this early preview drive was only a brief taste of what’s to come, it helped crystallise just how unique the Ford Ranger Raptor is in the double-cab ute world.

Few owners will ever get to experience or exploit its full potential. Most people will probably buy it for the tough-truck looks.

But it is remarkable a car company as risk-averse as Ford had the courage to develop a vehicle with such incredible engineering capability.

Sending a 2.4-tonne truck into the air and being able to make it land safely – and intact – time after time, still come with a warranty, and pass all of Ford’s durability tests is, quite frankly, nothing short of an epic achievement.

In the same way few Porsche 911 GT3 drivers get to discover the capabilities of their car on a racetrack, the tragedy of the new Ford Ranger Raptor is they will likely spend most of their time in traffic, fitness center car parks, and towing jet skis .

And only a handful of people will be lucky enough to experience its true capabilities.