Hope And Prey

We let Ford’s eagerly anticipated off-road rocket spread its wings on dunes, dirt and blacktop to see just how capable this formidable-looking newcomer is.

FORD RANGER RAPTOR DC 2,0 BIT 10AT 4X4 + FORD RANGER DC 2,0 BIT WILDTRAK 10AT 4X4

We let Ford’s eagerly anticipated off-road rocket spread its wings on dunes, dirt and blacktop to see just how capable this formidable-looking newcomer is

For all of its hardebaarde connotations and braai-side bragging rights, off-roading requires a surprisingly delicate touch. Obstacles often need to be carefully negotiated with balanced applications of throttle and steering inputs, lest your 4x4 is unceremoniously bogged down in the mud or gutted by sharp rocks lurking just beneath your diffs. Even sand driving, where momentum is everything, can punish the ham-fisted with whinnying tyres and a resigned reach for the shovel to extract your now beached wheels.

But with the Ranger Raptor, Ford now prescribes a different modus operandi; all-out attack with pretty much any semblance of calculated off-roading obscured by high-revving engines, wakes marked with plumes of kicked-up sand and the occasional bit of airborne ridge negotiation. Unlike the approach taken with the 336 kW V6 F-150 Raptor, the folks behind this apex 2,0-litre Ranger have instead opted to make their bakkie a nimble athlete. It’s a bold move, especially with a R100 000 premium over the already impressive 2,0-litre Wildtrak, and the all-too-common perception the only thing that should come in two litres is the bottle of Coke accompanying your brandy. But does a paucity of punch detract from the Raptor’s appeal? We took it and its more conventional Wildtrak stablemate over roads, dunes and dirt tracks to see if the wait was worthwhile.

PACKAGING