2022 Ford Ranger Raptor Twin-Turbo V6 4×4 Review

The Ford Ranger Raptor is something of a legendary product. Joining the local Ranger stable in 2019, the Ranger Raptor added significant suspension upgrades over the standard Ranger Wildtrak for a ‘magic carpet’ ride quality and serious continent-bashing capability. But for all its upgrades, the Ranger Raptor always lacked one thing: performance. But things are very different with the new generation model. Is the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor the ultimate ute? Let’s find out.

While the previous Ford Ranger Raptor was powered by a twin-turbocharged four-cylinder diesel engine, the new model is powered by a twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost V6 petrol engine. This gives it significantly more performance than the previous model, and spoiler alert: it’s far more capable of writing cheques that it can cash.

Price & Equipment: 8/10

The 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor kicks off at $85,490 plus on-road costs (around $93,000 drive way), which is $6,100 more than the outgoing Ranger Raptor X which it model replaces. But while $6,100 is a lot of money, we think that the new Raptor has more than enough additional equipment to make up for it.

Standard equipment includes 17-inch alloy wheels with 285/70 R17 BF Goodrich K02 High Performance All-Terrain tyres, automatic LED headlights with LED front fog lights, auto wipers, a leather steering wheel and gear selector, metal paddle shifters, leather and suede upholstery with electric performance front seats and driver’s lumbar adjustment, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control with rear air vents, a 12.0-inch portrait touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic, digital radio, an 12.4-inch digital driver’s display, a 10-speaker Bang and Olufsen premium sound system, keyless entry with push button start, heated and auto-folding mirrors, rear privacy glass, a tow bar with wiring and access to the Ford MyPass smartphone app, which allows you to access functions of the car from your phone.

Safety equipment includes nine airbags (including a front centre unit), autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning with lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality and active lane centering, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert (with braking), automatic rear braking, traffic sign recognition, Matrix auto high beam, driver attention monitoring, a 360-degree surround view camera and front and rear parking sensors.

We would like to see the addition of a heads-up display, cooled front seats and heated rear seats to the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor, but we do think that it comes very well equipped for a dual-cab ute. Optional on the Raptor are a $500 decal pack and $2,000 off-road alloy wheels with a matching spare.

The standard colour available on the Raptor is ‘Arctic White’ while ‘Shadow Black’, ‘Blue Lightning’, ‘Conquer Grey’, ‘Meteor Grey’, ‘Sedona Orange’, ‘Aluminium’ and our test car’s ‘Code Orange’ are an additional $675.

The closest competitor (not that there are many) for the Ranger Raptor is the RAM 1500 range which starts at $82,950 plus on road costs. Other than that the Raptor is more powerful and offers a petrol engine which a lot of other utes don’t have the option for.

Performance & Economy: 9/10

Arguably the biggest change for the Ranger Raptor name comes in the form of its new engine, which has given it a lot more character than the previous generation car. It’s a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 that’s from Ford’s ‘EcoBoost’ engine family. It produces a whopping 292kW of power (at 5,650rpm) and 583Nm of torque (at 3,500rpm), which is a full 135kW and 83Nm more than the model it replaces. This engine is special and can only be had with the Raptor variant of the Ranger in Australia – though in North America, it’s also fitted to the Bronco Raptor heavy duty SUV.

Despite its 2,475kg kerb weight, the Ranger Raptor really gets a move on, as its claimed 5.8 second 0-100km/h sprint time suggests. Regardless of the revs, there is seemingly endless grunt on tap – peak torque hits at just 3,500rpm, and thanks to the short ratios of the gearbox, you’re seemingly always in the meat of the rev range. The powerband is rather linear which is very nice, it is also great that the Raptor name now has an engine to back it. The valved exhaust (which can be controlled via a button on the steering wheel) adds to the experience and makes a nice deep note, which is far more aurally stimulating than the four-cylinder diesel engine in the previous Raptor.

The sole transmission option is a 10-speed torque converter automatic, which is the same unit that is used throughout the Ranger range but in Raptor guise it has lovely big metal paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel. The gearbox itself is very responsive and can even skip gears (going both up and down the ratios) to aid in efficiency or performance. The Raptor is also a great cruiser as it can sit at highway speeds in 10th gear at low revs.

The claimed average fuel consumption figure on the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor is 11.5L/100km – which isn’t terrible considering both how much it weighs, its brick-like aerodynamics and how much performance it’s capable of. Our week spend behind the wheel with a mixture of freeway and urban driving saw an average figure of 13.2L/100km. It has an 80-litre fuel tank and can run on 91RON regular unleaded fuel.

Ride & Handling: 9/10

We’ve been very impressed with the ride and handling balance of the new shape Ford Ranger – no matter what the model – and as you’d expect, the Raptor takes that to even higher heights. The adaptive Fox racing suspension does an excellent job of being both compliant when needed and focused when playing, plus, it has a button on the steering wheel to adjust it. The Raptor has a reinforced chassis with unique upper and lower control arms and a Watt’s link equipped coil-spring rear suspension, meaning that when the going gets tough, it can handle almost anything.

Weighing more than 2,400kg (tare mass), you would expect the Ranger Raptor to handle like a block of flats. But it’s actually excellent – pop the suspension setting into the firmer choice and corner at speed and the Raptor has minimal body roll, it is almost as composed as some sporty SUVs. Its grip levels are fantastic, while the handling is sublime for such a big rig. As before, it’s properly fun – no matter the surface – but it now has a lot more grunt to back it up.

The steering also has a few modes which can be chosen via a button on the steering wheel – we found the ‘normal’ setup to be quite nice. The weighting is a touch heavy but the rack itself is much quicker than the old Raptor. Ultimately we found the road manners of the 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor very good for a focused off roader being driven on the tarmac. Part of that is also to do with the four-wheel drive system, which is now permanent – and there are front and rear locking diffs, not just the rear. Its ground clearance is 272mm and the approach and departure angles remain largely unchanged at 32 and 24 degrees respectively.

Disappointingly however, the braked towing capacity of the Raptor is only 2,500kg whereas the rest of the new Ranger models have a 3,500kg towing capacity. But the active safety of the Raptor is pretty intuitive. Based on the new Ford Ranger, all the safety tech is class-leading. The forward collision alert isn’t too sensitive, the lane keep assist works well and isn’t too intrusive and the other safety systems do a good job of not interrupting the driving experience but keep you as safe as possible.

Interior & Practicality: 9/10

The layout of the interior in the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor is undoubtedly the best we’ve seen in a ute, which can also be said for the rest of the Ranger models, though we love the subtle sporty touches the Raptor adds. The Ranger’s interior is hard wearing and robust in nature with rather good build quality and in the case of the Raptor, better materials and a sporty feel.

The 12.4-inch digital driver’s display makes the cabin feel decidedly premium and the screen quality alone is far superior to the 8.0-inch display seen in all other Rangers. There’s also plenty of cabin storage – big door bins, a big centre box, a tray beneath the screen with a wireless phone charger and a reasonable glovebox. There are also funky storage options like the pop out cup holders on each side of the dash and a second glove box.

Sitting in the dash of the Ranger Raptor is the same 12.0-inch portrait touchscreen that uses Ford’s new ‘Sync 4’ infotainment system that lesser Ranger models use. It’s a huge screen that can take some getting used to thanks to its sheer size, but once you’ve learnt it, it’s intuitive and easy to use, plus it also has physical AC controls and a proper volume knob for extra usability. It’s also fully featured with wireless smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation, digital radio and a drawing pad.

The screen quality is great and the 10-speaker premium Bang and Olufsen sound system was very good as well. The Ranger Raptor’s interior is undoubtedly the most premium in the segment – it’s more modern and offers better quality materials than all of its rivals. Same with the Raptor’s performance seats, which feature excellent under-thigh angle adjustment – we wish regular Rangers had that too.

The rear seats of the Ranger are quite comfortable, even for larger passengers and in the Raptor, they feature extra bolstering for hard cornering and high-speed touring. There is plenty of head and knee room for adults, while there is also storage under the base of the seat and the backrest of the seat can fold down to fit larger items. Rear passengers get air vents, both a USB-A and USB-C port, reasonable door bins and a centre armrest with cupholders.

Opening the tray of the Ranger Raptor reveals a larger tray than the last Raptor. We do wish the tailgate would be soft opening (it does have lift assist, however), but it’s an otherwise quite a practical space. As far as amenities go there is a 12V power outlet, as well as tie down hooks, LED lighting, a ruler in the tailgate and clamping points. The tray is 1,200mm long and 800mm wide between the arches and can now fit a Euro-sized pallet.

Service & Warranty: 9/10

Like all other new products that wear the Blue Oval badge, the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor comes with a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty that is also paired with 12 months of roadside assistance. Though at every scheduled service completed at a Ford dealership, the roadside assist is extended by a further 12 months for up to seven years in total.

Servicing the Ranger Raptor comes around every 12 months or 15,000km. The cost to service the Raptor over five-years or 75,000km is $1,791 (an average service sot of $358.20), which is quite reasonable for the level of performance on offer.

2022 Ford Ranger Raptor DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.8/10

Without a doubt, the 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor is a fantastic product. It takes so much of what we love about the regular Ranger – the high standard of equipment, the good quality cabins, excellent integration of technology, practical interior and tray and an excellent driving experience – and adds a big boost in performance, ride and handling and most importantly for some, a lot more character.

Honestly, the most surprising thing about the new Ranger Raptor is not its capability but that it’s only had a price rise of just over $6,000 compared with the previous generation car. That’s a tiny price to pay, in our opinion, for a product that is far superior. The Ranger Raptor finally has the performance to live up to its reputation and can finally cash cheques in its name. It’s a genuinely excellent product – much like the standard Ranger – but caters for those who want their ute to be a bit louder.