Ford Ranger Raptor

The cabin layout of the Ford Ranger Raptor is similar to that of the other higher-spec variants of the Ranger. However, to make it look and feel more premium and sportier, Ford has made some minor tweaks to the cabin, which include jet fighter-inspired sports seats, a multi-functional sports steering wheel and a different transmission lever, all of which are wrapped in high-quality leather with contrast orange stitching. 

In addition to this sporty theme, the cabin of the Ford Ranger Raptor also has a suede leather finish for the door pad inserts and instrument console housing and a soft touch finish for the console and door panel inserts. The surrounds for the front trapezoidal and vertically laid out AC vents and the Raptor logo on the steering wheel are also finished in contrast orange. 

The rest of the elements of the cabin, including the full-TFT screen for the instrument console, a portrait-styled infotainment system with dual-zone climate control buttons below it, a flat lower centre console with transmission lever, drive mode controller and electronic parking brake look similar to the other versions of the Ranger. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Premium-looking leather finish with sporty orange accents

Con: Lack of physical buttons for the audio system

Features and Technology

Sitting at the top of the Ford Ranger lineup in Malaysia, the Ranger Raptor has the best equipment list in its lineup. The prime highlights of the long list of comfort and convenience features of the Ford Ranger Raptor include 12.4-inch screens for the full-TFT instrument console and portrait-styled touchscreen infotainment system, 8-speaker Bang-&-Olufsen audio system, dual-zone automatic climate control, rear AC vents, 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat and 10-way manually-adjustable co-driver’s seat.

Other likeable features of the Ford Ranger Raptor are leather upholstery, electronic parking brake, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four USB charging ports, push start-stop button, and a wireless charger.

Pros and cons:

Pro: The Interior feels premium with a top-class audio system and modern screens 

Con: No heated and ventilated seats

Boot Space and Storage

The deck of the Ford Ranger Raptor measures 1,564mm long, 1,584mm wide and 540mm tall, making it an excellently spacious load-carrying bay and giving it the same levels of practicality as other double cab variants of the Ford Ranger. The cabin of the Ford Ranger Raptor also has a plethora of small storage spaces, including a front centre armrest with storage space, bottle holders in all four doors and a big glovebox.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Huge and practical deck space 

Con: Rear doors could have bigger pockets

Based on the regular version of the second-generation T6 Ranger, the Ford Ranger Raptor looks like the most extreme pickup, with an intimidating persona that matches its performance-oriented engine and hardcore chassis.

Unlike other versions of the Ranger, the Raptor has a different-looking ‘Ford Black’ grille, which gives it a bold personality when viewed head-on. The large C-shaped headlamp units are blacked out here, while the car features automatic-levelling Matrix LED projectors with auto high beam and C-shaped LED DRLs. 

The front profile of the Ford Ranger Raptor also includes an off-road-specific bumper, which gives it increased approach and departure angles. Featuring underbody protection as standard, the Ranger Raptor also has front and rear recovery hooks, blacked-out fender flares, Raptor scheme side steps, an easy-lift tailgate and a rear steps bumper. The heightened bonnet here has twin sleek air dams near the lower edge of the windshield.

Besides the side steps and fender flares, the side profile of the Ford Ranger Raptor also looks purposeful with the blacked-out 17-inch alloy wheels that come with off-road-specific BF Goodrich tyres. The B-pillar here is blacked-out too, while the rear-view mirrors here are body-coloured and come armed with side cameras for the 360-degree parking camera system. 

The vertically aligned tail lamps of the Ford Ranger Raptor, which come with LED inserts, are the same units as found in other versions of the Ranger. However, the Raptor comes with a different-looking Raptor-specific deck lid, with the rear fenders also having Raptor badges. There are five colour schemes in which the Ranger Raptor is on sale in Malaysia – Code Orange, Blue Lightning, Absolute Black, Conquer Grey and Arctic White. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Butch and imposing design that looks purposeful and hardcore

Cons: ‘Ford Black’ grille is not to everyone’s taste

For the Ranger Raptor, Ford claims an official fuel efficiency of 8.7 kmpl, which is understandably low, given the mammoth engine and the performance it packs in. While the city fuel efficiency is around 6.8-7 kmpl, the highway fuel efficiency can go up to 7.6-8 kmpl. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Decent fuel efficiency on highways for the performance on offer

Con: Poor city fuel efficiency

Being a top-of-the-line performance-oriented off-road truck, the Ford Ranger Raptor has sophisticated hardware under its skin, which is also built to last and perform flawlessly over rougher terrains, and that too at higher speeds. Equipped with a shift-on-fly four-wheel drive system, the Range Raptor has heavy-duty FOX live valve shock absorbers with double wishbone at the front and Watt’s linkage at the rear. 

And it doesn’t end here, for the Ford Ranger Raptor has got more stuff to make it an extreme beast of the road. This performance pickup truck has electronically-locking front and rear differentials, a high ground clearance of 265mm, water wading capacity of 850mm and heavy-duty 17-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain 285/70 R17 BF Goodrich tyres. The Ranger Raptor also has seven drive modes on offer – Normal, Sport, Slippery, Mud/Ruts, Sand, Rock and Baja, with the last one exclusive to the Raptor among all the variants of Ranger on sale in Malaysia. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Hardcore suspension and tyres for off-road driving

Con: Stiff and bouncy low-speed ride quality 

The Ford Ranger Raptor is the only version of the Ranger pickup in the Malaysian car market which is powered by a petrol engine. Under the hood of the Ranger Raptor is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 EcoBoost petrol engine, which is paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. Equipped with a shift-on-fly four-wheel-drive system, this powertrain generates 397 PS of maximum power output and 583 Nm of maximum torque output, which makes it the most powerful iteration of the Ford Ranger in its entire history.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Powerful petrol engine

Con: Shift timing of higher gears could have been better

The Ford Ranger Raptor has a comprehensive safety features list, comprising a wide array of active, passive and advanced safety features. The basics of safety in the Ranger Raptor include seven airbags, ISOFIX mounts for child seats, ABS with EBD and brake assist, electronic stability control, traction control, hill launch assist, hill descent control, rollover mitigation, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring system and a 360-degree parking camera.

The long list of advanced safety features in the Ranger Raptor includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function, lane centring, emergency stop signal, lane departure warning and assist, blind spot detection system, high beam assist, rear cross-traffic alert, manual speed limiter, multi-collision brake, active park assist 2.0, adaptive load control, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, forward collision warning and brake override system.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Comprehensive ADAS suite offered as standard

Con: Nothing much actually

Competitor Comparison

The Ford Ranger Raptor is the only extreme performance-oriented rugged pickup truck on sale in the Malaysian car market. While it has no direct rivals in terms of hardcore performance, there are some range-topping, sporty-looking versions of existing diesel pickups that come close to the sportiness of the Ranger Raptor, including Toyota Hilux GR-Sport, Mitsubishi Triton Athlete, Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain, and Nissan Navara Pro-4X. 

Conclusion and Final Verdict

One of the niche vehicles on sale in Malaysia, the Ford Ranger Raptor holds a higher degree among all the pickup trucks, with everything in it having the highest degree of extremity. It looks aggressive and boldest among all the pickups, one that looks ready to hit the worst of terrains. And it has all the go to match its show. The turbo-petrol V6 delivers bewildering performance, and the suspension, brakes, and tyres have the most hardcore elements to make sure it glides over off-roading surfaces.