by Seán Creedon
I realise that it’s a bit early to mention the ‘C’ word, but driving the new Ford Raptor last week reminded me of a radio ad for a panto often heard in the run-up to Christmas. The Gaiety’s advertising line is that ‘this is no ordinary panto, this is the Gaiety panto.’
That’s much the same as Ford’s advertising line of ‘This is no ordinary pick-up, this is a super pick-up.’
The Raptor is a new version of the Ford Ranger and Ford say that the Raptor has been bred for off-road performance. This vehicle is, they claim, engineered from the ground up to dominate every environment.
Normally I get a lot of envious glances from fellow motorists and passers-by when I am driving a stylish sports car, something like the Ford Mustang.
Last week the amount of people who asked me about the Raptor was equally high, what price is it, how much would one of those massive wheels cost etc. I was able to give them the overall price, but could only guess about the price of one of those massive tyres.
My wife certainly was not ‘delira and excira’ when I brought the pick-up home. She has a touch of arthritis and was worried about how she could get into the cabin.
However, there are plenty of grips to help anybody who has arthritis to ‘climb’ on board and there is also a useful six-inch wide running board.
Plenty of space
My test model was a 2.0-litre automatic four-door, which had plenty of space to carry items in the back. I have driven trucks that didn’t have a cover for the cargo area.
When a cover was added the overall look wasn’t great. But the Raptor has a sliding cover which can be locked and I found it very user-friendly.
Dukes of Hazzard
Inside black was the dominant colour, with was a touch of blue stitching on the seats and dash. It’s such a high truck you will feel like the ‘king of the road.’
It reminded me of Saturday evenings watching the ‘Dukes of Hazard’ programme on RTE with my children.
Uncle Jesse Juke used a Ford F-100 in the television series and it was a two-seater. A version of the Ford F-150 was created to compete in the Baja 1,000, a desert endurance race, held on the Bajan peninsula of California. It finished third in 2008 and this in turn led to the birth of the Raptor.
The Raptor was built for sandy, dusty deserts that we don’t have in Europe. But if you need to ferry a few bags of spuds or cement in the back, you can rest assured that they will be dry by the time you get home from the ‘store’, thanks to the cover.
It would also be handy if you need to bring a few bales of hay to sheep in hilly areas of the country in winter time.
There is an old saying that if you have to ask the price of an item, then you cannot afford it. But I have to tell that the Raptor will cost you €63,950. Then there is the small matter of road tax, which is €710.
So if you are a member of a Lotto syndicate, my advice is to keep up your payments every week. Maybe one day you can treat yourself to a Ford Raptor.
