I wondered why Ford chose a bright Orange colour for the massive Ford Raptor that I drove last week. It’s often said that women know everything and a young lady, who works in the motoring business, told me that the reason Ford chose such a bright colour was probably to get noticed. And noticed I certainly was, everywhere I went last week.
I like this line about the Raptor, which I found on the web. Apparently the Raptor is built to dominate in the desert, master the mountain and rule everywhere in between.
Raptor is a nameplate used by Ford for its high-performance pickup trucks and SUVs since 2010. Drawing its name from both birds of prey and the velociraptor, the model line is intended as a street-legal counterpart of an off-road racing trophy truck.
I enjoy Derek Mooney’s wildlife programme on RTE radio, but I never heard him or any of his expert guests mention a velociraptor, who apparently was a small dinosaur that lived in Asia millions of years ago. But believe me this is a very modern motor and couldn’t be described as a dinosaur in any way.
It’s massive, measuring close to 5.5 metres in lengths and just shy of two metres in height. My wife, who is troubled with arthritis, did find it difficult to climb on board, even though there is a running-board on both sides. But she admitted that once on board, the cabin of the Raptor was very comfortable.
It’s a double-cab and there is room for lots of items in the cargo area. And your bags of cement won’t get wet as there is a proper cover for the cargo area and it can also be locked.
The maximum towing power of the Raptor is 2,500kg and the Payload is 625kg. The 3.0-litre V6 engine, matched to the 10-speed gear box gives you 288 horse power and if it’s speed you are after you can get from zero to 100km/h in just under eight seconds. It’s a bit thirsty, but I have driven thirstier engines.
As usual with Ford all the controls on the dash are well laid out and easy to use. And while you are climbing those narrow rough boreens around the country, you can still listen to various radio stations from the UK and Ireland, thanks to Apple CarPlay. There is plenty of head and leg room for three back seat passengers in the double-cab.
The wheels are massive and you would definitely need help if you were unlucky enough to get a puncture on some rough terrain. I was afraid to even ask what the cost of a new tyre would be.
You can chose seven drive modes and four different exhaust sounds from Normal to Baja. The latter sound would probably be attractive for boy racers, but I don’t think many boy racers could afford a Raptor.
This would be a lovely ‘toy’ if you won the Lotto. But otherwise it’s difficult to know who could afford one, maybe a rich farmer or a successful small builder.
It’s said the Raptors are the workhorses of American farms and Middle East war zones. In Ireland it would probably be useful in winter time if you needed to get fodder to sheep on high ground.
Prices start at €74,138, while my test car with a few extras will cost you €77,355. Road tax is a whopping €1,494.
