REVIEW: An economy run in the Ford Ranger Raptor

Since its February 2023 launch we’ve test driven the new 3.0 V6 petrol turbo-powered Ford Ranger Raptor several times, and mostly as it was intended: in angry mode.

The burly bakkie was created to blast along faster than any other pickup, with trick suspension and knobby tyres that make it supremely capable as a high-performance off-roader. We’ve raced the Raptor along Namibia’s sand dunes, diced it against hot hatches and generally (mis)treated it as the high-adrenaline machine it was purpose-built to be.

When we tested it at Gerotek with a Vbox, Ford’s potent pickup sprinted from 0-100km/h in a hot hatch-like 6.7 seconds, making it the quickest bakkie we’ve yet tested — by quite some margin.

We hadn’t spent much time driving it sedately, however, so to set that right we embarked on a fuel economy run as the first order of business when a dark grey Raptor arrived for a long-term test earlier this month. The fast Ford is a notorious fuel guzzler when engaged in high-paced pursuits, but we wanted to see how frugal it could be when driven with restraint, and a journey from Joburg to KwaZulu-Natal’s south coast over the Easter Weekend was the ideal opportunity.

In our previous test drives the Raptor returned an average fuel consumption of 14.9l /100km, and a budget-busting 22l/100km when driven in high-adrenaline mode. It had never come close to the factory-claimed 11.5l figure.

When we set out from Joburg at 4am to beat the Easter Weekend traffic, our goal was to drive the Raptor at regular speeds instead of crawling along in the left lane with all the trucks, and obtaining an unrealistically low economy reading. We kept to the speed limit and focused on maximising fuel efficiency with smooth driving and avoiding sudden accelerations. We drove in the vehicle’s Normal mode, which kept the engine revving lower by spending more time in higher gears than in Sport. With 10 speeds, the automatic transmission has a lot of ratios and is able to tick along at low rpm at cruising speeds.

The temptation to exploit the bakkie’s power was often strong, and the six-cylinder engine’s 292kW and 584Nm are always bristling in the background. But except for one brief pedal-to-the-metal occasion when a cheeky Polo GTI driver needed schooling, we managed to drive with a light foot over the complete seven-and-a-half-hour trip. The Raptor arrived at the destination with a fuel average of 11.6l /100km, a little better than we had hoped for, and showing what a difference it can make to drive with a focus on efficiency.

A few days later, for the uphill return trip to Gauteng, with an elevation gain of 1,600m we knew the Raptor would be less frugal but we aimed to get under 13l /100km. Driving in the same smooth and steady way, we achieved our goal and arrived in Joburg with the onboard computer showing 12.6l.

We felt this was pretty good for a V6 turbo bakkie that weighs more than 2.4 tonnes. Bottom line is that Ford’s R1,270,000 plaything makes a good long-distance vehicle that doesn’t slurp fuel like a truck if you drive it right.

Driving it on a long-distance trip also gave me a chance to appreciate other aspects of the Raptor, including what is a very cushy ride for a bakkie. The Raptor rides on hi-tech Fox dampers with position-sensitive damping that adapts to driving conditions, and can be stiffened at the press of a button to deliver sharper handling when needed. Combined with high-profile 285/70 R17 BF Goodrich all-terrain KO2 tyres, the Raptor delivers an impressively settled ride even with no load in the back, and tackles scarred and potholed roads with exemplary manners.

What I also liked about the Raptor on long sections is that its driving aids aren’t as annoying as in other Fords I’ve driven lately. For instance, there’s no oversensitive alert that tells you to keep your hands on the steering, forcing you to wiggle the wheel every few minutes to switch off the warning. Also, the lane-keeping assist is unobtrusive and doesn’t violently wrench the steering if you creep onto a painted line, as in some cars.

Since our Easter Weekend economy run, the fuel consumption has remained at an average 12.6l /100km as we’ve tackled more urban stop-start driving in Joburg. With just more than 5,000km on the vehicle’s odometer, perhaps there’s a chance to reduce the fuel consumption further as the engine loosens up with more mileage.

We’ll report back and keep you posted.