What’s good, what’s not, and why should you buy the Ford Ranger Raptor

It’s big, powerful, and yet surprisingly unassuming. We take a look at the 2019 Ranger Raptor 2.0L BiTurbo 4x4 AT and detail the good, the bad, and why it can be the perfect pickup truck for you.

Number one on the list is its overall appearance. This is probably one of the best-looking pickup trucks in the market without having to go overboard with exterior enhancements.

In a very subtle way, it has set itself apart with widened fenders, the F-150 big grille with the letters of the brand spelled and spaced out, the Raptor decal, skid plates, and the 33-inch all-terrain tires.

The only drawback is that the overall width could be an issue in tight parking spaces and alleyways in and around Metro Manila.

To be able to handle the extra stress that comes with off-roading, the Raptor’s body has been made lighter without sacrificing hardiness with the use of a combination of high-strength and low-alloy steel.

Ladies, you might want to hike your leg up a little bit because this baby’s ground clearance is a whopping 283mm. But the good part about it is that water wading depth is at 800mm.

Despite all that allowance underneath, it’s still endowed with a 2.3mm high-strength steel bash plate to protect the underbody from off-road debris.

The suspension system isn’t your average, factory stuff. It uses aluminum double wishbone with Fox Racing Shox Internal Bypass Dampers and anti-roll bar in front, and coilovers with Fox Racing Shox Internal Bypass Reservoir Dampers and Watt’s link in the rear.

The rugged exterior belies the niceties of the cabin. It has soft leather from the dashboard all the way to the steering wheel, and the seats are a combo of leather and some type of felt, which Ford calls "Raptor Accent."

There’s Lightning Blue stitching as well which makes the interior feel more "royal" and less spastic.

It also comes with an eight-inch touchscreen and six speakers, Bluetooth, two USB ports, a GPS system, rearview camera, a 230V inverter, and even a 12V socket on the bedliner.

Despite the height, ingress is made a little easier with its wide metallic running board, plus the smart keyless entry system made getting in a cinch. Just reach for the door handle to unlock.

The "body-contoured sports seat" with eight-way adjustment feels just like the name suggests — comfy and snug — two words that aren’t typical of pickup truck seats.

To engage the 2.0-liter Bi-Turbo diesel engine that puts out 210hp and 500Nm of torque, just press the start/stop button.

Despite the low- and high-pressure turbos that are setup sequentially to cover the span of the rev range, the pickup doesn’t lurch forward during acceleration and is actually very mild-mannered.

But mash the throttle and it bares its teeth and rockets forward, giving you a taste of the power it packs under the hood. Speaking of rockets, the turbo’s turbines are made of a fancy superalloy, the same one used in rocket engines, so fear heat and pressure no longer.

The ride is firm as a pickup truck should be but these Fox Racing Shox that use "bypass" technology that controls the flow of the fluid in the tubes depending on the terrain is somehow able to also make the ride almost sedan-like.

It’s a smart suspension too. in a way, as it is able to tell when you’ve gone off-road and holds the fluid in the compression valve to keep it firm and prevent the suspension from bottoming out.

Cornering even at a relative fast pace is easy as it is kept stable and balanced by the (rear) and anti-roll bar (front).

It has a 10-speed automatic transmission that shifts very smoothly and helps keep fuel consumption at a very acceptable 7.1 kilometers per liter for a hefty truck.

The one gripe though is in stop-and-go traffic. It gets flustered sometimes and take a few seconds to figure out if it's shifting down or going up.

Sure, the 2019 Ranger Raptor 2.0L BiTurbo 4x4 AT looks pretty loaded any way you look at it and only has very few downsides, if you can ever consider them that. The price though, at P1.998 million could be a deal breaker for some.

Yeah, it can be justified by what’s under the hood, on the chassis, and its overall performance but that’s a long and hard talk you’ll have to do with yourself (or the wifey).

At that price, even with all goodies, it’s still a specialty pickup truck and one can argue that the Wildtrak can do about 80% of what the Raptor can at P300,000 less.

But if you can reconcile your "want" with what you need, who knows, you just might end up driving a Raptor out of the dealership tomorrow.

Photos from Ford