Why do Filipinos love the Ford Ranger Raptor?

The Raptor has been a smashing success for Ford Philippines, helping boost sales of the Ranger by 27% last year while also getting over 40% share of total Ranger sales in the Philippines.

This December 2020, the Ranger Raptor hit its 10,000^th-customer milestone since its launch in 2018.

That is not surprising considering what the Ranger Raptor offers the market by way of looks and its performance package.

If you’re seeing more of it than the plain Ranger on the road, well we outline the five reasons we think make it such a hit with Filipinos.

Bold design

As aggressive as the Ranger Raptor looks like (compared to other pickup trucks), it doesn’t go all weird with snorkels, oversized bull bars, and ginormous wheels. In other words, it’s not a monster truck.

It subtly sets 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.

Simple yet very effective visual cues that tell you, it’s not your ordinary Ford Ranger.

Great engine

Sure, it now shares the engine with the 4x4 Wildtrak Ranger but just because it isn’t exclusive to the Raptor doesn’t mean the engine isn’t any good.

It uses a lightweight engine block with an aluminum ladder to lower noise and vibration levels, plus the crankshaft from the piston is offset by 10mm to also bring down friction and wear while increasing efficiency.

An all-new engine architecture has been employed by Ford to reduce friction and deliver a clean-burning combustion system. These enhancements improve its fuel efficiency by 13% and allows it to meet Euro 5 emissions standards.

On top of all that, it has a new belt-in-oil system that also reduces friction while the head’s intake system is engineered to equally balance the air between each cylinder.

Finally, a centralized eight-hole-nozzle piezo injectors are used to inject diesel at 2,000 bar, which is much higher than previous engines.

Wider track

Compared to the Ranger, the Raptor’s track – both front and rear – are 150mm larger. Even if it’s just a few millimeters, the positive effects are outstanding.

Aside from making it look better, it increases stability when cornering and at high speeds. It also reduces turning radius, increased comfort level in the cabin, and allows for the installation of special suspension systems.

You can do it with a wheel spacer set on your Ranger but it can’t be better than something engineering straight from the production line.

Enhanced suspension

Instead of the typical double wishbone with coil spring front suspensions and the leaf spring rear suspensions of the Ranger Wildtrak, the Raptor uses Fox Racing Shox race-bred suspensions that have been specifically designed to tackle terrain at high-speed.

It uses “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.

Higher stance

Standing at 283mm above the ground, its clearance is bigger than most trucks and is even set 51mm higher than the Ranger Wildtrak.

The reason being it needs more space to fit larger wheels and tires because the latter and the former allows it to get better approach, break-over, and departure angles, so that it can do was it was designed to do in extreme off-road terrain.

Photos from Ford Philippines