Ford Ranger Raptor | Test Drive | Auto Class Magazine

Ford Ranger Raptor | Test Drive

29 November 2022 Redazione News, Stories, Tested

Any adventure worth telling needs a bit of madness in it. Coming back to the wastelands of Rocca La Meja, after what happened less than a year ago, requires a strong effort to push one’s limits beyond common sense and instinct. We did it with the toughest Ford of them all, the Ranger Raptor.

FORD RANGER RAPTOR

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Bruno Serra

I’m back here. Less than a year later, the call of that unapproachable mountain has become strong to the point of overcoming any caution taken since that absurd day when we touched on tragedy (see Auto Class Magazine #94). Since that moment many things have changed, especially my perception of danger, learning once and for all that high mountain demands respect and that after having given you a severe lesson, the next time it could be much less understanding. I decide to play early and not wait for the end of the summer season, preferring a warm mid-July morning. At the office we prepare as if ours should be an expedition on top of the world, where the wildest nature can hide pitfalls at every corner, even if the sun shines high in the sky and even if there is the possibility of sharing with some hikers the same path that climbs beyond the Colle Fauniera, heading towards Rocca La Meja.

Despite the many precautions and recommendations, I am not able to involve the same travel companions, who prefer to stay at the office in the shade of the air conditioner and leave to me and Bruno to put our flag well over 2,000 meters, in those which are commonly known as the Piedmontese Dolomites. The peculiarity of this mountainous area of Val Maira is in fact an almost completely bare stone conformation that extends over a pointed and scattered ridge above a winding dirt path that starts just below the summit of Colle Fauniera. The top of the mountain is located at approximately 2,800 meters and this time we intend to go as far as four wheels, courage and tenacity can take us.

The choice of the car is therefore a factor of fundamental importance, especially taking into account that I am more at ease on asphalt than on dirt ground. That’s why I decided to exaggerate, go big and take the opportunity to celebrate the restyling of the Ford Ranger Raptor, now ready to welcome a completely new generation and which, being created in collaboration with Volkswagen, will take a step forward from a technological point of view, but at the same time facing the risk of losing some of that Yankee flavor that a Raptor cannot give up. Therefore, based on the Ranger Pick-Up, the Raptor is not a simple spec, but a vehicle that has a life on its own. If these 4X4s are in fact mainly intended as heavy duty vehicles, the Raptor represents the extreme of any concept of fun, targeting customers that identify it as the ultimate tool for getting in complete harmony with the wildest nature.

It’s a giant 5.3 meters long, 2 meters wide and 1.9 meters high, but thanks to the aesthetic package it brings with it, it looks even bigger. An example of this are the eye-catching reinforced side platforms, which offer a fundamental aid for getting in and out, given that the seats are positioned at a good 87 centimeters from the ground. There are 17-inch wheels that feature knobby tires and 30% higher suspension than that of a standard Ranger, for an excursion of 28 centimeters from the ground. Fox suspension and the development of Ford’s Team Performance have the task of making this giant of over 2.3 tons agile on the road and above all off conventional roads. How? By checking all the boxes useful to make it unstoppable and stuffing everything under the muscular body with Raptor decals like the model of our test.

I reach the town of Demonte early in the morning and take the fateful right turn towards the Vallone dell’Arma. There is not the slightest afterthought, but as the road gets narrower and we cross the small villages of Trinità and San Giacomo, the images of the same road come to mind along with the dramatic moments experienced last year, when we were surprised by a blizzard that blocked us for hours in the middle of nowhere. I look up and a blue sky reassures me, promising a day of revenge, finally being able to discover what is in those meadows that I remember completely buried by a soft and lethal blanket of snow. The first asphalted kilometers show the presence of some tourists who have come here to escape the suffocating heat of recent weeks, but soon the presence of cars, bicycles and motorcycles is almost completely eliminated, letting me proceed towards the rocky peaks that tickle the few clouds above us in total peace of mind.

The Raptor can be driven with rear-wheel drive only, or by engaging all-wheel drive (4H) or reduced gears (4L), but it also allows you to lock the rear differential and use the various modes for each type of terrain via the central display. Even for a less experienced off-road driver, the mechanics in service are truly effective in any circumstance and the 10-speed automatic gearbox tries in every way to limit fuel consumption on motorway sections, making it precise on B-roads and effective on dirt paths. I reach a first bend, then a second and the air suddenly changes. The sun continues to shine over my head, but a light breeze that seems to come from the west reminds me that the valley is getting further and further away. Here is the Carbonetto Refuge, the last bastion of civilization, one might say. The word “fromage” invites you for a break, but it’s late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so we stop just long enough for some photos and get back on the road without too much delay.

I recognize that asphalt that last year played hide and seek under a thin layer of snow that turned into ice in a matter of seconds. And then, almost suddenly, there is that small metal shed that provided us with shelter in the most agitated moment of the snowstorm, waiting for help. Seeing it in the middle of a green lawn, beyond a small stream whose existence I was unaware of, makes a certain impression. I stop the Raptor in the middle of the narrow road, next to a pasture of mountain goats chewing on the grass and stare at it for a moment, retracing in my mind scenes worthy of a movie, but which are actually too clear memories. Come on, we’re not even halfway there. Another turn and here in front of my eyes stands that straight stretch where it all took place. I exorcise it by stopping the Pick-Up, stepping down and walking back and forth, scanning the ground, the nearest mountains and even the most distant ones. Once again not a single noise except the slight rustle of the wind and the sound of the cowbells filling the air.

From here on it is all unexplored country and even if the immediately following kilometers are perfectly asphalted, they soon twist and reach a rather important altitude that takes us to the crossroads of the Colle Valcavera. Continuing along the asphalted road you can reach the Colle Fauniera, turning left you point your radar in direction Rocca La Meja. We are here for this. Just a few meters later the road turns into a dirt path. There are no particularly sharp stones, but space is limited and the Raptor is a pretty big car, to the point of preferring a preventive check before facing a couple of more challenging than expected traits. We are exactly above the Gias Bandia, the uninhabited valley at the foot of the Rocca, but from a side that still does not allow us to exclaim mission accomplished. We pass the old barracks, where we find a second military vehicle, probably here to monitor possible emergencies and the always unpredictable weather conditions.

Stops on the trail are frequent also because traffic is non-existent. Since the road became unpaved we have just passed three cyclists and a couple of hikers, equipped with tents and everything you need to spend the night at the foot of the Rocca. The Raptor does not have the slightest hesitation, also thanks to the special All Terrain tires that offer grip on any type of surface and do not fear punctures as more traditional tires would. In automatic mode, the gearbox manages the 10 gears simply excellently, leaving me to concentrate on the steering and the generous dimensions of the Pick-Up, probably the only aspect that penalizes an even more relaxed ride in the specific case of this road. The excursion of the Fox suspensions is wide to the point that sometimes it seems you no longer rest on a flat surface, but it is a matter of habit and this allows you to travel smoothly even a series of bumps probably created to drain in the most effective way heavy rains.

This place has something unique. I believe it holds something that only the peaks closest to the sky can have. It is as if it took a piece of you and kept it together with all those of those who came here and admired its pointed rocky peaks. Rocca La Meja is right there in front of our eyes and is exactly as I admired it on the many photos found on the internet, except that it is even more majestic. Silent and impassive, it stands in the middle of the valley overlooking everything and making me incredibly small in front of it. We have lost track of time, the climb here is as if it had lasted a whole year and despite the fact that the engine is turned off and I am in full contemplation standing on the cargo bed at the back – you can cover it thanks to a retractable lid – I feel the irrepressible desire to stay here a little more. Just a few seconds later, the celestial natural roof darkens, the air becomes cold, the wind increases and raindrops begin to fall.

Just enough time to take cover in the cabin and it seems that the sky is pouring the oceans over us. The road could become an impossible quagmire even for the Raptor and visibility is canceled out by the violence with which the water hits the windshield. A moment of respite, perhaps a cloud dodging by the strong wind. So we decide to follow an army truck that seems to be heading towards the Refuge, waiting for the weather to improve. We still have to maneuver and the downpour returns La Meja as one of the most unpredictable places I have ever seen. There is no longer any trace of the military, but there is only one way back. We cannot be wrong, we must not. Still mindful of what happened last year, I keep a more sustained pace than the way up, so as not to risk stopping the wheels in a pool of mud that would preclude a smooth forward march. No uncertainty and when the slope reaches insidious levels of inclination, I recall the reduced gears and the 4X4 shows that we are dealing with something unstoppable.

I had no doubts about the fact that the Ranger Raptor would be the ideal vehicle for the expedition, but I never imagined that I would be able to establish such a relationship with an object that is ultimately the most distant possible thing compared to the canonical sports cars knocking at the office’s door. As we said before, Pick-Ups are conventionally designed for heavy duty purposes: to load large, heavy and dusty objects. The Raptor does not give up on any of this, but takes advantage of the robust nature of the original 4X4 to remind you that if you want to reach a mountain, there is a more fun and effective way than that of SUVs. The model here, designed for the European market, is equipped with a 4-cylinder in-line 2-liter twin-turbo diesel. No, we must not think that it is a heresy, because it actually is a damned elastic engine and that even if it has just 213 horsepower, it unloads a torque of 500 Nm at only 1,750 rpm, which for all those who know the basics of off-roading means “getting out of trouble, good or bad”.

That’s why it doesn’t matter to talk about performance, dimensions, consumption (however acceptable at 7.7 l/100 km), but the question comes down to the versatility and fun that this Ranger prepared for war makes available. I admit that some “behind the scenes” have shown that maneuvering over 5 meters of Pick-Up with the overhang on both sides of the path is not a situation in which I would like to find myself in tomorrow before lunch, but those shivers that go up along the back once these landscapes are the background of the day remain so impressed that you can’t wait to savor that adrenaline that doesn’t care about speed and lap times, but revolves around the spirit of exploration and adventure that only the wild side of a mountain can offer. If it is Rocca La Meja, then make sure you challenge it with the right tool.