Hours at the mall followed by minutes off-road . . . the Ranger Raptor is definitely well suited for the U.S. market.
Top Gear and The Grand Tour alum Richard Hammond is back with Ford for another midlife crisis adventure in the Ranger Raptor. The first video in this series saw Hammond’s victims work colleagues getting tossed about during an off-road short cut in the pickup. As such, this latest video features Hammond’s victims daughters subjected to a similar short cut and thrashing. Friends, this is what you call parenting done right.
Hammond's Previous Raptor Adventure:
We’re actually not being cheeky with that statement, either. Sure, it’s a humorous clip that showcases the Ranger Raptor’s on-road and off-road capabilities, not to mention the truck’s exquisite skill at navigating a shopping center parking lot. However, it’s on the roads less traveled – or for that matter, traveling no roads at all – where unique experience in dealing with odd and unexpected situations can pay dividends. Teach a young driver the finer point of off-roading and vehicle control, and you’ll have a young driver less likely to end up on their roof. We suspect that’s a lesson Hammond is keen to pass on.
As for the Ranger Raptor, the boring shopping mall experience is totally not lost on us Americans. We’re not suggesting the vast majority of lifted, too-tough-for-you pickup trucks spend the majority of their time at the mall. But finding a sea of Ranger Raptors in a massive asphalt parking lot on the day after Thanksgiving wouldn't surprise us in the least. Perhaps that’s why Ford hasn’t pulled the trigger yet on bringing the ultimate off-road Ranger to America, the land of pickup trucks.
Just Bring It Here Already:
It looks seriously capable off-road – a fact our colleagues at Motor1 Germany confirmed first hand. Its 210-horsepower diesel would need a bit more punch to satisfy American buyers, but it could wield a 2.7-liter EcoBoost without issue. That would be a neat truck and a nice companion to the full-size F-150 Raptor, but thus far the Blue Oval swears it’s not happening.
In the meantime, we’ll just have to endure our midlife crisis the old fashioned way – behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Corvette.