Ford Ranger Raptor long-term test: report 9

The car Ford Ranger Raptor 2.0 EcoBlue 210 4WD auto | Run by Max Edleston, senior photographer

Why it’s here To provide grin-inducing entertainment and practicality in equal measure

Needs to be Unstoppable on-road or off-it, reasonably sensible to run, and practical enough to be used as a working vehicle

Mileage 15,020 List price £57,064 Target Price £57,064 Price as tested £59,824 Test economy 25.1mpg Official economy 25.4mpg

29 August 2024 – Home on the farm

It’s estimated that as many as 55,000 seasonal farm workers are required by Britain’s agriculture industry annually to support their busiest time of year. Those workers take on everything from picking fruit to herding cattle – and, I’m sure, it’s left to someone to muck the animals out too. So when a friend called to ask if I’d be willing to lend a hand with some odd jobs he had on his dairy farm recently, I was only too happy to volunteer the services of my Ford Ranger Raptor.

Of course, usually industrial farming is done on a, well, industrial scale, but for smaller farms, a workhorse like my pick-up might be employed to help get the job done. Indeed, the farm I visited already has six regular Ford Rangers on its working fleet.

On reporting for duty, me and my Raptor were quickly dispatched to shepherd some cattle from where they normally lived into a feeding barn. I mentioned in my previous report how easy it is to hitch a trailer up to the Ranger thanks to its plethora of cameras and intuitive infotainment system, and sure enough I had the transport trailer hooked up in a matter of minutes.

I’d anticipated struggling to figure out how to get Bessie and her bovine pals loaded up into the trailer, but in the end I didn’t need to – the cows seemed rather transfixed by the Raptor’s own black and white colour scheme, and that in combination with some fresh feed in the trailer got them loaded up quickly.

With my precious cargo loaded, I was careful not to press the Raptor’s accelerator pedal too quickly. Remember, my pick-up has 208bhp available from its 2.0-litre diesel engine – and while its 0-62mph sprint time of 10.5 seconds is slower than that of the petrol Raptor’s 7.9 seconds, it’s punchy enough from low revs to cause a stir for anyone caught unawares. I crept across the cow’s field instead, and got them unloaded into the barn at the other end. 

Next, my car was tasked with feeding said cattle, which first meant filling its substantial load bay with feed and then using a spade to dispense it to the hungry horde while my friend drove the car slowly along the line. We must have looked like a mobile buffet.

I thought after feeding time was done me and my truck would be released, but my friend had one more job – a few piles of wooden pallets needed shifting so that he could fill the space with some new equipment.

Luckily, despite not being able to carry quite as much weight as the standard Ford Ranger, my Ranger Raptor can still fit a standard Euro Pallet into its load bay, and we managed to fit three such pallets into its load bay before rolling the hard-top cover closed to secure them for transit.

With the pallets unloaded at their new home, the only thing left to do was to muck my pick-up out from the day’s labours – something made easier than it would be in a standard car because I could physically climb up into its load bay and put my broom to work.

By the time I was done, you wouldn’t guess that my truck had put in a long shift on the farm, and it was ready to speed me home in comfort. I think that versatility is a big part of the Raptor’s charm, and if I ever make Edleston’s Farm a reality, it’d be a welcome addition to the workforce. 

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