Whether for work, play or family - new adventures and memories are waiting to be made with the Ford Ranger.
The Ranger has been in the market for awhile now, I’ve driven every variant of the Ranger from the entry level XLS 4X2 to this top range Ranger Raptor and let me tell you, Ford really knows how to build tough trucks. What we have now is the top-spec Ranger Raptor, the big bad off-roader and we’re about to go on an adventure.
Now normally, we’d just be doing a written review, a few photos and a little bit of tiktok videos to showcase the car and go home as fuel prices really are unbearable now. But our friends from Ford Philippines reached out to us and offered us a trip with the Ranger, but not just any trip. We’d be camping and doing a bit of fishing while we’re at it.
We were booked at Pahuwayan Camp located at Montalban Rizal. A lovely little camp site that started just 2 months ago. This isn’t your typical camping trip, this is called ‘glamping’ as you have facilities such as working lavatories, electricity, wifi and they even have an outdoor movie screening! How posh can a campsite be?
Reviews about this Campsite is all praise. It’s on of the best campsites in the area as I’ve been told. Highly recommended most especially for first time campers like us. They are very supportive, accommodating, warm, and helpful. The area is lovely but their hospitality is overwhelming.
Going back to the car though, the ultimate Ranger is purposefully designed, built and tested to set a benchmark as the only factory built performance truck across Asia Pacific. Designed by Ford Performance team for the true enthusiast off-roader, Ford Ranger Raptor strengthens Ford's commitment to deliver high performance pickup trucks to customers.
Exterior:
The Ford Ranger Raptor features distinctive design cues inside and out that are functionally driven. At the front, a stunning new grille takes styling cues from the world's first factory-built high performance off road truck, the F-150 Raptor. The iconic block FORD lettering proudly positioned within the grille design is unmistakable when emerging from a dust cloud.
A frame mounted front-bumper system is designed to offer desert durability performance and a distinctive presence. The front bumper also includes new LED fog lamps with functional air-curtain ducts, which help to reduce air resistance of the body.
Using composite materials, the front fenders not only look tough, but resist dents and dings often associated with off-road usage. The flared shape of the fenders are required for the long travel suspension and oversized tires. Ground clearance is increased to 283mm, as a package are superior to anything seen before. Starting from the ground up, the side steps are a cut above the rest. The step boards were designed specifically to prevent rock spray from hitting the rear of the truck and the holes have been designed to drain sand, mud and snow. The tough high-strength aluminium alloy die-cast main step board is designed for durability.
Interior:
Inside, Ranger Raptor offers a tailored Ford Performance DNA interior design with a high level of craftsmanship, harmonious colours and durable materials suitable for both off-road driving and everyday use. The seats are specially designed for off-road high speed performance support, allowing the driver to engage in enthusiastic handling, while also providing superior on-road comfort. The use of technical suede on the seats for additional occupant grip shows the practicality behind the material choice.
When getting behind the wheel, Ford Ranger Raptor drivers will notice the detailed cockpit differences everywhere they look, including the blue stitching and leather accents. The cluster has aggressive styling, encompassing a host of Driver Assist features. The steering wheel is distinctively different and features a magnesium paddle shifters for crisp gear changing are easily accessible near the perforated leather hand grip sections on the rim for precision off-road shifting when you really need it, plus it's so cool!
Engine and Performance:
The Ford Ranger Raptor powertrain features cutting edge technology to offer more power and torque, better fuel economy, less weight and with off-road specific calibrations for engine, transmission, driveline, steering, brakes and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system. In a revolutionary move to deliver incredible performance and responsiveness, a 10-Speed transmission is combined with a new 2.0L Bi-Turbo diesel engine in the Ranger Raptor to deliver a maximum of 210 bhp and 500Nm of torque.
The Ford-designed and Ford-built 10-speed automatic transmission is shared with the F-150 Raptor. Having 10 gears means a wider ratio-span resulting in better acceleration and responsiveness.
There are six different “terrain modes” that help the four-wheel drive system cope with different conditions: Normal, Sport, Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud, Rocks and, for the ultimate off-road performance experience, Baja mode. Each of these adjust the throttle response, steering weight and feel, torque distribution and so on. Stick it in Baja mode and the Raptor feels quite potent enough, with surges of power coming from low in the rev range. Switch off the traction control and put it in rear-wheel drive and it’s quite possible to cut big muddy circles into your local field.
Verdict:
As I've told colleagues and friends, I'm not so much a pick-up truck type of guy. I rarely have to carry things around hence the lack of needing such a vehicle. But when I got behind the wheel of the Raptor, I immediately felt it's an insanely cool car. It is incredibly capable and packed with tech but I can’t help but feel that if you are buying this to be seen or recognised as a Ford groupie you may as well buy a WIldtrak and drive it through your nearest aftermarket parts store and see what sticks and achieve the same thing.
But, if you are buying this to genuinely attack the off-road cross country scene and don’t mind paying the premium for the pleasure, you can’t go wrong with the Raptor. It really is worth the extra money and the wait.
If you want to visit Pahuwayan Camp, you can find and message them on Facebook here:
It’s the perfect place where you can relax, enjoy the forest vibe, explore the camp grounds and do some casual pond fishing which was a just brilliant cause we caught a turtle!
The owner and his staff really are great and very hospitable to make our experience memorable even though the place was just on “soft opening”.
Pahuwayan is a place we will keep coming back to. Very accessible so you won’t get tired on long drives. Getting there is an adventure itself - passing by quarries as you traverse San Isidro’s rugged road (just a kilometer-long rough road so don’t worry) and crossing a river which was pretty awesome.
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