Ford Ranger Raptor pricing revealed

Pricing for the hotly anticipated Ford Ranger Raptor has been revealed in Thailand – the first market to receive Ford’s hottest ever Ranger – providing the first indication of what it might cost in Australia.

Due on sale here late this year as the headline act of the heavily upgraded 2019 Ford Ranger line-up, the Ford Ranger Raptor will cost 1.699 million Thai bhat (TBH) in Thailand, where it will be produced for Australia.

While that converts to $A70,729, it’s precisely TBH 500,000 more than the hitherto top-shelf Ranger Wildtrak 3.2 4×4 dual-cab auto, which currently tops Ford Australia’s Ranger line-up at $59,590 plus on-road costs.

Based on the Thai-market price premium of 41.7 per cent over the Wildtrak 3.2 (TBH 1,199,000), the Ford Ranger Raptor would therefore cost $84,440 plus ORCs in Australia.

Our bet is $84,590 plus ORCs, making it a neat $25K more than the Wildtrak, which along with $50,000-plus XLT models comprises about two-thirds of all Ranger sales Down Under, where the Ranger is the second most popular new vehicle – bar none – behind Toyota’s HiLux.

That’s consistent with the circa-$85,000 price tag that our sources are telling us – or around the same price as the upcoming Mercedes-Benz X 350d, with which it will vie to be Australia’s most expensive mid-size ute.

As we’ve reported, the first Ford Ranger Raptor is powered exclusively by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder bi-turbo diesel outputs 157kW and 500Nm – 10kW and 30Nm more than the Ranger’s 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel.

In this case the downsized twin-turbo oiler is paired for the first time in the Ranger with Ford’s new 10-speed automatic transmission (rather than a six-speed manual or auto, as in the Wildtrak).

We’ve also detailed the Ranger Raptor’s many chassis upgrades, including its redesigned Watts-link coil-spring rear suspension, Fox Racing Shox dampers, 150mm-wider wheel tracks, 283mm of ground clearance, 4.5-tonne recovery hooks, 2.3mm-thick bash plates, and 332mm disc brakes and 285/70-section 17-inch BF Goodrich A/T tyres all round.

Wrapped in a tough new body kit punctuated by LED fog lights, the Ranger Raptor cabin is differentiated by leather seat trim with blue stitching, a specific instrument cluster, SYNC3 infotainment and a unique perforated leather steering wheel with magnesium paddle shifters, red on-centre stripe and six-mode terrain management switch.

In Thailand, the Ford Ranger Raptor will be available in the Lightning Blue paint colour pictured here, plus Race Red, Shadow Black, Frozen White and the exclusive hero hue, Conquer Grey.