Ooh! Ouch! That’ll be expensive! Those were the responses when I explained I was using a 2023 Ford Ranger Raptor, with a twin-turbo petrol V6, to tow the DRIVEN MX-5 racecar from Hamilton to Palmerston North, return. How many fuel stops? Will you make it? You should use an EV instead… oh, the number of comedians.
But as our 2022 AA DRIVEN NZ Car of the Year, the Ford Ranger holds a special place with us at the moment, along with many Kiwis, it seems, as NZ’s best-selling vehicle. But one model we hadn’t yet tested was the Raptor, in all its performance glory.
So while we prep a full drive story (coming soon), we thought we’d first throw it into proper work duty, and tow our Mazda MX-5 to the recent Manfeild race meeting.
First thing to note and remember, however, is that the Raptor has a lower tow rating, 2500kg vs Ranger’s regular 3500kg limit. Not a problem, with our 250kg trailer, 870kg MX-5 and maybe 100kg of gear on board, equalling around 1120kg of towing, plus another 200kg of payload. All loaded into the rear seat thanks to the pouring rain and lack of tray covering.
Performance was never in question: with 292kW and 583Nm from its 3.0-litre V6 Twin Turbo Ecoboost through a 10-speed auto with selectable 4WD, it was set-up to handle anything throw at it – which was a good thing, as it was the recent storms and downpour, with the drive wet and parts of the road flooded, but still passable.
With trailer hooked up, it’s important to note that Ranger’s need an adaptor for some trailers, and ours had been wired in. With selectable drive modes, normal was fine for our job, and being light, the Ranger’s towing braking system wasn’t used.
And despite its Fox shocks that some suggested would be soft, the balance of the car on the trailer meant the rear end didn’t sink, it felt planted – and if anything, needed a bit more weight over the rear, as the tyres spun a little too eagerly in the wet, in 2WD mode. While fine for cruise control at 90km/h, when the road got twisty (and wet), slow (and wet) or winding (and wet), the 4H button on the centre console was an easy tap for simple reassurance and grip. The other method is to select the wet/rain mode, which does it for you.
Ride comfort was a real highlight, with the Raptor’s cushy ride quality never really changing while towing, and its Fox shocks absorbing all the bad stuff with ease.
And that was really the only story to tell. After 400km from Hamilton to Palmerston North and Manfeild, the Raptor racked up bang on 15.0l100km. Ford quotes 11.5l/100km, combined – not towing, obviously. And about the same as using the Raptor around town. So that proved positive, with the topped-up 80-litre fuel tank showing around 75km to empty.
Following a weekend of racing and running around town, the fuel average actually increased to 15.2l/100km. Then the tank was topped-up for the return leg to Hamilton. Raining, again, the non-stop 400km+ journey bumped the fuel use up a little, resulting in 16.0l/100km total fuel use for the 867km journey.
The fuel bill for 91 octane was $195 and $205, for a total of $400 for the round trip.
For comparison, we did this trip recently with the Mazda BT-50, and its 3.0-litre turbo diesel, and managed the same journey at 11.6l/100km, though it towed the car for less of the journey. In the 12s would be more comparable to replicate our Raptor journey.
If towing were a weekly thing, and/or if the towed weight were a lot more, we’d be tempted to lean more towards the turbo diesel for its torque and lower fuel bills, but for its range-topping image, performance and ride comfort, the Ford Ranger Raptor did an outstanding towing job.
READ MORE: Towing with the Mazda BT-50
READ MORE: DRIVEN MX-5 2023 race 1 round report
TEARDOWN
Ford Ranger Raptor
ENGINE: 3.0 twin-turbo V6 petrol
POWER: 292kW/583Nm
TOW RATING: 2500kg, integrated braked controller
ECOMONY: 11.5l/100km (16.0l/100km actual, while towing 1200kg)
PRICE: $89,990
