2018 Ford Ranger vs 2019

What's the difference?

In the immediate aftermath of Ford's unveiling of its high-performance ute, the Raptor, in Thailand earlier this year, social media channels and pubs everywhere fired up with charged debates over the company's choice of a 2.0-litre engine four-cylinder bi-turbo diesel engine for its new flagship high-performance ute.

Was it a shrewd forward-thinking strategic move or a misstep? The case has been argued strongly by both sides – those who still love big engines and those who see the value in smaller-capacity engines.

Well, we've just spent a day driving a final pre-production Raptor prototype in the Northern Territory and we got a pretty solid impression of it over a variety of terrain.

So, does this hard-charging bush speedster, with off-road-racing DNA live up to the hype or not? Read on.

Ford’s 2018 launch of its 2019 Ranger (or PX III) brought numerous upgrades and refinements, headlined by the availability of AEB and Ford’s new twin-turbo 2.0-litre diesel engine with 10-speed auto being available as an option in the upper-shelf XLT and top-shelf Wildtrak variants.

This new engine and transmission made its Ranger debut in the Baja-inspired Raptor, which has earned widespread praise for its ‘desert racer’ chassis tuning and criticism of its underwhelming engine choice in equal measure.

However, to judge this new engine’s performance based purely on the Raptor is neither fair or accurate, as we discovered after testing the latest Ranger XLT. Fact is, with its much lighter weight and shorter gearing, the XLT offers punchier response and acceleration than the Raptor, along with higher payload and tow ratings.