Ford Ranger Raptor to miss out on critical safety technology

Ford has confirmed  the all-new Ford Ranger Raptor will miss out on AEB, a critical safety technology, despite it being available in other, cheaper Ranger models.

Carrying a price tag of $74,990 (before on-road costs), CarAdvice can reveal the Ranger Raptor won't get Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) or radar cruise control.

AEB technology can be found on cars like the Kia Picanto and Mazda 2, which retail for $14,190 and $14,990 respectively (before on-road costs). Elsewhere in the Ranger line up, AEB can be had as an option in XLT trims and will be standard on Wiltrak.

We asked Ford Australia why Ranger Raptor misses out on this technology, when it was developed in conjunction with the updated Ranger model.

"Whist we’ve been able to offer AEB on XLT and Wildtrak from launch, we are currently investigating the ability to add AEB on other Ranger models," said Jasmine Mobarek, Ford Australia's communications manager.

It's not the first time Ford has failed to offer key safety technology, with the Ford Mustang (first on sale in December 2016) scoring a 2 star crash rating. While it was improved with added safety tech for the European market in July 2017, that new technology never made it to Australia. It was also the lowest scoring mainstream passenger car in Europe car since 2012.

Ford also launched the Escape SUV in Australia with safety technology such as AEB optional across the entire range (an update this September makes the technology standard).

James Goodwin, chief executive officer of ANCAP, is unimpressed with Ford's efforts with Ranger Raptor.

“Enhancements to capability and appearance should really also be matched with enhancements to safety,” said Goodwin.

“At this price-point customers should expect new models to offer this important safety feature as standard.”

“It’s disappointing AEB isn’t included, particularly given recent positive moves by Ford to add this technology across a number of their model updates.”

The Ford Ranger was originally tested by ANCAP in 2015 where it scored five stars. Ford is expected to submit technical data for both Ranger and Ranger Raptor to ANCAP, which means it won't need to crash test both vehicles again.

While the Ranger is expected to retain its five star rating from 2015, there's a chance the Raptor may not meet the criteria required for this rating and would certainly miss out on five stars if a physical crash test were to take place today.

“There is a consumer expectation that premium vehicle offerings will provide the best levels of safety, and I’d encourage Ford to offer autonomous emergency braking as quickly as possible,” Goodwin said.

Do you think that safety should come second to performance enhancements in this price bracket?

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