Of course I needn’t have worried. Once my trusty co-driver has given me a quick briefing on the 10-speed auto gearbox, we headed off. Naturally we were last by this point, and actually I liked being behind the pack – having no other people around meant I felt like everything was being explored anew for us alone.

The Ranger Raptor is of course an immensely capable vehicle. I was only a few minutes in before it was like I’d been driving it all my life.

Back in the Real World I’m still driving an S-Max, and because of the incredible power seats with 8-way adjustment I was able to quickly set a high, familiar driving position (even at 5ft 0 tall!), easily reach round the cabin for everything I needed, and generally just relax and enjoy the experience, effortlessly.

I may have been a bit slow and steady, but on our travels we found someone even slower…

I wonder what he thought?

I’m thinking with the body styling and the unique 2.3mm high strength bash plates to deflect off-road obstacles he felt he’d met a kindred tough spirit…

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I’ve been taking part in a really special @fordeu event this week, sharing all the excitement with you on Social Media. Be Social with me using the icons below #RangerRaptor More…