The Ford Ranger Raptor Is All Hyde, No Jekyll
The automotive market is littered with gentle euphemisms dreamed up by advertisers. Cars are "personal mobility solutions" and radar cruise control is "semi-autonomous driving assistance." Straight talk remains elusive.
Ford has something for those of us exhausted by parsing through Madison Avenue’s pleasantries, luckily. The new Ranger Raptor pickup is as subtle as a punch in the gut, and loud enough to herald the apocalypse.
The Ranger Raptor was offered around the globe for the last half decade, but it’s new to American buyers for 2024. The same formula from its larger (and incredibly popular) siblings, the F-150 and Bronco Raptor, trickles down. The Raptor recipe calls for a heaping dose of power, dune-tuned suspension, the biggest A/Ts that’ll fit under the fenders, and a shot of testosterone to the styling.
The Ranger’s Raptorfication gives Ford two mid-size superlatives: a 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 producing 405 horsepower (the most power of any mid-size truck you can buy today) and a 10-speed automatic transmission (the most gears of any mid-size truck available today).
Stylistically, the Ranger Raptor looks like it has something to prove to its bigger siblings . The “FORD” across the front grille runs virtually the entire 79.0-inch width of the truck. The massive fender flares—installed to shield the Raptor’s extra 3.5 inches of track width—are so juiced, they could make Barry Bonds blush.
Under that bulk sits a set of 33-inch BFGoodrich K03 A/Ts wrapped around (optional) beadlock-capable wheels, perched outboard of Fox suspension with electronically adjustable internal bypass dampers and external fluid reservoirs. The Bronco and F-150 Raptor will not be bullying their little brother any time soon.
If you think the exterior looks aggressive, you haven’t seen anything yet. Every surface of the cabin is highlighted in eye-searing ‘Code Orange,” including the heavily-bolstered front seats. A 12.0-inch portrait touchscreen sits in the center of the microsuede-padded dash; The driver gets a 12.4-inch digital gauge cluster. The steering wheel and center console are coated in buttons that make the Ranger handle rowdier, including a dedicated button for “Raptor
