SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- At speed on Ford Performance Racing School's slippery track, I stabbed the brakes and rotated my 2024 Ranger Raptor into a 90-degree right-hander. The beast skittered through the mud before the 33-inch all-terrain tires gripped like talons -- my cue to floor the throttle across the apex before pitching the truck into an opposite, 90-degree left-hander. This is one swift predator.
Ford's F-150 Raptor invented the off-road performance space and is the standard by which off-road production trucks are judged. But the 6,000-pound, sand-eating king of the desert might be better understood as a T-Rex.
The 5,325-pound Ranger Raptor is a velociraptor all right.
Lighter and more nimble than its stablemate, the newest member of the Raptor brood is a capable-- and relatively affordable-- entry into the Raptor family. That includes the Bronco Raptor, the most versatile of the herd, with tools like ginormous 37-inch tires and detached sway bar. But all that hardware means Bronco Raptor tips the scales at 5,764 pounds and empties your wallet of $91K. Another T-Rex.
Up a hill into the Oquirrh Mountains, my $57,065 Ranger Raptor ($34K less than Brother Bronc, which, ahem, is the price of a 2024 Ford Mustang) carved up a deep trail before tiptoeing along a narrow ridge overlooking the breathtaking Salt Lake valley. Tiptoeing isn't as easy in Bronco and F-150 Raptors. At over 80 inches wide, these T-Rexes legally require three amber safety lights normally reserved for heavy-duty trucks.
Can you fit that in your garage? I can't.
I can't wait to take Ranger Raptor through the narrow canyons of Holly Oaks north of Detroit. Or the concrete canyons of downtown Detroit. The pickup is based, of course, on the all-new Ranger, a midsize truck that will fit in your garage or your company's parking garage, and won't take out the ordering kiosk in a fast-food drive-thru. I say "based on" because Ranger Raptor shares Ranger's interior upgrade including digital displays, 12-inch console screen, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, wireless charging, the works.
It also shares Ranger's expanded wheelbase, which was ordered up with Raptor in mind. With the front axle pushed toward the front bumper, the Raptor boasts a 33-degree approach angle and an elongated engine bay to fit a longer V-6 engine like the 405-horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 the Ranger Raptor shares with the Bronco T-Rex-- er, Raptor.
Over a series of moguls, I pushed the Ranger a little too hard (easy to do with 405 horses at the other end of the reins) and the pickup porpoised, but with no consequence thanks to the combination of approach angle, 10.7-inch ground clearance and the Raptor family's secret sauce-- live-valve Fox shocks.
An engineering marvel, the shocks quickly adapt to changing terrain. That capability offers a variety of modes from SPORT to OFF-ROAD to BAJA, with the last really loosening up the suspension for the Performance School's punishing courses.
Owners should jump at the chance to explore the Raptor's envelope. The Utah facility has been free to Raptor owners since 2020 (buy your own ticket and hotel, and the playground is yours for a day) and opens up to Ranger Raptor owners this summer.
Ford has made an international name with supercars like the Le Mans-winning Ford GT and Baja-winning, 720-horsepower F-150 Raptor R supertruck. But it's accessible performance vehicles like the Fiesta ST and Mustang GT-- and, now, Ranger Raptor-- that have endeared it to fans everywhere.
My neighbor tracks his Mustang GT at Waterford and Gingerman. Mustang owners have the opportunity to track their sportscars for free at Charlotte Motor Speedway's banked oval. And now here comes a trinity of Raptor bruisers pumped with off-road steroids so you can conquer everything from Silver Lake sand dunes in west Michigan to Drummond Island in the U.P. to Holly Oaks.
I'm partial to the latter because it's so accessible to Metro Detroit, and because Holly is home to all manner of off-road talent including Raptor rivals like the Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro and Chevy Colorado ZR2.
Don't ask me to pick between them. Competition breeds excellence, and these vehicles are worthy rivals. While the TRD Pro leans toward rock crawling, the ZR2-- which debuted in 2017-- goes head-to-head with the Raptor with bespoke Multimatic spool-valve shocks and impressive high-speed hijinks. And these are hardly trailer queens.
I arrived at the Ford Performance School the same way owners will get to work every day: via a quiet road drive. The quiet is notable compared to the Bronco Raptor, which is inherently noisy thanks to its removable roof, doors and open plastic fenders.
The Ranger Raptor's macho, by contrast, melted into the background on my 45-minute trip to Ford's off-road playground. I dialed the meaty DRIVE MODE controller (shared by all Raptors) to NORMAL, set adaptive cruise control to 75 mph, and followed the Raptor train.
It's a sight not unlike the pilgrimage off-road vehicle owners make to Holly Oaks on weekends. But, despite the huge all-terrain churning underneath me, I had an easy conversation with a media colleague riding shotgun. How far trucks have come.
Ranger Raptor also boasts the typical advantages of truck-- like a five-foot bed out back that can swallow a couple of off-road bikes. Or the tow hitch out back that can drag a RZR side-by-side to the Outback with you. While we're talking accessories, you also might want to buy a power washer for when your Raptor comes home dirty from off-road adventures.
The auto industry has seen unprecedented change in recent years with sedans giving way to SUVs, trucks competing with German brands in the luxury space, and governments forcing the industry to build electric vehicles. A lot of performance models have been lost in the shuffle, including the Fiesta and Focus ST lines.
So its historic to see Ford bringing performance commitment to the truck/SUV space the same way they have built Mustang HiPos, GT350s and GT500s over the years. The Raptor lineup, from affordable Ranger to earth-shaking, $110K F-150 Raptor R, parallels the Mustang's on-track terrors with off-road capability.
Who knows, maybe Maverick will join the Raptor family in the years ahead. As the Ranger proves, velociraptors are fierce no matter what size the package.
2024 Ford Ranger Raptor
Vehicle type: Front-engine, four-wheel-drive, four-door pickup
Price: $57,065, including $1,595 destination charge ($59,045 as tested)
Powerplant: 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V-6
Power: 405 horsepower, 450 pound-feet-torque
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph (NA); payload, 1,375 pounds; towing, 5,510 pounds
Weight: 5,323 pounds
Fuel economy: EPA est. 16 mpg city/18 highway/17 combined
Report card
Highs: Most affordable Raptor; good manners on- and off-road
Lows: Wardrobe not as fearsome as peers; better exhaust note, please
Overall: 4 stars
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Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpaynedetroitnews.com or Twitter HenryEPayne.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor. (Ford Motor Co./TNS)
The 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor. (Ford Motor Co./TNS)