The “flight attendant” stepped again with a ultimate warning: “There might be no pedals whereas the Ranger Raptor is in flight.” 

As instructed, I put the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor in second gear, the throaty exhaust mumbled its discontent because the revs dropped, then I floored it between two cones at Ford’s Raptor Assault Faculty in a nowhere valley an hour exterior of Salt Lake Metropolis. We launched into mountain air.

The unusual factor about going airborne on the Ranger Raptor is how regular it felt on takeoff and touchdown. With no reference level besides watching different individuals go earlier than me, I anticipated a shot to the again or some dental chatter. As an alternative, the compression and rebound of the distant reservoir 2.5-inch Fox Dwell Valve shocks allowed the earth to squeeze the 33-inch BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrains like grandkids’ cheeks at Christmas time. The crew cab was steady, the touchdown totes chill. The issue was it was over too quickly. 

To be truthful, it was a modest desk with a steep ramp however solely a pair ft of drop, and I didn’t have sufficient runway to ship it greater than ten ft, perhaps. Launching it in second gear ensured I wouldn’t be mid-gearshift on the launch level, inflicting the load to pitch ahead and nostril the touchdown, but it surely additionally meant not tapping totally into the turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 adopted from the Bronco Raptor. That may be for the Baja part of Assault Faculty.

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

What makes the Ford Ranger Raptor totally different?

The addition of the Raptor for the primary time to the redesigned 2024 Ford Ranger household marks an enlargement of the off-road efficiency arm launched in 2009, from the F-150 Raptor to the Braptor (Bronco Raptor, natch) and now, gleefully, to the Ranger. It’s king of the Ranger hill, with Lariat, XLT, and XL under it. The easy trim stroll enhances a simplified configuration for all fashions: crew cab with a 5-foot mattress.

Ford says most the whole lot is new on the Ranger, however the reskinned physique sits on a well-known body. Some crossmembers and supplies have modified, however the greatest distinction is Ford prolonged the monitor and the wheelbase by a pair inches over its predecessor. On the Raptor, it’s much more pronounced; the monitor is 3.5 inches wider than different Rangers and hung with 17-inch aluminum wheels (beadlocks are non-obligatory) wrapped with the KO2s. The fenders bulge out, then the physique slims to the cab, so the chicken’s-eye view of the Raptor would appear like a dumbbell with a meaty deal with. 

Ford moved the entrance axle ahead, however the longer wheelbase has no impact on the crew cab dimension. The broader monitor let designers broaden the mattress house, although. It’s now 48.2 inches large, and may match 4×8 sheets of plywood between the wheel wells. There are six clamps within the mattress, and out there LED lighting illuminates the mattress and its 120-volt outlet, the higher to energy equipment at night time. There aren’t any swinging tips to the tailgate, but it surely has a ruler constructed into the highest, bottle openers on both aspect, clamp openings, and deep fender steps. The Ranger Raptor doesn’t get the fender steps. 

Raptors add two tow hooks to the rear inboard of the twin tailpipes to match the hooks up entrance. Metal skid plates additionally cowl the engine, switch case, and gasoline tank, and all of the apertures are opened within the grille, together with within the large Ford letters stamped like a 3D face tattoo.

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

Ford Ranger Raptor efficiency on pavement

Although Ford presents three turbocharged engine choices throughout the Ranger lineup, a hybrid isn’t a part of the powertrain plethora. The bigger F-150 and smaller Maverick have hybrid choices which have confirmed standard, however Ford’s chief U.S. engineer for the Raptor, Juan De Pena, stated it wasn’t what Ranger consumers needed. 

“A hybrid has electrical and ICE (inner combustion) so that you’re paying for 2 techniques, and that’s gotta creep into worth,” he informed Motor Authority on the media drive program. He referred to information suggesting Ranger prospects needed energy for efficiency greater than effectivity, despite the fact that Ford reps touted that the model sells extra hybrid vans than anybody. 

That’s clearly the case with the Raptor, which makes use of the Braptor’s 3.0-liter turbo-V-6 tuned to 405 hp and 430 lb-ft of torque. It’s onerous to pin down a 0-60 mph time, however with the 10-speed automated commonplace throughout the lineup and the Raptor’s commonplace four-wheel-drive system, I’d estimate a low six-second time. The ten-speed can reply sensitively should you’re tentative with the throttle; decisive inputs lead to decisive shifts. So, should you’re in a household with an on/off pedal pusher, don’t experience after they drive. In any other case the 10-speed is easy and predictable, and the aluminum paddle shifters give the motive force extra fast management than the guide mode within the console shifter in different Rangers. Each the Lariat and the Raptor get an digital shifter, a stubby sq. knob versus the meaty, old-school mechanical shifter on XL and XLT fashions. The shift-by-wire selector permits for extra driver-assist options on the high-end fashions. 

The adjustments to the monitor and wheelbase, in addition to the tweaks to the body, make the Ranger extra highway pleasant than its predecessor, and that extends to the Raptor. Even on its all-terrain tires on the highway to the center of nowhere for Assault Faculty, three adults match comfortably and the experience was settled. The unladen mattress wasn’t bouncing round just like the tail wagging the canine. I’d welcome the Raptor as an on a regular basis driver, extra so than the Braptor, and the exhaust modes vary from the parental to the punky.  

The mattress didn’t bounce in each the Ranger XLT and the Ranger Raptor, which swaps out the extra tow-friendly rear leaf springs for a Watts hyperlink suspension higher for high-speed off-roading.  

The Raptor provides Off-Highway, Baja, and Rock Crawl modes to the Regular, Sport, Slippery, and Tow Haul modes on different Rangers (the Raptor tows as much as 5,510 kilos, and its payload is 1,711 kilos). The modes change the antilock braking and traction management thresholds, in addition to the steering weight, and the software program tweaks on the Raptor are extra pronounced throughout the drive mode dial. 

The console dial takes some getting used to: twist it to activate the drive mode menu within the Raptor’s 12.4-inch instrument cluster, then twist it once more to zero in on the specified mode. The dial additionally doubles because the controller for Ford’s glorious Professional Trailer Backup Help, which helps you to flip the dial within the route you need the trailer to go as an alternative of counter-turning the steering wheel; it’s a must have for the occasional if not insecure tow-er, particularly with a small trailer. 

All this provides as much as a extra comfy Raptor than the Braptor and a extra manageable off-roader than the F-150 Raptor. And Baja mode is a blast.

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

Ford Ranger Raptor off-road awesomeness

The Raptor comes with digital locking entrance and rear differentials. I adopted a F-150 Raptor up and down hills strewn with rocks and bedeviled by ruts, and whereas it didn’t come close to the rugged off-roading of the Braptor check course, the Ranger Raptor has all of the tips to barter strenuous off-road trials. It lacks the Braptor’s Path Management system that brakes the within rear wheel to make tighter turns, however Rock Crawl mode has a path management system like an uphill or downhill cruise management that work as much as 10 mph, changeable in increments of 0.5 mph. In Off-Highway mode it extends the restrict to twenty mph, and may be modified in 1 mph increments. In both state of affairs, urgent the throttle will override the system momentarily earlier than you let off and it returns to the setting; urgent the brake cancels it. 

The rain began on our means from the off-road to the Baja course, and a flick of the windshield wiper spray concurrently cleaned the entrance digital camera as a result of we have been in Off-Highway mode. There’s no approach to clear it by itself, except for the previous thumb wipe, however the entrance digital camera is essential for the Raptor’s commonplace surround-view digital camera system that ties into aspect mirror cameras and a rearview digital camera for 360-degree views across the truck in addition to chicken’s-eye views within the Raptor’s commonplace 12.0-inch touchscreen.

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

We moseyed on over to the Baja course because the moisture muddied the dust, as if on cue. Baja mode faucets into the total energy of the three.0-liter V-6, opens up the exhaust system, and illuminates the cluster and ambient lighting. It may be activated in 2H or 4H, with the rear differential lock on or off, so homeowners can faucet into their consolation ranges when it comes to rotational management. I had it in 4H with the lockers off, and the steadiness management setting in its least intrusive. I flung some dust and sidewinded by way of the opening part earlier than lastly getting sufficient pace to brake onerous right into a banked cutback. It took a second run on the course to get it proper, however feeling the rear rotate because the bulging hood reoriented ahead, the rear snapping again in line in a rooster tail of mud was peak enjoyable. 

The braking {hardware} is identical as in different Rangers, however the software program is calibrated in a different way so I might set the nostril down proper earlier than the flip with out anti-lock brake chatter interrupting my stream. The paddle shifters helped faucet into the proper gearing, and the suspension sorted the truck properly sufficient to eclipse 50 mph on the ultimate strait, with slightly launch of its personal into the braking space. The one drawback was eager to do it time and again, however that pleasure is reserved for Ranger Raptor homeowners. 

Someday of off-roading at Ford’s Ranger Raptor Assault Faculty in Tooele Valley, Utah, beginning in June is included within the buy of a Ranger Raptor. The course demonstrates the Raptor’s potential in another person’s truck, as an alternative of the one you simply purchased.     

At $56,960, the 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor is probably the most accessible Raptor but. The F-150 Raptor prices at the very least $20,000 greater than the bottom Ranger, however the midsize Raptor makes for a extra enjoyable Baja bundle. The Ranger Raptor’s place to begin is about $15,000 lower than when the Braptor launched in 2022, and its subsequent recognition now has Ford charging about $92,000. The market has spoken. 

Ford paid for journey and lodging for Motor Authority to toss the Ranger Raptor round a muddy off-road course.