Unveiled: 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor

If you’re looking for a midsize pickup in the coming months you’ll have a plethora of options, with Chevrolet, GMC and Toyota all bringing out major makeovers of their truck lines. Ford is going a step further. Not only is it bringing out its next-generation Ranger but, for the first time, it’s adding a Raptor version, as well.

With much in common with the Raptor versions of the full-size F-150 pickup and Bronco SUV, the new Ranger Raptor will be the most powerful and well-equipped version of the midsize pickup ever, with the muscle and features to tackle everything from Baja racing to the most challenging of off-road trails.

“This is the baddest Ranger we’ve ever made,” said Carl Widmann, Ford’s performance chief engineer. “Ranger Raptor is the high-performance off-road truck so many customers have been begging for. It’s right-sized for tight trails and daily life, can carry lots of gear, and is a blast to drive flat out.”

Designed with North America in mind

The 2024 Ranger has a much more distinctive design than the outgoing model – which originally wasn’t intended to be sold in the U.S. It picks up key styling cues from the full-size F-150, including new LED headlights, a crossbar bisecting the big grille, and “C-Clamp” head and taillights. The door panels, meanwhile, are more deeply sculpted, with more aggressive “blisters” framing the wheel wells.

With the new truck, “We had North American customers in mind from the very beginning,” said Nima Nourian, the project’s exterior design chief. That approach was made easier, he said during a background briefing, because buyers “around the world have come to aspire” to the more rugged design and features that North American pickup buyers consider essential.

All 2024 Ranger trim packages come in SuperCrew configuration, and all versions get some notable upgrades. To start with, their all-steel, fully boxed frames have been widened by 2 inches, adding more interior space and making it possible to carry 4×8 sheets of plywood and drywall flat between the cargo bed’s wheel wells.

Wider, brawnier

Raptor adds another 3.5 inches of track and width, helping it gain a better foothold on challenging pavement. That’s one reason you won’t mistake it for more mundane versions of the truck. But there are a variety of other reasons why it’s a visual standout. And most of the upgrades have a functional purpose, starting with Raptor’s LED projector headlights, a front all-steel bumper and integrated, frame-mounted front and rear tow hooks.

The brawny model also rides on 33-inch BFGoodrich all-terrain KO3 tires mounted on 17-inch wheels with available bead locks. Less obvious are the front bash plate of high-strength steel and engine, transfer case and fuel tank shields.

Powertrain

Buyers will have a choice of two engines with the more mainstream Ranger trims, including a 270-horsepower 2.3-liter inline-four, and a more brawny, 315-hp 2.7-liter package.

Ranger Raptor takes things to the new level, with a tweaked version of the 3.0-liter EcoBoost V-6 already used for the Bronco Raptor. It punches out 405 hp and 430 lb-ft. Like the base and midrange packages, the Raptor’s turbo engine is paired with a 10-speed automatic.

It’s the only model that comes standard with four-wheel-drive. it also gets both a two-speed transfer case and front and rear locking differentials.

Despite the added power, Raptor’s towing capacity is cut to 5,510 pounds, down from a maximum 7,500 with other Ranger packages – though payload capacity holds at 1,805 lbs. Blame the truck’s active damping system which has substantially more travel to handle the most challenging of trails.

Beefed up suspension

Among other things, Ranger Raptor features Fox 2.5-inch Live Valve Internal Bypass coil-over shocks, unique shock towers and a number of other suspension upgrades. That permits an extra 1.5 inches of shock travel and nearly 1.5 inches of additional ground clearance, at 10.7 inches.

For serious off-roaders, that permits an approach angle increases to 33 degrees, breakover of 26.4 degrees, and a departure angle to 24.2 degrees. Other versions of the 2024 Ranger come in at 29.2, 25.8 and 21.8 degrees, respectively.

It’ll “get you back home safely”

Like other versions of the 2024 Ranger, Raptor adds a long list of tech features, including the latest version of the Sync4 infotainment system. There’s a bird’s eye-view camera system that makes it easier to park or navigate tight off-road situations. Raptor also gets an “off-road screen” that displays useful information like whether the differential locks are activated, the steering angle, pitch and roll and a front camera with a tire overlay.

“You want this sort of capability so you can get back home safely,” said Widmann.

Add a number of features that can help make towing easier, including Trailer Reverse Guidance and Pro Trailer Back-Up Assist, a system that lets a motorist aim the trailer using the backup camera and a small knob on the instrument panel.

Upgraded interior

As with the Bronco and F-150 versions, the 2024 Ranger Raptor gets some of the most refined touches in its interior, though the cabin is designed to make it easy to clean up after a day on the trail.

The seats are more heavily bolstered than on other Ranger models — something that owners should come to respect after pushing Raptor to its limits. There are paddle shifters, as well as an orange center indicator on the steering wheel.

Plenty of technology

As with other Ranger models, the instrument panel features twin digital displays. There’s a 12.4-inch gauge cluster and a 12-inch infotainment touchscreen. Along with that Sync 4A operating system, there’s both wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with wireless smartphone charging. And the truck’s 4G connectivity allows for smartphone-style over-the-air updates of most onboard software.

All versions of the 2024 Ranger feature 4G connectivity and can make use of smartphone-style over-the-air updates. Higher trim levels get 12 and 120-volt outlets in the cargo bed.

A 360-degree zone lighting system can be used at a work or campsite. And Raptor provides up to 400 watts of 120 and 12-volt power through plugs in the cargo bed and backseat. For those who want to customize the truck, Raptor comes standard with six pre-wired auxiliary switches above the windshield.

Pricing and availability

The 2024 Raptor will go into production by summer at Ford’s Wayne Assembly Plant near Detroit. It will roll off the same line as the other Ranger models.

Ford has yet to announce pricing for the 2024 Ranger Raptor but is likely to do so later this month when it starts taking advance orders. Look for deliveries to begin, the automaker said, sometime over the summer.

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• Source: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2023/05/unveiled-2024-ford-ranger-raptor/