Review: 2026 Ford Ranger Raptor - Great Fun, Great Value!

0:00 This is the 2026 Ford Ranger Raptor.

0:02 And in this video, I'm going to cover the exterior, the interior,

0:06 take it for a drive, and see what it's like out on the road,

0:07 as well as talking about the kind of fuel economy you can expect,

0:10 also the pricing and how it compares to the competition.

0:12 And huge thanks to Schulz Ford for providing me here

0:15 with this Ranger Raptor to review for you guys today.

0:18 So, as far as the Ranger Raptor, well,

0:21 it was introduced for the 2024 model year, 2025 and 2026.

0:25 There's basically been no changes.

0:26 There were some new colors last year.

0:28 I don't even believe there's any new colors this year.

0:30 It's just the same.

0:31 But I don't think they really needed to change anything.

0:33 It still is very fresh.

0:34 It still is very competitive, very well priced,

0:37 and that's also notable that we don't have any giant price increases.

0:40 This is still one of the best priced trucks in its segment here.

0:44 And uh also very, very compelling as you'll see in this video.

0:47 But anyway, as far as the Raptor version of the Ranger here, well,

0:51 it's just a really cool package and it's uh I think kind of a sweet spot.

0:56 You know, the F-150 Raptor is really sweet in its own way,

0:59 but this is crucially 6.8 in narrower.

1:03 And so that means this is going to be able to go on more trails.

1:05 It's going to be able to just be

1:06 a little more usable and livable and easier to park.

1:10 And, you know, for all the times when you're not doing any off-roading,

1:13 it's also going to be a little bit easier just being shorter.

1:16 You know, being lower also helps in parking garages and things like that.

1:19 Um, you about 4 in lower for these and a full 2T shorter thanks

1:23 to the 5ft bed and of course the smaller dimensions here of a midsize truck.

1:26 But as far as how this amps up itself beyond a regular Ranger,

1:30 uh you know, it's very nice and uh muscular.

1:33 We have a 4.3 inch wider vehicle here for the Raptor

1:37 version with all these fender flares that are needed,

1:39 of course, to house these big 33in KO3 tires we have here.

1:44 And the track itself is 3 and 12 in wider, too.

1:46 So, you know, a lot more stable.

1:49 And I think that actually also helps as far as handling.

1:52 uh you know if you are doing any kind of sporty driving even on the road

1:54 you know that wider track is going to really be key to that you know

1:57 improved performance but anyway right up front

2:00 there you have that same very nice look to the Rangers here like all of them

2:04 have with the you know double stacked LED headlamps.

2:07 This one has the performance LEDs and uh you know great that all this stuff is

2:11 standard and basically that's the other great thing

2:13 about the Ranger Raptor is almost everything is standard.

2:17 There's a few little options I'll touch on here, but there's only one trim.

2:21 There's yeah, just like maybe three or four options

2:24 and that's pretty much it aside from the accessories catalog.

2:27 But anyway, so you have up front there the more aggressive front

2:29 bumper of course with the now signature Ford Raptor grill design there.

2:33 You also have of course the big tow hooks and all

2:36 the underbody protection that you need for something like this, of course.

2:40 And then coming down to the sides here, uh, I also love how you have,

2:44 first off, this fender vent, which I don't believe is actually functional.

2:47 I think it's a dead end here, but, you know, it looks cool.

2:50 And, you know, you also have those fun

2:52 little vents there on the top of the hood,

2:53 which give you a really fun view out whenever you're driving this.

2:56 Uh, but then, of course, again, 33in KO3 BFG Goodrich tires here.

3:00 And, uh, this one does have the optional beadlock capable 17in wheels.

3:05 Either way, you get 17s, but these beadlock capable ones are an extra $1,500.

3:08 But I think it's a really nice look.

3:10 But also the base Ranger Raptor wheels are also very nice looking too.

3:14 Also you have these nice Baja style running

3:16 boards here with the Raptor logo built into them.

3:18 And then this one also does have the one

3:20 other option which was the graphics package here on these.

3:24 And so only few hundred bucks for that and I think it's well worth it.

3:28 You know in a truck like this you're after fun and you

3:31 want something that's already bold and exciting because it already is very much,

3:34 you know, bold and in your face with the styling.

3:36 Why not go for the graphics?

3:38 I think it's fun and again it's not an expensive option

3:40 and uh you again have those nice large tow hooks there

3:43 in the back the exposed exhaust tips that look great

3:46 and uh just a really you know cool view out back there.

3:49 Now as far as the bed style that is one

3:51 thing with these there's only the 5-ft uh bed there.

3:55 So only one way these come that is something different than like for example

3:58 the Tacoma with its Trail Hunter version that does offer a 6ft bed.

4:02 So, just know, you know, Toyota does at least offer that if you're looking

4:05 for that, but everyone else just does the standard,

4:07 you know, crew cab short box configuration here.

4:10 This is the same.

4:11 And, uh, you don't get a bed liner as standard.

4:13 So, that is one other thing you will have to add in if you want it.

4:15 You do also have a plug as standard there in the various tie downs.

4:18 And it is a damp tailgate as well, which is certainly nice.

4:22 And, uh, so yeah, overall, I think this thing looks really cool, though.

4:25 It's exciting and aggressive, but it's not super over the top uh like

4:29 you get for the full size stuff, I think.

4:31 And uh here in black, it's certainly a little more incognito,

4:34 but there are some cool colors, too.

4:36 There's a green and some others that, you know,

4:38 kind of make this a little more exciting, too, if you want that.

4:40 The interior of the Ranger Raptor is really cool.

4:43 It's a nice blend of, you know, some color here to spice things up,

4:47 but you also have some really interesting and fun materials

4:50 and also a lot of really great comfort and features and just,

4:53 yeah, a really nice interior that again has no options pretty much.

4:57 Uh, so everything you see here is going to come on every Ranger Raptor.

5:01 Uh, and that's a very nice thing for ordering sake.

5:04 But anyway, first thing, sitting down in these seats,

5:06 you have these unique seats here for the Ranger Raptor, and I love these seats.

5:10 Now, everyone's body type is different, so definitely try them on for size.

5:14 See what you think.

5:14 But personally, these seats are magnificent.

5:17 They're the a great blend of having the nice aggressive bolstering.

5:21 They'll hold you in place, you know,

5:23 for all those fun maneuvers you'll probably be doing

5:25 in one of these, but they're also soft and comfortable.

5:28 And I mean really squishy foam here that uh you know I just

5:32 personally think is so comfortable and just yeah the leather feels really nice.

5:36 The little Alcantara inserts are a nice touch.

5:39 The Raptor you know badge there on the back and all

5:41 that is a nice touch and um really great seats.

5:44 They have a usual you know adjustable lumbar and uh power adjustments here.

5:48 They're also memory seats as standard.

5:49 You also get heated seats as standard,

5:51 but unfortunately there's no ventilated seat option.

5:54 And that is a bummer because if you

5:56 know you are actually doing some desert running

5:58 or Baja kind of style driving like they are

6:01 suggesting you should with the Baja drive mode here.

6:04 Uh it'd be nice to have some ventilation for your seats cuz

6:06 uh these seats could get a little hot in the summertime here.

6:09 Not having any perforation whatsoever.

6:11 Even if you didn't have ventilation,

6:13 just perforated seat skins would have been preferable

6:15 to me over uh what you have here with these.

6:18 But that's the only complaint.

6:20 Otherwise though, these seats are fantastic.

6:23 Moving on to the steering wheel here, you have a awesome wheel.

6:26 I love the orange stripe at the top, the orange stitching, the Raptor logo.

6:30 Uh, but it's also really nicely sculpted with a great 9 and three grip.

6:33 Really hugs your thumbs in nicely.

6:35 Nice big 10 and two notches if you want to drive like that, too.

6:38 Um, and then you have a fun assortment of buttons here on the front of it.

6:43 And not too many, but you got some fun ones you're going

6:46 to want here if you got a Raptor cuz you have an exhaust button.

6:49 I love that it's right on the steering wheel.

6:50 You hit that to crank up the exhaust or quiet

6:52 it down depending on what you want to do.

6:54 Same thing.

6:54 You have an adaptive damper button here.

6:56 So, if you want to soften up the ride on demand, you know, right there.

7:00 It's right your thumbs reach.

7:01 Uh, you know, same for steering weight.

7:03 Same same for going straight into that R

7:05 mode if you want for the Raptor mode there.

7:07 And, um, that's great.

7:09 You also have, I believe, they're magnesium shift powers.

7:12 It's a metal that sounds great, feels great.

7:16 They're nice large paddles.

7:19 Just fantastic feeling paddle shifters.

7:22 I love just resting my fingers on them even if I'm

7:24 not using them just cuz it feels so expensive and high quality.

7:28 I love that.

7:28 So, fantastic wheels.

7:30 Also, heated wheel is standard, which is also very nice.

7:33 Now, moving on to the gauge cluster here.

7:35 You have a 12-in digital gauge cluster is standard.

7:38 That's pretty normal Ford stuff.

7:40 You know, if you're familiar with other Rangers or F-150s,

7:43 nothing really new there.

7:44 But it's a really nice cluster though,

7:46 and it's high resolution, very crisp graphics.

7:49 You can customize a decent amount of the info,

7:51 at least just in the middle there.

7:52 I would like to see even more customization

7:54 as far as the left and the right pods, but still great nonetheless.

7:58 And um you also do have various drive modes that will

8:00 change the look in the background there of the the gauge cluster.

8:04 So, that's kind of fun.

8:05 And uh yeah, really nicely done.

8:07 Also in this area and also on the passenger side,

8:09 you'll see encapsulating that gauge cluster,

8:12 you have this like neoprene material.

8:14 And it's it looks maybe on camera

8:16 it might look like it's Alcantara or something,

8:18 but it's actually it has no grippyiness to it.

8:21 It's smooth like actual like neoprene uh kind of material there.

8:25 And I don't know, you know,

8:27 why they chose that, but it's fun and sporty and, you know,

8:30 feels kind of uh outdoorsy and just, you know,

8:33 really cool that we have those little touches.

8:36 Again, they didn't have to do that.

8:36 They could have just done regular plastic like the rest of the dash,

8:39 but they chose to do something different, and I commend them for the creativity.

8:43 Now, coming over to the middle of the dashboard here,

8:45 you have this 12.4 in vertical touchscreen.

8:49 And this screen's fine.

8:50 It I have found that it's a little slow on occasion.

8:53 uh maybe it just needs to warm up a little bit,

8:55 but it's pretty simple and easy to use.

8:57 You have, you know, the everpresent row of climate controls there.

9:00 You do thankfully still have knobs and buttons for some

9:03 of the main climate controls and a volume knob still, which is great.

9:06 So, you know, I don't think this is really a dealbreaker.

9:08 Yes, you have a few onscreen climate controls.

9:11 They're not things you're going to be using on a regular basis.

9:13 You have standard dual zone climate control, you know,

9:16 so it's one of those set it and forget it kind of things for the most part.

9:18 So, I think that's totally fine.

9:20 Uh, and then going through radio stations, all that is nice and easy and simple.

9:23 It does have wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto.

9:26 So, for a lot of people, you'll mostly just be sitting in that.

9:28 And for that, you have a nice large display.

9:30 And certainly, you know, a nice little setup there.

9:33 You also do have uh the off-road pages there.

9:35 So, it can show you various things.

9:37 And, you know, it's all tied into also the 360 camera setup

9:41 you have here in this, so you can have all the various views,

9:43 which is very nice, especially when you're off-roading.

9:46 That is super valuable.

9:47 I've always loved that in any vehicle that's offered

9:49 that when I'm out on a trail navigating in tight quarters.

9:52 The one other complaint I saw online,

9:53 and I can kind of understand this, is that you only have your option to do

9:58 the front and rear lockers and also your off-road

10:00 cruise control if you're in that off-road page,

10:02 which you should probably be in anyway if you're

10:04 doing that kind of stuff and using those things.

10:06 But, you know, some people have said they've wished

10:08 that there was physical controls to do those lockers.

10:11 Um, so that's the only other little thing here about this screen that, you know,

10:14 forces you to use that.

10:15 It's also hooked up as standard with a BNO stereo.

10:18 It's a 10- speakeraker stereo.

10:19 Nice to have a premium branded stereo upgrade here in these.

10:23 And I'm just listening to radio today,

10:24 so I don't have a great gauge on how that sounds,

10:26 but uh the BNO stereoss are usually pretty good in the Fords.

10:29 Not, you know, mind-blowing or anything.

10:31 Uh but certainly, you know, a nice extra touch to have, too.

10:34 Now, as far as storage spaces here in the Ranger Raptor,

10:37 there's some pretty good stuff here.

10:39 So, first off, coming down beneath the screen there,

10:41 you'll see your wireless phone charger, once again, standard.

10:44 and also a USBA and USBC jacks there.

10:47 Another little couple of bonus cubbies there.

10:49 And I also like that in this area you have some wrapped surfaces and stitching.

10:53 Again, this is a rugged off-roy kind of truck.

10:56 You don't need that stuff,

10:58 but it really adds a little bit of a premium vibe to this vehicle.

11:01 And I mean, for what you get,

11:03 even if you were just paying for the performance, this thing's priced well.

11:06 But then whenever you consider the premium feel of this interior,

11:09 too, um it even justifies the price even more, I think.

11:12 And otherwise, you have, you know,

11:13 a few shortcut buttons back here for going into, you know,

11:16 your off-road pages there.

11:18 And you have your nice big drive mode selector

11:20 along with the tow controls and four-wheel drive uh controls,

11:23 including the four automatic mode, which is unique to the Ranger Raptor here.

11:27 And they can intelligently turn that on and off as needed.

11:30 Um, and then you also have the center armrest, which is nice and softly padded.

11:33 Like really nice and softly padded.

11:35 I love that.

11:35 You open that up and you'll see a little

11:37 removable tray right there on the top part.

11:39 And then you'll see another larger cubby

11:41 there beneath it with a 12volt power outlet.

11:43 But that's not all.

11:44 There's a bunch of other extra space.

11:45 So in the doors you have your usual

11:46 pockets here with a nice large bottle holder.

11:49 But then you have a double glove box arrangement

11:51 and also this little shelf here on the passenger side.

11:53 And then you have this upper glove box here which is

11:56 a nice almost kind of hidden storage space you might not be expecting.

11:59 And then you have of course your regular glove box down below.

12:02 But moving on to the back seat here.

12:03 Uh it's pretty good.

12:04 You know sizing wise it's going to be the same as a regular Ranger.

12:07 and uh it's one of the better ones.

12:09 I think it actually does seem like it's slightly more roomy than the Tacoma

12:13 back seat in my opinion and maybe even better than the uh GM truck.

12:16 So, I think it's right up there towards the top

12:18 of the pack and a nice soft comfortable back seat, too.

12:21 And uh you'll see when you look forward, they have a cubby there.

12:24 Unfortunately, no air vents, but just a cubby there.

12:26 And then, uh you know, some more USBC uh jacks there.

12:29 Um, and then you also see they have pockets in those doors,

12:32 a fold down center armrest, cup holders built into it,

12:34 and then you also do have the ability to flip up that seat

12:38 bottom and uh that exposes a couple of extra little bonus spaces once again.

12:42 So, really great to have those.

12:44 But, let's start up and go for a drive.

12:45 The Ranger Raptor uh just actually is the regular Ford key.

12:49 I was kind of expecting like the Raptor key you get in the F-150 Raptor,

12:52 but um you know, just the regular Ford key.

12:55 Has all the basic buttons, remote start, all that on the back, which is nice.

12:58 Uh, but of course it is keyless access.

12:59 Keyless engine room, push button start, which is great.

13:01 So, you just leave the key in your pocket,

13:03 hit the engine start button here, and this one's doing the older Ford chime.

13:07 Usually, it'll do the more new advanced chime, but anyway,

13:11 you hit the button there, and it turns right on.

13:12 All right, so setting off here in the Ranger Raptor.

13:16 So, the first thing you notice about it, I think the first thing that I notice

13:19 here is that you have a great view forward.

13:22 I again really love those vents there.

13:24 It just adds a little bit of extra,

13:26 you know, excitement when you're looking out over the hood,

13:28 but also it's a really good amount of visibility up front here.

13:31 You have, you know, a nice thin A-pillar.

13:33 Actually, I'm pretty impressed with just how good the visibility here is.

13:36 It's certainly better than the F-150, I will say.

13:39 Nice large side mirrors there.

13:41 And a good view out of the back, of course.

13:43 And like I said, you have all those 360 cameras.

13:46 You also have like the park assist here,

13:47 so it can do the auto park kind of stuff for you.

13:50 So, that's nice.

13:51 you know, you have park sensors, all those kinds of things.

13:54 Um, so very easy to maneuver in addition to the fact that, you know,

13:57 again, we have a nice smaller truck here.

13:59 A lot easier than, you know,

14:01 the big 7-in wider F-150 Raptor or whatever, you know.

14:04 So, I really like this.

14:05 And, you know, you have a nice high seating position,

14:07 of course, with how high up off the ground you are here.

14:10 Um, but everything also feels really nice.

14:12 I was really impressed the first mile I drove

14:15 this thing that you have nice and tight steering.

14:19 Um, it's actually a sportier steering rack here for the Raptor.

14:22 It's unique for the Raptor.

14:23 Um, and uh, it you notice it it really is.

14:27 I mean, it's not overboard and again, you have the different uh, steering modes.

14:30 You can have it lighter or heavier if you want,

14:33 but just the regular mode is a real nice Goldilocks in my opinion.

14:37 Uh, brakes also have a pretty good feel to them.

14:40 Now, I will say it's, you know,

14:41 not quite as grabby maybe as a regular Ranger potentially,

14:45 but again, for the Raptor, I think that's kind of appropriate.

14:47 you want to slow down some of those motions,

14:50 uh, you know, to smooth things out a little bit.

14:52 Um, throttle response though is nice and responsive and it's hooked up

14:56 to this 10-speed automatic that Ford uses

14:58 that in this application has been pretty good.

15:01 Other applications like the Mustang, I don't love it.

15:03 But in this, it's pretty good at leaning on those turbos in particular.

15:08 I think this transmission seems to work a lot better with the uh,

15:12 especially the six-cylinder EcoBoost motors here.

15:15 And so it leans on that torque when it needs to, but otherwise, you know,

15:18 it does give you a downshift if you continue to press on there and and you know,

15:22 need a little bit more power out of it.

15:23 And we also again have the manual shifting and all

15:25 that, which we'll try out here in a minute.

15:28 But, um, yeah, it's just a nice thing to drive.

15:31 You get a nice little burble from that exhaust there.

15:36 But again, you can have that louder, quieter if you'd like.

15:39 And that's what I love about Ford does

15:40 this with a lot of their stuff that's sporty.

15:42 But I love how compared to the others,

15:46 you know, all the other competitors don't have active exhaust.

15:48 They don't have, you know, on demand damping control and all this other stuff.

15:52 And I love that this has that.

15:54 And uh speaking of all those modes, we're going to go ahead and go up

15:57 into the sport mode here to test the acceleration.

16:00 But there is, of course, an off-road mode, Baja mode, slippery mode.

16:04 Um you there's a trail mode.

16:06 So there's a bunch of different modes here uh to do whatever you need to do.

16:09 in um sport mode here.

16:10 It's still just in the too high.

16:12 Uh we'll leave it in that.

16:13 I think should be fine here.

16:15 And let's turn down onto this back road.

16:17 Everything's in its sport mode.

16:18 And uh yeah, see how it does.

16:20 Here we go.

16:22 Nice.

16:23 Louder exhaust.

16:26 That sounds great.

16:28 And this thing scoots very nicely.

16:30 Very good amount of power.

16:33 And yeah, I like the way this motor sounds.

16:35 And it's the only six-cylinder of the bunch, too.

16:37 All the competitors are four-cylinder.

16:39 So, this is really, you know, one of the the sweet spots of the Ranger Raptor.

16:43 One of the biggest selling points, I think, is this motor.

16:46 So, we have the 3 L twinturbocharged V6 engine.

16:49 Does 405 horsepower, 430 lb feet of torque in this application.

16:54 And it'll do a 5.3 seconds 0 to 60 time,

16:57 which is actually only.1 seconds slower than the F-150 Raptor

17:01 with its 3 and 1/2 L EcoBoost twin turbo V6.

17:05 So, um, you know, thanks to this being a little bit lighter,

17:07 this is about 5,400 lb, not a featherweight by any means, but, you know,

17:12 that extra lightness does help this to keep up with its big brother.

17:16 Uh, you know, and so you're not compromising on straight

17:19 line performance in this uh compared to the the F-150 there.

17:23 So, um, and yeah, nice and responsive

17:27 with the downshifts there in automatic mode.

17:31 And I love the way that exhaust sounds.

17:33 And again, this isn't even the loudest mode.

17:34 There's a Baja mode uh that we'll try out here uh next and see how that does.

17:39 And we'll go into manual mode here.

17:41 Try doing some manual shifts.

17:43 See what that's like.

17:46 There we go.

17:50 Yeah, this thing's cool, man.

17:52 I I really like this a lot.

17:56 And uh yeah, Baja mode sounds nice.

18:00 Yeah.

18:03 Also, I don't know if it's coming through on camera,

18:06 but you hear the blowoff sound here of this wastegate.

18:10 And that's pretty fun, too.

18:12 Just you hear the turbos going and um yeah,

18:16 just another fun thing that Ford really does play up here with their turbos.

18:18 I wish other brands do that with their turbos, but many of them don't.

18:22 And uh anyway, I just yeah, I love the way Ford has set this up.

18:26 But we're cutting up some corners here.

18:27 I always take and let's see how this handles.

18:29 Again, this is an off-road truck.

18:30 It's not about, you know, corner carving, but, you know,

18:33 it does have these sportier dampers and, um,

18:36 they're variable, so you're able to, you know, make them stiffer here.

18:40 And so, in sport mode here, um, it's actually doing pretty good.

18:43 You for something, you 33 in, you know,

18:46 allterrain tires here and 10.7 in of ground clearance,

18:51 10 in of suspension travel in this thing.

18:53 Um, you know, you give it a little bit of a workout.

18:55 It's flat and it's actually fairly dynamic.

19:01 Um, I think it's feels a little better

19:03 potentially again than even like Tacoma TRD Pro.

19:06 Um, and actually like really handles well.

19:10 I'd say even better than a regular Ranger just because of the fact

19:14 that you have again this this more advanced suspension uh setup here.

19:18 So, as far as all the unique hardware under the skin here for a Ranger Raptor.

19:23 So, uh, of course, in addition to those 33in KO3 tires,

19:27 you also have Fox Live valve dampers here,

19:30 the 2 and 1/2 in dampers up front here,

19:32 and they are again variable and adaptive.

19:35 Um, so you can have them softer, stiffer.

19:37 That all changes with the drive modes or you

19:39 can again go in and manually set it up yourself.

19:41 There's also a Raptor mode that's unique

19:43 to it's kind of like your my mode setting.

19:45 You can set that up to have exactly, you know, what you want.

19:48 You know, so if you want some stuff softer,

19:50 you want some stuff stiffer, you know,

19:52 you can play around with all that and dial it in for your unique

19:55 preferences or your situation of whatever it is you're driving through.

19:59 Um, and I love again that extra customization.

20:03 And and again, when rear wheel drive mode, too,

20:06 you even have some of those rear wheel drive antics,

20:08 but again, you have that full automatic mode unique to Raptor as well.

20:11 And that's going to make sure that it intelligently shifts power around

20:14 on demand and engages that uh front axle when it needs to.

20:18 Um but then lets it go, you know,

20:20 so that you're not doing the typical four-wheel drive stuff

20:22 like you are whenever you're locking it in with, you know,

20:24 tight corners and things like that.

20:26 Um so it's it's really nice you have that as well.

20:29 Otherwise though, as far as again all the other suspension

20:31 stuff here with these, you have longer forged aluminum control arms.

20:35 You also have anti-roll bar up front there.

20:37 In the back, you also get a Watts linkage.

20:40 You also have those uh dampers there, the Fox dampers in the back as well.

20:45 And uh yeah, it's just all very nicely

20:48 set up to again tackle all the off-road stuff.

20:50 You know, Ford knows how to do this stuff better than anyone.

20:53 I'd argue with you know,

20:54 their Raptor experience now of what has it been almost 15 years pretty much.

20:58 Uh you know, they know what they're doing and um yeah,

21:00 that's why people love Raptors and why they're you know,

21:02 famous for their off-road prowess.

21:05 But yeah, you get coilover springs in the rear there.

21:07 And again, you get the front and rear lockers.

21:09 You also do have an off-road cruise control.

21:11 And also, I have to comment on the ride quality

21:14 because that's the other perk of all these Raptor trucks is,

21:16 you know, having all this off-road ready

21:18 stuff actually gives you a fantastic ride.

21:20 And I can say that this feels like it has a softer,

21:24 smoother ride than the regular Ranger.

21:27 So, you know, I mean, even if you don't need all this crazy off-road stuff,

21:31 even if you just have a bunch of money to spend and you

21:34 want to go for the most comfortable version of the Ranger possible,

21:37 like this is it, I think.

21:38 And especially having these 17-in wheels

21:40 with these nice big tires that also soaks

21:43 up a lot of the imperfections and also just gives you a lot of confidence.

21:46 So, even if again you're not going to be going off-roading,

21:49 but you just want to, you know,

21:51 not worry about giant potholes if your roads are terrible,

21:54 terrible wherever you are,

21:55 or you know, things like that, like you just, you never have to worry.

21:58 Like, you just drive this thing knowing it

22:00 basically can handle anything you throw at it.

22:03 And as long as you know, you don't need more than 10.7 in of ground clearance,

22:08 um, you know, you got no problems whatsoever.

22:10 Man, this thing pulls.

22:11 These EcoBoost motors are so strong feeling and so enjoyable, too,

22:16 with just how much power is on tap at a moment's notice.

22:20 Um, and yeah, I do love that exhaust.

22:24 It's It's great to just, you know, cruise around in that Baja mode.

22:26 Now, it does say it's off-road use only.

22:28 Um, but uh, you know,

22:30 I know they say the same thing about the Mustangs and their track mode.

22:33 Um, but, you know, even if you're, again,

22:35 we'll go back into the sport mode here, and it's almost as loud.

22:39 It still sounds really good.

22:40 Um, and anyway, so now we're out on the highway here.

22:44 And the other great thing is we do have

22:45 the adaptive cruise control here as standard in these.

22:48 Um, so we'll go ahead and set that here.

22:50 And um, try that out.

22:53 But and, uh, aside from that very loud truck that went past us, I can also say,

22:59 you know, it's pretty well insulated in here for, you know,

23:01 a vehicle of this type.

23:02 And we also do have the lane keep assist here.

23:04 So I'm going to turn that on here.

23:06 Again, nice to have all these buttons right here on the steering wheel.

23:08 nice and easy to select all that stuff and get all that stuff going.

23:11 And so it seems like this is more

23:13 of yeah just like a corrective lane keep assist

23:16 system cuz it it does nudge me a little

23:18 bit but it's not doing great lane centering.

23:20 So it's not super advanced.

23:22 You can't get any kind of blue cruise in this like

23:24 I believe you can get you know in the F-150s.

23:27 But um you know it's going to be totally fine.

23:29 Most people probably don't care about this stuff

23:30 that much anyway in a Ranger Raptor.

23:32 But just know, you know, you do have adaptive cruise,

23:34 which does take some of the fatigue out of your long distance driving.

23:37 And having, you know,

23:38 the system watching out for your lines there and all that is certainly nice.

23:42 And it's not obnoxious or annoying, which is the thing I really appreciate is,

23:46 you know, it's there if you want it,

23:48 need it, but, you know, it's not going to, you know,

23:51 be constantly nagging at you or giving you a warning message.

23:54 Oh, no, you're not having any help

23:55 from the computers like some other companies like to do.

23:58 So, um, very nice the way this is all set up out here on the highway.

24:01 And uh yeah, everything else though, safety, tech-wise, is standard.

24:05 So, blind spot monitoring is standard.

24:06 Uh automatic emergency braking, of course.

24:09 Um like I said, the 360 camera, even all all the stuff you can think of.

24:13 Anything you can think of here, it's going to have a standard.

24:15 It has the full suite of Ford Co-Pilot 360 stuff here.

24:19 Um so, you got all your bases covered there, too.

24:22 One of the only downsides here of the Ranger Raptor is that it

24:25 does tow less and have less payload capability than a regular Ranger.

24:29 So, that's just one of the concessions you

24:31 have to make with this off-road ready suspension.

24:33 And so, that means these tow uh I believe 5,510 lbs is the max tow rating.

24:39 And I think payload's like 1373 or so.

24:41 Uh and in a regular Ranger, you can tow up to 7,500 lb.

24:45 So, you know, that is, you know, the one uh downside here.

24:48 The other limitation or downside, I suppose,

24:51 of the Ranger Raptor is the fuel economy.

24:53 If you're buying one of these, you probably don't care that much.

24:56 But these are rated at 16 MPG in the city, 18 on the highway, and 17 combined.

25:01 In my, you know, a little bit of driving here for my review here today,

25:04 uh, I'm averaging 14 MPG.

25:06 Um, but, you know, I'm sure that with time that would go up and improve.

25:10 Um, but, you know, just know these are not great on gas.

25:14 Um, you know, it's of course all the off-road stuff.

25:16 It's the twin turbo V6 you're feeding here.

25:19 And so, that's just the nature of that whole setup.

25:21 But you know that is the one area where Tacoma with TRD Pro and Trail Hunter

25:27 have the hybridization and that you know hybrid

25:30 setup is going to give you better fuel efficiency.

25:33 Those claim to get you know around 23 MPG which is you

25:37 know a big jump whenever we're talking you know 17 here or something.

25:42 Going up to 23 is a huge improvement.

25:44 So that is one of the nice perks of that.

25:48 But, you know, that hybrid system though,

25:49 it doesn't shut down as much as it does in other regular Toyota hybrids.

25:53 Uh, because again, it needs a lot more um, you know,

25:56 juice and it's just one of those ones where it's

25:58 going to be needing the gas engine a lot more.

26:00 So, in reality, I don't know if you're

26:02 going to be getting that kind of fuel economy.

26:04 I know when I lived with the TRD Pro for a week,

26:06 I wasn't getting, you know, 23 MPG.

26:09 So, just know, you know, again, your mileage is going to vary with all of these.

26:13 But, you know, if you kind of want to have your cake and eat it, too.

26:17 The Tacoma is the only one that offers that.

26:19 The GM trucks are going to be, you know,

26:21 probably similar to this, even though that's only a four-cylinder.

26:24 You know, don't expect any kind of better fuel economy really out of those.

26:27 And then really the last thing though to mention here

26:29 is the pricing and how this compares to the competition.

26:31 So, let's get into that.

26:32 So, the 2026 Ranger Raptor starts right around $59,000 and this one as tested

26:38 is $61,740 and it's available at Schultz

26:41 Ford if you're in the greater Pittsburgh area.

26:43 There's a link in the description to go straight

26:45 to their site and get more info on it.

26:47 For everyone not near Pittsburgh, you're definitely going to want to head over

26:49 to mattmaranmoing.com and go to the new car quotes page.

26:53 There you'll get access to dealer invoice pricing

26:55 as well as getting connected with a local dealer

26:57 so you can check out the Ranger Raptor

26:58 for yourself and see what you think about it.

27:00 So, there's going to be a link in the description as well as one

27:02 in a pinned comment to take you straight to that site and get you all that info.

27:06 Now, as far as how it compares to the competition,

27:08 this one is pretty straightforward.

27:10 The Tacoma TRD Pro and Trail Hunter both

27:12 are down 82 horsepower compared to the Raptor,

27:15 but do have 35 more pound- feet of torque

27:18 and the instant response of the hybrid setup,

27:20 but it's only a four-cylinder turbo compared

27:22 to the stronger twin turbo V6 of the Ranger.

27:25 And in reality, your fuel economy might not be much different.

27:28 The Trail Hunter also offers a 6ft bed, a fun snorkel,

27:32 and a steel rear bumper, but they start $6,000 higher at $65,000.

27:37 And the TRD Pro is an extra grand on top of that, starting at 66,000.

27:41 They're cool trucks.

27:42 I've enjoyed my drives in them, and they may depreciate a little less,

27:46 but you'll have to just pay that Toyota tax there.

27:48 The Chevy Colorado ZR2 and Canyon AT4X are also

27:52 down on power and only offer a turbo four-cylinder.

27:55 Now, it's 95 less horsepower to be exact,

27:58 and that amounts to a 0 to 60 time that's

28:00 a second and a half slower than the Ranger Raptor.

28:04 Otherwise, though, they're fun and impressive,

28:06 and I had a great time off-roading the AT4X a few years ago.

28:09 But the Chevy is only about $2,000 less comparably equipped,

28:12 and the GMC is actually about $500 more than the Ford.

28:16 Lastly, there's the Jeep Gladiator Mojave and Rubicon,

28:19 which are both almost identical to the Raptor price when comparably equipped,

28:23 while giving you only a naturally aspirated V6 that's down

28:26 a whopping 120 horsepower and 170 pound- feet of torque.

28:32 So, at the end of the day,

28:33 the Ranger just seems like the one that's priced the best,

28:35 giving you the most power for your dollar.

28:37 But yeah, so overall, I mean, this thing is a lot of fun.

28:41 And I really enjoy the Ranger Raptor

28:43 and again the fact that it's priced the best.

28:46 Um, you know, the six-cylinder sound is great.

28:49 The way everything's done, the way Ford sets things up here.

28:52 I love you all the customization and having the active exhaust

28:55 and all these things really to me make this the best one.

28:59 This is hands down my favorite in this segment now.

29:01 And this is my first time ever driving one.

29:04 But, you know, all those things add up

29:06 to this being a pretty clear winner in my opinion.

29:09 Again, everyone likes different things,

29:11 but my personal take is this is the best of the bunch.

29:14 And if I was after something like this, this would

29:17 be the one I would buy hands down.

29:19 Easy decision over the Tacoma, easily over the GM ones as well.

29:24 Uh just really fun, well set up, well executed, and um you know,

29:30 also just the fun Raptor character and the looks and everything else.

29:34 There's just yeah, there's a lot to like here about these.

29:37 And um you know, it's just great

29:39 that they've kept the pricing pretty reasonable on these.

29:42 I think it's it's really quite impressive.

29:44 So anyway, huge thanks to Schultz Ford once

29:47 again for providing me here with this vehicle.

29:48 They have a few Raptors to pick from.

29:50 So if you are in the greater Pittsburgh area here, definitely give them a call.

29:54 They'd be more than happy to help you out uh to get one of these.

29:57 And they're the highest volume Ford dealer in the state of Pennsylvania, too.

30:00 So if you're after an allocation or ordering something,

30:04 they might have a better positioning there than their competitors.

30:07 So definitely check them out and give them a call and tell them I sent you.

30:10 Uh but anyway, thank you all so much for watching this one.

30:12 Be sure to go watch my other fun Raptor videos if you want to see me

30:15 in the F150 Raptor or even the Raptor R that I did a couple years back.

30:19 Very, very fun truck.

30:20 So check those ones out for sure.

30:22 And also check out my reviews on the uh Tacoma there

30:25 as well if you'd like to hear my thoughts on that.

30:27 But anyway, thank you all so much for watching this one.

30:30 I'll see you guys on the next one.

30:31 Take care.